Sephora sent me a small sample of Murad‘s Oil-Free Sunblock SPF 30 and I was surprised at how much I liked it.

Here’s how I use it:
– Wake up, wash face, apply toner, apply Vitamin C serum, apply eye cream, apply sunscreen.

The upsides:
– It’s got a gentle matte finish. I say “gentle” because it’s not a true mattefying product but it does dry in a matte way. This may seem a bit semantic but those of you with oily skin know what I’m talking about. This will not mattefy your skin, but it won’t add to your oiliness. I forgot I’d put it on until the next morning when it was time for me to put sunscreen on. I’ve had experiences where I feel greasy all day and can only think about how greasy my skin feels. That was not the case with this product.
– The fragrance they use is mild and pleasant.
– The company is named for the inventor, Dr. Murad and I like
that he’s a dermatologist and created the products to help people.

The not-so-upsides:
The Ingredients
– This is a chemical sunscreen without any physical sun protective ingredients. I tend towards the products with the physical sunscreen ingredients because they sit on your skin, rather than soak into your skin. Plus, there are a lot of people out there who are sensitive to chemical spf ingredients.
– It’s full of chemicals and parabens. There is nothing natural about it except for:

Additional features and ingredients:
Pomegranate Extract protects skin from free radical damage

(and that doesn’t really do it for me on the wanting natural products front)

The Price Point
– This is a sunscreen that costs over $30. I think that’s a little bit excessive, especially for a chemical sunscreen. If it were a super special, physical block only and it didn’t leave you with “that kabuki look” like many of them do, I’d say it’s worth that price. But, this is just a nice, matte drying, oil free sunscreen. Yes, they are rare but I’m certain I won’t pay full price for a bottle.

If I had a discount, I’d love this product but at that price, I’ll have to take a pass. Sunscreen is important but sometimes there are better things out there that cost less. If you’re going to wear something that’s super good at blocking the sun and full of chemicals, you can get something at the drugstore that will work fine and cost half that.
Those of you that don’t mind the price tag or the chemicals, this is a great choice.