This SPF Is a Constant Sellout Risk in London and Paris—I Swear Its New U.S. Version Is Even Glowier

At this point, I think we can make the call that international sunscreens are just… better. The UV filters are more sophisticated, the textures are far creamier, and the user experience is a million times more sensorial. There’s a reason beauty editors hoard bottles whenever they find themselves across the pond! So whenever I catch whispers of an overseas sunscreen gearing up for a stateside debut, I’m itching to get my hands (and legs and face and pretty much every inch of exposed skin) on the buzzy launch. Now, when said launch comes from one of the most respected plastic surgeons in the industry? I’d cross oceans to add it to my collection.

Such is the case when I flew out to Wymara Turks and Caicos to meet with Yannis Alexandrides, MD, FACS, the expert founder behind London-based skincare line 111Skin. The brand’s Repair Sunscreen SPF 50 is a no-brainer buy in Europe—even used on the set of Emily in Paris season four!—thanks to how seamlessly it layers underneath makeup. I wasn’t sure how the U.S. version of the celeb-obsessed formula would measure up, but after putting it to the test under the scorching Caribbean sun, I can officially confirm: This might be the only sunscreen I actually prefer over its international counterpart.

Below, discover everything you need to know about the just-launched SPF, including its cutting-edge technology, ingredients, and application (the latter of which will surprise you, I promise!).

The Formula: A Potent Blend of Serum-Level Actives

While the UK version uses chemical UV filters, The Sunscreen SPF 50 is a 100% mineral formula, calling upon broad-spectrum zinc oxide for optimal protection. (We’ll get to how that changes the user experience in just a moment.) Other than that, the key ingredients remain similar: polyglutamic acid, which minimizes the evaporation of water from the skin during sun exposure; plant extracts to reduce signs of inflammation; white mulberry root to fend off oxidative stress and prevent hyperpigmentation; and NAC Y², the brand’s patented trio of super antioxidants that stimulate collagen and address skin aging at the cellular level.

If those players sound like they belong in a high-tech serum as opposed to a sunscreen, well, you wouldn’t be wrong. 111Skin features NAC Y² in a smattering of signature products, from serums to eye creams to cleansers, but it was especially important to Alexandrides to include it in his SPF. “[Sunscreen] is probably the most important [skincare] product,” he says, sitting across from me on the crisp white couch at Wymara’s Villas + Beach Club, a private luxury oasis just minutes away from the resort’s main property. (Hot tip: 111Skin recently partnered with the resort, so you can treat yourself to its products in a number of luxurious spa services.) “Protecting your skin from the sun is really the most significant step you can take to future-proof your skin from aging, pigmentation, all the problems that arise from photoaging… We wanted to create a product that would combine a lot of different synergies, not just launch [sunscreen] for the sake of it.”

In short, if Alexandrides was going to launch a sunscreen, he wanted it to do more than protect—he wanted it to repair past damage too. “Even the best SPF will not protect you 100% from the sun. The sun will still filter through and will absorb to some degree through your skin; we’re only decreasing the amount that we absorbing,” Alexandrides explains. “So it’s about filtering the sun and also reversing the damage [at the same time] that it is happening.” To formulate such a sunscreen required very complex chemistry, so much so that it took five years to create the UK version—plus an extra 12 months for the U.S. debut.

Given those sophisticated, potent actives, this sunscreen does fall on the pricier side, tagged at $130. (111Skin is a luxury skincare brand, after all!) But again, a sunscreen with this many high-powered actives plays double (or even triple) duty. In a perfect world, yes, you would use a proper skin-repairing serum followed by a nourishing face cream, and then top off your routine with SPF. “However, for a lot of people, this is not possible, or they don’t have motivation to do it,” Alexandrides says. “We want to give them as much protection as we can with one product.” Think of it more like three skin-rejuvenating products wrapped into one, and the cost feels a little less hefty. Its glowy results are also priceless—but more on that later.

The Application: Milky, Lightweight, and So Glowy