The luxury skincare maker is launching its first-ever sunscreen this month.

No matter how many serums you smooth on or the number of treatments you’re getting in-clinic, your efforts could be in vain if you’re skipping this vital skincare step: sunscreen.

Think of sunscreen as your first line of defense against harmful UVA and UVB rays, environmental aggressors and premature ageing. A champion of your complexion, a defender of your dermis.

The best sunscreen to buy is the one you’ll actually use, but for those of us looking to try something new, New Zealand skincare maker Antipodes has introduced its first-ever sunscreen.

It sold out within 12 days of launching in Europe, and now the new Antipodes Supernatural SPF50+ Ceramide Silk Facial Sunscreen has landed on our shores – a 100 per cent natural-origin mineral sunscreen which slots seamlessly into any daily skincare ritual.

The sixth product to be added to Antipodes’ selection of skin brightening skincare (which also includes its Diem Vitamin C Pigment-Correcting Water Cream), this glow-giving sunscreen offers broad spectrum protection against both UVA and UVB rays – a must in harsh New Zealand sun.

More than this, its unique blend of certified vegan ingredients promises no white cast and a smooth, even finish when applied under makeup.

Think reef-friendly, non-nano zinc oxide, ceramides and coconut derivatives to lock in moisture, soften and smooth skin, replenishing the skin’s barrier.

This unique cocktail of ingredients helped create its silky texture; tricky to achieve with zinc-based mineral sunscreens (some tend to pill when layered with other products).

For Antipodes founder and CEO Elizabeth Barbalich, an SPF product has been the brand’s top requested product for the better part of two decades.

“It’s a long-awaited product which has been difficult to formulate,” Elizabeth says, adding it’s taken almost two years to see it land on shelves.

The reason? For Antipodes’ SPF to be sold across the Ditch, it had to be formulated to meet Australia’s strict Therapeutic Goods Administration guidelines, which treats sunscreen as a medical-grade product.

“Sunscreens need to have a Therapeutic Goods License to be sold in Australia, which meant we had to find a manufacturer there who would help us create a natural formulation,” Elizabeth says.

“It’s common sense though, right? For a product to protect your skin from burning, then of course it should go through a therapeutic process to prove that. We wanted to create a 100 per cent natural origin formula which could not only meet that SPF50 level but feel good on skin.”

What’s the difference between mineral and chemical, I hear you ask?

The difference lies in how each formula blocks UV rays. Mineral formulations block UV rays using physical compounds like zinc or titanium dioxide to form a physical barrier, while chemical (or synthetic) formulas absorb into skin.

Elizabeth’s hard work paid off, with the newly launched product receiving rave reviews from overseas publications like Harper’s Bazaar and Marie Claire for its mineral sunscreen formula that offers high sun protection whilst infusing your skin with ceramides, leaving it luminous all day long.

“We’ve been quite overwhelmed by the response we’ve had in Europe for it. People are loving the application and the limited white cast,” Elizabeth says.

“We’ve had some amazing articles come out of Vogue in France and Poland, as well as those outlier countries where this is a new concept for them. We’re really pleased.”

While most Kiwis have had the importance of wearing sunscreen daily drilled into them from a young age, Elizabeth says slightly more education was needed when breaking into the European market.

“European markets are less sun-savvy – the women love to get in the sun and don’t want a barrier on their skin. While there’s healthy aspects of sunlight, like vitamin D exposure, it’s been a bit of a mindset shift to remind those in the Northern Hemisphere why they should apply it regularly,” Elizabeth says.

It’s no mean feat for what began as a boutique beauty brand out of Pōneke back in 2006. Today, Antipodes is sold in some of Europe’s most prestigious retailers across the globe, including French department store Galeries Lafayette.

But what will always make Elizabeth the proudest is launching her products on home soil.

“It’s nice to be coming into the New Zealand market knowing we’ve got a product that’s proven. For me, it’s quite a serious product – it’s not just moisturising or trying to inhibit pigmentation, it’s much more than that,” she says.

“There’s no room for grey areas when it comes to sunscreen.”

The new Antipodes Supernatural SPF50+ Ceramide Silk Facial Sunscreen is available from Farmers, Life Pharmacy, Unichem, Chemist Warehouse and selected stores nationwide, or online at Antipodesnature.com.