As much as I enjoy using the Sisley Phyto-Blanc Brightening Daily Defence Fluid SPF50 PA++++ it’s just not sustainable long term

I have a bad habit. Often, when I receive a new product, I barely glance at the press release, before filing it away. It is usually when I need some specific information, like price and availability, that I dig it back out. This time, I was faced with a shocker!

I received the Sisley Phyto-Blanc Brightening Daily Defence Fluid SPF50 PA++++ quite a while ago, and because it is basically a sunscreen, I quite happily put it through its paces. Sisley is a luxury brand from France, and while I am very attached to my holy grail sunscreen, I am willing to step out of my comfort zone for the odd trial.

Aside from protecting your skin from UVA and UVB rays that both damage your skin, Sisley has also made this product a two-pronged treatment – to protect, by defending against UV rays, protecting against free radicals, and to hydrate skin; and to treat, by lightening existing pigmentation and dark spots.

Here’s the killer – I thought this was just a sunscreen! Didn’t pay attention. Oops! 😛

To be perfectly fair, I thought this was a pretty decent sunscreen. The texture is rather creamy which can feel heavy to some, but which sits well on my skin. If anything, I found that it tended to be a little bit drying over a few weeks of daily use.

It was then that I realised that this Phyto-Blanc Brightening Daily Defence Fluid is not just a sunscreen, it was also a brightening serum. This explained then, my skin looking a tad brighter than I expected. I thought it was just my eyes playing tricks on me, but my pigmentation appeared to look just a tad lighter, and my skin looked a touch more even toned after the month or so that I was using this product. It was only after I took a look at the release, that I realised what it was! There goes my policy of not using brightening or whitening products LOL! 😀

Personally, I quite liked this as a sunscreen. My skin felt protected, and when I was out in the sun, it did not warm up or turn red. It isn’t scientific, but it’s how I measure a product’s efficacy at protecting my skin. If my skin turns red or warms up, I ditch the product.

That said however, because I consider this a sunscreen, I am pretty generous with my use. The Sisley Phyto-Blanc Brightening Daily Defence Fluid is fairly creamy, but I still use a generous amount, approx a finger’s length, for each part of my face, to ensure that it is fully covered and protected. For this reason, I have a feeling that someone with oily skin may not use sufficient product, if they aren’t careful. The texture can feel a little heavy, and that means you’d likely dial back on the amount used. This is true of all sunscreen.

I do wonder therefore, if the speed at which I noticed the brightening results on my skin was due to the fact that I was using quite a generous amount of product each time.

I was quite happy therefore, to continue using this Sisley Phyto-Blanc Brightening Daily Defence Fluid, and even to recommend it. But I cannot, for one simple reason.

Unless you have a money plant growing in your backyard, or regularly use Sisley products, or are happy to splash out a lot of money on one skincare item, you will likely find this to be an unsustainable purchase. This is because this sunscreen (for that is what I deem it to be) retails at an eye-popping, jaw-dropping RM1,100 | £199 for 50ml.

When I found out how much it cost, I immediately felt I should scale back on how much product I used. Yet, doesn’t that defeat the purpose of using enough sunscreen? I was conflicted. Considering I run through bottles of sunscreen fairly quickly, I can safely say that as lovely as this Sisley Phyto-Blanc Brightening Daily Defence Fluid is, it’s unsustainable for my lifestyle. At this rate, I could buy 7 bottles of my regular sunscreen, that’ll last me about 1.5 years? Better value IMO 😛

IN A NUTSHELL

The Sisley Phyto-Blanc Brightening Daily Defence Fluid SPF50 PA++++ is a sunscreen that also has brightening benefits, so it helps brighten and treat the skin, especially dullyness and dark spots or pigmentation. I noticed results fairly quickly. That said, I am generous with the use of sunscreen, which I treat this product as, and when I found out the price, I decided that it was an unsustainable option for many of us – the rich and very rich excepted. It is hard to justify recommending this, but if the price does not make you blanch, then I have to say that this is a very decent product, that protects my skin and keeps it feeling comfortable, even under the hottest of summer suns.

PROS: Protects skin from sun and keeps it from turning red and heated even after sun exposure, Works on brightening the skin, Lightens dark spots and pigmentation quite noticeably with regular use

CONS: Too expensive to be sustainable for use as a daily sunscreen, Strongly fragranced, A little drying if you have drier skin

WHO WILL LIKE THIS: Anyone for whom money is no object

PRICE: RM1,100 | £199 for 50ml

WHERE TO BUY: All Sisley counters in major department stores, Selfridges

Here is the ingredient list for the Sisley Phyto-Blanc Brightening Daily Defence Fluid.

Are you willing to spend this much on a sunscreen or sun protection product?

I may have expensive tastes but I’m afraid that even this made me blanch. Some of you may remember when I told you about it on Instagram Stories, and your responses were priceless! 😀 But seriously, while I knew Sisley is an expensive brand, I am more likely to be more generous with expenditure on a serum, that might last me 5 months (as most potent serums might) as opposed to a sunscreen that I’m inherently more generous with, and barely lasts me 2 months! But that’s me. If your pockets are deep, look into this. Quite decent!

Paris B