Cheap Australian SPF Reviews: Coles, Woolworths, Aldi

A lot of my favourite sunscreens aren’t the most budget-friendly.

Unfortunately sunscreen testing and development is pretty expensive, and if you want to formulate an SPF product that’s really pleasant to use as well as being effective, it can be a long expensive process of trial and error.

Enter: economy of scale.

We have two major supermarkets in Australia: Coles and Woolworths.

They’re pretty much a duopoly and there’s some intense competition when it comes to prices. Their supply chains are really optimised, the volumes they sell are massive, and they’re known to sell things below cost price to get people into stores.

That, combined with the fact that sunscreen is sort of part of our culture (every Australian kid in the 90s grew up with Slip Slop Slap slogans), means we have some really cheap sunscreens.

We’re talking $2.25 for a 100 mL tube (because of course their prices match), which means $0.85 USD for a tube the size of Biore Watery Essence.

And if you get the 1 L pump for $8.50, it works out to be $0.425 AUD or $0.30 USD for a Biore Watery Essence tube.

There’s also Aldi, and as per their usual MO they’ve undercut both by offering their 100 mL tubes for $2.19.

It does feel a bit like you can’t trust something this cheap.

But at the same time, these are from the largest supermarkets here, so I had to try them out. And I was pleasantly surprised!

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Body versus Face sunscreens

These aren’t specifically face sunscreens, so I wasn’t really expecting much.

There’s no reason you can’t use body sunscreens on your face, but much like 2-in-1 conditioning shampoos, you generally have a better time if it’s tailored for a specific purpose.

One big difference between face and body sunscreens is the feel. Sunscreens are pretty heavy by default.

The active ingredients are generally oils, or substances that need to be dissolved or suspended in oils, so usually there’s a lot of oil involved.

There are ways to get around the heaviness. Some more expensive ingredients can be used to lighten the feel, but brands usually don’t bother with these for body sunscreens since people don’t mind heavy body products as much.

It also keeps the sticker shock down, since body products come in a larger volume.

The other main difference between face and body products is the way they spread on skin.

Face products usually use ingredients that don’t spread out as easily, while body products have a longer spreading formula so you can cover more surface area in a shorter amount of time. Usually it’s the oils used in the formula that change the spread.

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We usually don’t notice this difference because when it’s done right, it isn’t noticeable. But if you’ve ever used a rejected face moisturiser on your legs, for example, you might notice that it doesn’t spread as far as you expect.

Or you might notice that a body lotion seems to slide around too much on your face, and doesn’t sink in properly.

Coles Ultra Sunscreen

Coles Ultra Sunscreen SPF 50+ is the sunscreen they sell in the most pack sizes (100 mL, 200 mL, 500 mL, 1 L). The 100 mL version comes in a tube, while the larger ones come with pumps.

The sunscreen actives in this are really basic. They’re old school filters that are all approved in the US. This has the highest SPF rating allowed in Australia, and is 4 hours water resistant.

The thing that surprised me most was the texture. It was actually very nice, much nicer than a lot of more expensive sunscreens I’ve tried!

It’s a lotion that goes on white but dries clear if you wait. It does slide around a little, but it wasn’t unmanageable. It dries down to be quite moisturising and shiny, with a very thin, slightly greasy film on top.

But it didn’t pill under my makeup, and if you apply some powder on top (I use a starch-based powder, like Jurlique or Innisfree) the shine goes away.

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It’s still not as nice as my favourite sunscreens, but I’d rate this only a touch below the Bondi Sands Lotion, which is considered incredible in the US and the UK.

Active ingredients: Avobenzone 4%, Homosalate 10%, Octocrylene 8%, Octisalate 5%
Excipients: Acrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer, Alkyl (C12-15) Benzoate, Aloe Vera, Caprylyl Glycol, Carbomer 941, Citric Acid, DL-alpha-Tocopheryl Acetate, Fragrance (Perfume), Glycerol, Octanohydroxamic Acid, PEG-15 Cocamine, PEG-40 Stearate, Purified Water, Silicon Dioxide, Trolamine, White Beeswax

Woolworths Everyday Sunscreen

Woolworths Everyday Sunscreen SPF 50+ is incredibly similar to the Coles sunscreen, although it was registered first. It has the same active ingredients, at the same percentages, and is produced by the same lab that makes the Coles sunscreen.

But surprisingly, the inactive ingredients are a bit different, and the final product feels quite different. This is a bit more solid coming out of the tube, and seems to apply a little more easily. Other than that, everything else is pretty much the same.

Active ingredients: Avobenzone 4%, Homosalate 10%, Octocrylene 8%, Octisalate 5%
Excipients: Acrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer, Alkyl (C12-15) Benzoate, Aloe Vera, Caprylyl Glycol, Carbomer 941, Citric Acid, DL-alpha-Tocopheryl Acetate, Fragrance (Perfume), Glycerol, Octanohydroxamic Acid, PEG-15 Cocamine, PEG-40 Stearate, Purified Water, Silicon Dioxide, Trolamine, White Beeswax

Aldi sunscreens

Aldi have three equally cheap sunscreens in their range: Ultra, Everyday and Sensitive. They’re all SPF 50+ and 4 hours water resistant, and they’re all $2.19 for a 100 mL tube.

Aldi have a habit of copying other brands, so I don’t think the names Ultra and Everyday are a coincidence.

On my skin, Everyday is virtually identical in feel and texture to the Woolworths Everyday Sunscreen, although they have quite different ingredient lists, for both the active and inactive ingredients. It’s still a pretty good dupe.

Ultra feels very similar but is perhaps a little less shiny. It applied a bit whiter on my skin at first, but the white faded away to transparent after a few minutes.

Interestingly both of these Aldi sunscreens contain oxybenzone, which has become a lot harder to find in Australia.

Oxybenzone is safe in sunscreens, but it’s the ingredient that tends to have the most health and environmental concerns (albeit overblown), so it’s understandable that most sunscreen companies have moved away from using it.

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Overall

Because all four sunscreens were so similar, I’m going to put all of the similarities here:

• Coles Ultra Sunscreen SPF 50+
• Woolworths Everyday Sunscreen SPF 50+
• Ultra Sunscreen Lotion SPF 50+
• Everyday Sunscreen Lotion SPF 50+

All of these were surprisingly lightweight.

All left a thin shiny layer that goes away with powder.

I use a starch-based powder from Jurlique, but if you want to keep everything super budget-friendly you can probably get away with using a very light dusting of corn starch from the grocery aisle (although it might have a less fine texture, and it’s a bit more fiddly since you’ll want to transfer it into a container).

All four of these sunscreens were actually pretty good in the feel department. They don’t seem that great next to super lightweight face sunscreens, but I’ve definitely tried face sunscreens that were much heavier than these.

If you’re Australian and you’re looking for a budget sunscreen you should probably try these if you haven’t already – if one of these ends up working for you then you’re going to save a lot of money and hassle!

If not, they make great body sunscreens.

If you visit Australia I highly recommend getting one of these, and wearing it when you go do outdoor tourist things.

We have some of the strictest guidelines in the world for sunscreens, so these have a good chance of keeping you protected!

Always read the label and follow the directions for use. Limit sun exposure and use protective clothing, hats and eye wear. Reapply sunscreen regularly.