Sun Protection: Oil Free & Matte

It means the filters are carried in a water or gel base instead of an oil one. You get the same protection without the slip and shine that a richer sunscreen leaves behind.

It matters most if you are oily, combination or breakout prone, or if you wear makeup over your SPF and are tired of it sliding off by lunchtime.

Oil free does not mean drying. Most of these still hydrate, they just do it with humectants rather than oils.

They split by texture, and texture is what you will actually notice day to day.

• Heliocare 360 Gel Oil-Free SPF50 and Heliocare 360 Water Gel SPF50 are the lightest, closest to a gel moisturiser
• SkinCeuticals Oil Shield UV Defense Sunscreen SPF50 is the one to reach for if shine control is the main problem
• Elementre SPF50+ Dry Touch Sun Protection finishes genuinely matte and sits well under makeup
• Glo Skin Beauty Oil Free SPF40 is a good everyday option at a slightly lower factor
• Image Skincare Daily Prevention Sheer Matte Moisturizer SPF30 doubles as your moisturiser if you want fewer steps

Yes. UVA comes through cloud and glass and it is the wavelength behind most of the ageing and pigmentation people come to us about. Irish cloud filters the burning rays, not that one.

UVB does drop in winter, so you burn less. But a grey Tuesday in November still delivers UVA to your face on the walk to work and through the office window.

The practical version: wear it every morning from March to October without thinking about it, and keep wearing it in winter if you are using retinol, acids or anything for pigmentation.

Not automatically. Mineral filters sit on top of the skin and chemical filters absorb into the upper layers, but neither is inherently better at controlling oil. That comes down to the base the filters sit in.

• Reform Skincare SPF30 Mineral Sunscreen and Elementre SPF 50+ Mineral Sun Protection Non-Tinted are the mineral options here
• The rest use chemical or hybrid filters and tend to feel lighter

If your skin is reactive or you get stinging from sunscreen, mineral is worth trying. If your issue is purely shine, judge by texture instead.

Two fingers worth for the face and neck, which is more than most people use. Under apply and an SPF50 behaves like an SPF15.

Reapply every two hours if you are outdoors, and after swimming or heavy sweating. For a normal indoor day in Ireland, once in the morning genuinely is enough.

Reapplying over makeup is the awkward part. There is no mist or spray in this collection at the moment, so the practical options are to press a gel formula over the top with clean hands or to top up at the points of the face that catch the most sun.

The chemical and hybrid formulas will not. The two mineral options can leave a slight cast, which is more noticeable on deeper skin tones.

There is no tinted sunscreen in this collection right now, so if a tint is what you want, look at the wider Sun Protection range.

A trick that helps with any mineral formula: apply it in two thin layers rather than one thick one, and give the first a minute to settle.