Supergoop Unseen Sunscreen SPF 50 Review

I’ve already had multiple skin cancer scares (before turning 25 years old, might I add), so let this be your friendly public service announcement to not skip out on your SPF. I wear SPF year-round, and I’ve tried dozens of sunscreens to find the best ones to fit my frequent-flier lifestyle, which is not easy on my sensitive skin. When one of my best friends started working for Supergoop, she turned me onto the brand’s buzzy SPF products, which included the product that put them on the map: their Unseen Sunscreen. 

In early 2025, Supergoop reformulated the Unseen Sunscreen to include SPF 50 (rather than the 40 SPF it previously contained), and promised several other improvements. As someone who owns 10 different SPF products from Supergoop, I was excited to get my hands on the new and improved Unseen Sunscreen to see how the new formula benefits frequent travelers like me. Here’s what I think after using it for four months. 

How to Buy

Key Features

Enhanced Sun Protection

While the expert rule of thumb is to use SPF 30 or higher, I’ve always preferred to use SPF 50 or higher on my face. I’ve been using Supergoop products for the past three years, and although they’ve always had SPF 30 and 40 sunscreen, the new SPF 50 makes a big difference for those of us with a predisposition to skin cancer. I typically wear a packable sun hat when I’m at the beach or outside for long periods. When I’ve forgotten it at home or end up in the sun for longer than expected, I feel a lot better knowing there’s higher SPF on my face than the usual SPF 30 that’s in my makeup. 

Layerable Under and Over Makeup

When I travel, I’m often hopping from the beach to dinner to sightseeing and everything in between, so I need a base sunscreen that can do it all. While I loved and used the original Unseen Sunscreen, the new version layers underneath face makeup much better. I have extremely dry and sensitive skin on my face, so I love that the new formula is nearly weightless, hydrates the dry patches on my face, and doesn’t leave any residue or grease behind. 

The texture feels like coconut oil at first, but when it dries after about 20 seconds, it completely disappears without a trace. This is ideal for placing tinted moisturizer or foundation on top. I’ve also reapplied the sunscreen over makeup, and to my surprise, it really didn’t change the look or coverage on my face—an improvement I noticed from the original formula that was less convenient to layer. 

Travel-friendly Features

Besides the dry skin-friendly and SPF 50 formula, I love that there are multiple bottle size options that stay under the 3.4-ounce TSA limit for liquids. Although this isn’t new with the launch of the product, it helps immensely to be able to pick from the 1.7 (which I use most for travel), 2.5, and 0.68 ounce options. I also have the smallest bottle in the old formula, and I keep it in my purse 24/7 since it’s so compact.

Additionally, the formula is water- and sweat-resistant for up to 40 minutes, and the brand recommends re-applying after drying off or every two hours in general. An important thing to note is that this sunscreen is not reef-safe since it includes ingredients like homosalate and octisalate. 

The sheer formula has a mattifying and pore-blurring effect, whereas other sunscreens can sometimes clog my pores and prevent sweat from beading. I appreciate that the sunscreen is still lightweight enough that my pores can breathe without getting dirty or clogged. 

The Verdict

I’ve tried 10-plus products from Supergoop, and the Unseen Sunscreen is the one beauty product I use the most for traveling and in my day-to-day life. The practically invisible formula makes it easy to reapply every two hours, and the travel-friendly bottles ensure there’s no travel purse too small to stash it in. 

As someone who used the old formula, I can confidently say that the newer Unseen Sunscreen has noticeable improvements that specifically help my busy, frequent-flier lifestyle. I highly recommend picking up any of the travel-size bottles and trying it yourself, especially if you have summer travels on the horizon. 

Why Trust Travel + Leisure

Anna Popp is an associate editor at Travel + Leisure, where she covers apparel, beauty, shoes, and more. She owns various products from Supergoop, and has been using their popular Unseen Sunscreen for three years. She tested the reformulated version for four months while laying by the pool in Arizona and skiing in France (where the UV index was even higher than in Arizona!) 

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