indulge me: what smell reminds you most of your childhood? mine is sunblock. i think my consciousness was awakened with the heavy scent of coppertone. true story. 

the summer heat makes me want to burrow in a fully air-conditioned nuclear bomb shelter. but where’s the fun in that?

so much rhapsody has been sung about sunscreen since baz luhrman came out with that spoken music of the same title, but not enough people (specifically in the country) have actually taken his words to heart. i myself am a sporadic sunscreener, but there were a couple of years when i religiously plastered my face with the best spf i could find. so this year, when i realized my skin investment will mature without me knowing, i reincarnated my childhood love affair with sunblock.

for this active summertime, my favorite is vmv armada sport hands down.

vmv armada sport spf 70

possibly the most powerful protection you can find in the local market, i find that it is also the least noticeable upon application. it goes on clean, and feels light enough even for your face. no need for separate face and body sunblocks. as an avid user of the other products in the armada line, there was no doubt i’d rely on this during that hottest day on the beach.

as for my little girl, who is one year and five months old, there will be no early memories of the usual sunblock smell for her. because i am a stickler to brands, no question as to what sun protection she should get.

vmv armada baby spf 60

gentle enough for even the most sensitive skin, this won’t irritate a child like other chemical sunscreens. plus it has vitamin e beads. whatever that does. i just trust it works…

now that we have our face and body covered, we normally neglect the most sensitive part of our skin: our lips. of course, these need just as much sun protection as the rest of our body. but i don’t think any of us would be too eager to slather sunblock on our peckers. screw that.

we have found the solution:

chapstick ultra spf 30

from good old chapstick comes another lip thingy to keep your kisser soft even against the most intense day under the sun. and how could we go wrong? this is concerned about our health, not just our looks. more than the aesthetic value brought to us by cosmetic companies, chapstick is brought to us by a pharmaceutical company. which means they are dead serious about protecting our lips.

so no need for hiding under that coconut tree. they’ve got you covered.