My friend, code name Bernie, text me about this while I was splashing about in the sideways rain at Byron bay over my New Years break. Thanks for that, cyclone. You’re awesome.

She was a little confused, you see, about which order summer skin care goes. Does the sunscreen or sunblock go under your face cream, or over? And I thought what a great question, Bernie, that deserves fruitification.

The answer of course fruits, is on top of your face cream. Sun protection, (30 plus and protecting you against both UVA [ageing] and UVB [burning], please) should be the last thing you put on your face (before makeup, of course.)

So, ideally you would apply your serum (treatment product), your moisturiser (hydration, antioxidants etc), your sunblock/sunscreen/zinc, and then (your primer if you wear one) and then your makeup.

Of course, you could make life easy and combine your daily moisturiser with your high protection sunblock, which Kit, Mecca, Ultraceuticals, True Solutions, Skincueticals, Invisible Zinc, Clinique and a whole host of other skincare brands will happily allow you to do, provided you hand over some clams for their goodies.

Another way to simplify in summer, (and my GOD I love this product, it’s my summer staple three years running and is so teeny you can take it everywhere, even in that silly coin purse thing you use over summer because your work handbag is monstrously oversized) is to combine your high protection with your foundation, as per Shiseido’s sun protection stick foundation. (Shiseido are renown for their excellence in sun care.)

It’s this teeny little foundation stick full of 30 plusness and broad spectrumness that is waterproof, sweat proof and gives awesome, natural dewy coverage (you just draw on some lines then blend in with fingers), conceals spots (even red, fresh or naughtily picked-at ones) and undereye circles better than pretty much any concealer I’ve tried and is just superb for the beach or the bar or bowling or bungee jumping.

There are a few different shades (I use Ochre) and look, I could go on but the point is that I. Love. It. Much and you might too.