14 best sunscreen sticks for effortless sun protection all day

The rounded tip of this sunscreen stick works well for applying to lips, around the eyes and on the ears, while the stick’s chunky shape is ideal for larger areas such as the forehead and cheeks. This formula is transparent on the skin, so it can be applied without a mirror when you’re on the move. The texture has the same smoothing benefits of a balm, without leaving any greasiness and without it sliding about – it sits in place both under and on top of make-up. The formula is moisturising, and our skin felt softened with use. The affordable sunscreen stick is comforting on the skin and lips, making it ideal for those with sensitive skin and for children.

This bargain buy is water- and sweat-resistant, with broad spectrum SPF50 protection. Although the holder is quite compact, the wide stick provides easy coverage of an area of skin in one sweep. The size is a generous 25g, so the purse-friendly price offers good value for money. The formula feels smoothing and gentle when applied and it’s suitable for sensitive skin.

We’ve been using this sunscreen stick on the whole family, with the comforting vegan-friendly formula easy for kids to grab and apply. It can be swiped onto wet skin, too, which is handy for pool time on holiday or while doing exercise. Although the stick is white, the formula goes on sheer, and it doesn’t leave any residue.

We were drawn immediately to the sunny orange formula of this SPF stick, which has a summery fresh citrus scent. The packaging seems robust for chucking in our bag, and the twist-up tube releases just enough product at a time. It’s transparent on the skin and strikes the optimum balance in achieving smoothing coverage without creating excess shine. Because of that, the sunscreen didn’t cause our make-up base to slide off and instead added a subtle layer of SPF to be seamlessly topped up regularly.

Although this is technically an SPF lip balm, our tester has also been using this slimline stick for sunscreen top-ups around the eyes. The twist-up SPF stick offers broad spectrum factor 50 protection, while including skin-soothing ingredients such as argan oil, vitamin E and shea butter. It glides or dabs onto the skin with ease, offering buildable product coverage that is lightweight on delicate skin around the eyes. Our tester likes the subtly sweet, creamy scent, too.

This multi-tasking SPF has two components – the nozzle, releasing SPF50 cream, and an SPF30 lipstick in the tube’s cap. You can alternate between the two, depending on which area of your face you’re focusing on.

The stick element is quite small in proportion to the rest of the SPF tube, but its rounded shape neatly hugs lips and leaves a thick creamy-scented coating, thanks to ingredients such as synthetic wax and vanilla. We appreciated this effect on days our lips were chapped.

This broad spectrum SPF30 stick smells like banana and contains vitamin E and aloe – calming ingredients. The twist-up stick is very easy to use, releasing a transparent balm-like SPF, which we smoothed over the skin on our face. It’s quite handy to cover places such as the tops of ears, too.

We were careful to keep it out of direct sunlight when not in use, though, to prevent it from melting. A water-resistant vegan-friendly buy, the stick is also nice and light for carrying around.

As the name suggests, this sunscreen stick is completely transparent on the skin.  We’re fans of the refreshing citrus scent, fun purple packaging, and how effortlessly the stick glides over both face and body. Lightweight and suitable for sensitive skin, the formula is infused with oils and has a slight greasiness – it works best on drier areas. Sweat- and water-resistant to boot, the substantial stick is a decent size, so it should last for ages.

This treat SPF buy is also tinted to cleverly double up as a demi-matte make-up base, which we were particularly impressed by. The mineral sunscreen includes moisturising ingredients, such as shea butter and mango seed butter, which we found softened the skin and balanced the complexion. The water-resistant formula is a smoothing, tinted SPF50 stick that stays put, without any product sliding off. We liked how fresh our skin looked with this on, too.

This clear, broad-spectrum stick is presented in a twist-up tube and has a moisturising finish from nourishing ingredients such as Amazonian oil. We saw a glowing effect, minus any excess product residue, and the formula absorbed into the skin without feeling greasy. As well as creating coverage across our face, we applied it to our neck, décolletage, and shoulders, as a sunscreen top-up throughout the day. Our tester noticed a dewiness, and this stick doubled up as a highlighter for our cheekbones and Cupid’s bow.

This white SPF50 stick didn’t leave any chalky residue and required limited rubbing in, with the formula spreading easily over the face and body and absorbing well.

The buttery finish from ingredients such as shea and cocoa butter felt comforting on our easily irritated skin, too. Plus, there’s only a slight scent, which is ideal if you prefer SPF with minimal fragrance.

This Coola number has a dreamy tropical coconut scent, which immediately gets us in the mood for summer – and it’s transparent on the skin, making for easy application. The twist-up stick is wide enough to offer generous coverage with one swipe, and we found it quick and easy to top up on the go. Thanks to the inclusion of fruit and seed oil extracts, the formula felt comforting on the skin, but there was no greasy residue or excess shine. Instead, we saw an invisible, moisturised layer that worked well on bare skin and over make-up.

This stylish SPF stick is presented in a tall, slimline tube and comes complete with a metallic lid and iridescent branding. Not only does the sunscreen stick offer SPF50 protection, but it also delivers a subtle shimmery finish – a bit like a creamy highlighter balm. We found the lightweight packaging reveals a stick shaped somewhere between a lip balm, concealer and a highlighter, offering easy application on cheeks, lips and even eyelids.

The satisfyingly thick consistency doesn’t feel greasy and glides easily onto the skin without pulling, and it stays put. We’ve been reaching for it to top up our SPF throughout the day while also adding a sheer, gentle golden effect that creates a healthy-looking glow on the skin.

The watermelon-scented SPF stick comes complete with skincare ingredients, including balancing niacinamide and hydration-promoting hyaluronic acid. The curved lid reveals a glossy transparent and slightly pink-tinted stick, which has a fruity fragrance instantly reminding us of summer.

We noted a glossy effect when applying the SPF and it has a lightweight, shiny finish. For this reason, it can cause make-up to slide a little, so, we’d not use this over a heavy base. We liked the light, sweet, fresh scent and the fact it’s invisible when applied to the skin.

As well as providing SPF50 coverage, this transparent sunscreen stick is water- and sweat-resistant, making it a practical pick for exercising, swimming, commuting and hot or rainy days. The twist-up stick has rounded edges for applying to lips, eyelids, ears and other small areas. But it also has a wide shape, easily gliding over cheeks, forehead and neck for top-ups.

As it’s completely transparent, there was no residue during testing, and we wore the SPF under and over make-up, applying it throughout the day. The SPF added a sheeny, weightless layer and left a slight dewy effect, which felt hydrating on dry skin.