Model Winnie Harlow told me she uses this $45 product every day for a 'luminous glow'

It's a blindingly sunny day and Winnie Harlow is telling me the story behind Cay Skin, her SPF skincare brand. While she's recounting the severe sunburn that helped inspire Cay Skin, I have my hand up, blocking the sun from my eyes — a detail that seems appropriate, considering we're talking about sunscreen.

"In 2018, I had a photoshoot in the Bahamas in the blazing heat where I was asked to skip sun protection due to the white cast that many sunscreens leave on darker skin," she tells Yahoo Canada. "I ended up severely sunburned, in extreme pain and severely inflamed. The burns affected me not just physically, but emotionally as well as it altered my vitiligo forever."

That "horrible" sunburn ended up being instrumental in the creation of Cay Skin. It highlighted a gap in the market, Harlow explains, for an efficacious sunscreen that "blended seamlessly" into all skin tones.

"It was important for me to make products for everyone — every skin tone, freckle, body type and beauty mark," says the Mississauga-born model.

Since launching Cay Skin in the spring of last year, the brand's Isle Glow Face Moisturizer SPF 45 has become a daily staple for Harlow.

Sephora

Cay Skin Isle Glow Face Moisturizer SPF 45

Cay Skin's Isle Glow Face Moisturizer SPF 45 is an antioxidant-packed daily face sunscreen that gives skin an island glow.

$45 at Sephora

"I never leave the house without [it]," she says.

"I apply it with or without makeup" because of the "effortless, luminous glow" it gives.

Formulated with niacinamide and gentle island-based ingredients like sea moss, the pearlescent sunscreen is designed to blend into all skin tones and leave a glowy finish.

It gives "my skin a dewy, natural glow," she tells Yahoo Canada.

Cay Skin launched exclusively at Sephora Canada earlier this spring, and Harlow's go-to moisturizer has already racked up hundreds of five-star reviews.

"I'm truly obsessed with [this] SPF," writes one reviewer. "The instant glow it gives is amazing."

"I have oily skin," they continue, and "my face does not feel greasy at all."

"This is my favourite SPF," writes another shopper. "It gives deep hydration, and the glow it leaves behind is absolutely stunning. It makes me confident to leave the house without makeup."

The Isle Glow is a "holy grail" sunscreen, lauds a third reviewer. It's "lightweight and effective and has the perfect amount of shimmer."

While some Sephora reviewers say the sunscreen "checks all the boxes," others note it leaves a "noticeable artificial shimmer."

"The glow looks like I've applied highlighter all over my face," according to one shopper. "It's not a 'dewy' glow like I'd prefer."

To shop more from Winnie Harlow's Cay Skin, scroll below.

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