No7 Protect & Perfect Intense Advanced Day Cream SPF 30 for oily acne-prone skin
Glycerin
Tocopheryl Acetate
Ascorbyl Glucoside
Sodium Hyaluronate
Butyrospermum Parkii Butter Shea ButterAverage
- AverageOily Skin Fit
- AverageEffectiveness
- HighSafety
Works for oily acne-prone skin; other sunscreens fit it better.
- Clinical, Cosmetic and Investigational Dermatology, 2017
- Contemporary Clinical Trials Communications, 2021
This fit is calculated for the concerns frequently associated with oily acne-prone skin: shine, breakouts, blemishes, and enlarged pores. For scores and recommendations based on your full skin profile, including your 12D face scan results and any goals or preferences you have, please use the Lovi app.
Page built Nov 8, 2026How the Fit score works
Lovi Assistant explains
- Offers moderate moisturizing and UV protection for your oily skin, with glycerin and sodium hyaluronate providing hydration while C12-15 Alkyl Benzoate offers sun protection.
- While it provides general skincare benefits, it lacks specialized ingredients like salicylic acid or niacinamide to effectively target your acne, blemishes, and breakouts.
- The safety profile is good, with no risks of irritation for your oily skin due to the absence of prohibited or harsh ingredients.
How to apply
- Use your moisturizing sunscreen every morning. Reapply throughout the day if you are outside.
- Apply this moisturizing sunscreen as the final step of your morning routine after your moisturizer.
- Gently smooth a nickel-sized amount over your face and neck, avoiding harsh rubbing to keep oily areas calm.
- Apply this moisturizing sunscreen on clean, dry skin to ensure even coverage and protection.
- Avoid getting the product into your eyes and do a patch test before your first use.
People Say
★4.5Overall rating based on 1.9k+ reviewsBased on a very large amount of data, users with mature or dry skin frequently praise this cream for its rich hydration and ability to smooth fine lines while providing daily sun protection. A notable minority of users experience sensitivity, particularly stinging eyes and breakouts, suggesting it may be too heavy or fragrant for oily and sensitive skin types.
Highlights
Deeply hydrating Mostly Mentioned
- “keeps me moisturized all day”
- “skin feels hydrated and plump”
- “rich but absorbs well”
Improves skin texture Often Mentioned
- “fine lines appear reduced”
- “leaves skin feeling soft”
- “smoothens crepey neck”
Effective sun protection Sometimes Noted
- “never gotten sunburnt with it”
- “love the added SPF 30”
- “protects from winter sun”
Works under makeup Sometimes Noted
- “foundation looks smooth on top”
- “non-greasy base for makeup”
- “absorbs well before applying cosmetics”
Eye irritation Sometimes Noted
- “causes severe eye irritation”
- “eyes burn by midday”
- “stings if it migrates”
Strong fragrance Sometimes Noted
- “smell is too strong”
- “fragrance caused headache”
- “prefer the fragrance-free version”
Greasy residue Rarely Noted
- “too oily for my t-zone”
- “left a greasy film”
- “made me break out”
Texture issues Rarely Noted
- “rolled off my skin”
- “felt heavy and mask-like”
- “too thick for summer”
Sources: lovi.care, influenster.com, ulta.com, walmart.com, target.com, boots.com, and more
Questions and answers
How well does No7 Protect & Perfect Intense Advanced Day Cream work for oily acne-prone skin?
This cream provides moderate moisture and sun protection that is unlikely to irritate your skin, though it lacks targeted ingredients for breakouts. A product of this type needs lightweight hydrating ingredients that control excess oil and specialized ingredients like salicylic acid or niacinamide to effectively clear acne and blemishes.
Which ingredients make this cream a good fit for oily acne-prone skin?
Glycerin and sodium hyaluronate make this cream a good fit by providing hydration without a heavy feel. Oily acne-prone skin needs a lightweight moisturizer with targeted ingredients like salicylic acid or niacinamide to help clear blemishes and prevent breakouts.
What does Glycerin do for oily acne-prone skin?
Glycerin helps keep oily acne-prone skin hydrated without feeling heavy. It draws moisture into the skin while supporting the skin barrier so it stays soft and balanced.
The British Journal of Dermatology, 2008Clinical, Cosmetic and Investigational Dermatology, 2017
What does Vitamin E do for oily acne-prone skin?
Vitamin E is unlikely to clog pores on oily skin and may help calm dryness and redness when you use treatments. Because this skin type needs lightweight hydration and ingredients that protect the barrier without feeling heavy, this product type works best when it balances moisture while keeping pores clear.
Contemporary Clinical Trials Communications, 2021Giornale Italiano Di Dermatologia E Venereologia, 2014
Where does this cream go in a skincare routine for oily acne-prone skin?
This moisturizing spf goes in the morning routine after your hydrating toner. It offers moderate hydration and sun protection for your oily skin, though an oily acne-prone skin needs a product with specialized blemish-fighting ingredients like salicylic acid or niacinamide to effectively target breakouts.
Can I use this cream with niacinamide, and in what order?
You can use this cream alongside niacinamide by applying your niacinamide treatment first and following with this moisturizer to keep your oily skin hydrated. This product is unlikely to cause irritation since it lacks harsh ingredients, though to properly care for breakouts, this skin type needs targeted ingredients like salicylic acid or niacinamide.
How often should I use this cream?
This cream works well for daily morning use to keep your oily skin moisturized and protected from the sun. Daily applications help maintain skin hydration and improve overall texture.
Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, 2020Health Science Reports, 2021
Can this cream clog pores, cause breakouts or purging for oily acne-prone skin?
This cream is unlikely to cause irritation on oily skin, but because it lacks ingredients like salicylic acid or niacinamide, it does not target acne or breakouts. Oily, acne-prone skin needs specialized ingredients that clear pores and control blemishes.
Is this cream fragrance-free and alcohol-free?
It contains fragrance (parfum) and drying alcohol (alcohol denat).
What the research says
A single application of a moisturizing fluid containing hyaluronic acid 1%, glycerin 5%, and Centella asiatica stem cells extract significantly increased skin hydration by 29% and reduced transepidermal water loss at 24 hours compared to baseline and an untreated control site in twenty healthy women.
Clinical, Cosmetic and Investigational Dermatology, 2017Dermatological products containing d-alpha tocopheryl acetate showed non-comedogenic potential with less than a 50% increase in microcomedones in 12 healthy male subjects compared to octyl palmitate.
Contemporary Clinical Trials Communications, 2021The emollient V0034CR significantly reduced TEWL compared to vehicle and vehicle plus glycerol, and significantly increased corneometry scores compared to vehicle and vehicle plus petrolatum in healthy volunteers with dry skin, demonstrating combined barrier function improvement from petrolatum and hydration improvement from glycerol.
Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, 2020Ten days of treatment with a cream containing 20% glycerin significantly increased skin hydration measured by corneometer values in 17 healthy volunteers compared to a placebo cream, but showed no influence on transepidermal water loss or skin sensitivity to an irritating surfactant.
International Journal of Cosmetic Science, 2001Niacinamide/glycerin body moisturizers provided better rapid and prolonged improvement of cosmetic xerosis through functional improvement of stratum corneum barrier function compared to no treatment and conventional moisturizers in female subjects.
Journal of Drugs in Dermatology, 2012Topical application of an antioxidant serum containing 15% ascorbic acid, 0.5% ferulic acid, and 1% tocopherol prevented particulate matter-induced degradation of extracellular matrix components, inflammation, and oxidative stress in the skin of 15 female volunteers compared to untreated controls.
Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, 2025Topical application of an antioxidant mix containing 15% ascorbic acid, 0.5% ferulic acid, and 1% tocopherol prevented PM and UV-induced skin barrier perturbation, lipid peroxidation, inflammatory markers, MMP9 activation, and Type I collagen loss in 15 healthy females compared to untreated exposed skin.
Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, 2024A topical antioxidant serum significantly reduced air pollution-induced skin pigmentation and proinflammatory gene expression ex vivo, and improved skin aging signs in 40 healthy adult females after 90 days of daily use.
Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, 2022Topical application of 5% vitamin C cream significantly improved global clinical scores, increased skin microrelief density, and induced elastic tissue repair in photoaged skin compared to excipient control in healthy female volunteers.
Experimental Dermatology, 2003Ascorbic acid 2-glucoside gel significantly reduced gingival melanin pigmentation after 4 weeks compared to placebo in 73 subjects with symmetric pigmentation.
Journal of Periodontology, 2009Topical application of VC-IP cream twice daily for 8 weeks reduces periorbital wrinkles in female subjects compared to a placebo cream.
Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, 2022Topical application of 0.1% hyaluronic acid formulations of different molecular weights led to significant improvements in skin hydration and elasticity, with low-molecular-weight formulations also significantly reducing wrinkle depth in seventy-six female subjects compared to a vehicle control.
Journal of Drugs in Dermatology, 2011Topical application of hyaluronic acid in conjunction with free gingival graft significantly reduced donor site postoperative pain until day 7 compared to normal saline, with no significant differences in graft dimensions or patient satisfaction.
Clinical Oral Investigations, 2022Treatment with a hyaluronic acid-containing mouth rinse or topical gel led to significant lesion reduction, pain relief, and normalization of lesion color in adult patients with minor recurrent aphthous stomatitis, with the gel formulation showing an earlier healing onset at 3 days.
BMC Oral Health, 2019A combination cream of stimu-tex AS and saccharide isomerate reduced erythema, increased skin capacitance, and reduced transepidermal water loss compared to placebo in 20 subjects after fractional CO2 laser procedure without causing serious adverse events.
Lasers in Medical Science, 2025A skin barrier restoring cream with shea butter, silkflo, and vitamin E increased type I procollagen synthesis, enhanced antioxidant enzyme activity, decreased reactive oxygen species generation, and promoted hyaluronic acid production in H2O2-stimulated human keratinocyte cells compared to untreated cells.
International Journal of Cosmetic Science, 2025
Why other sunscreens fit oily acne-prone skin better
Biomimetic hyaluronic acid-stabilized zinc oxide nanoparticles selectively inhibited C. acnes, outperformed erythromycin in preclinical acne models, and safely reduced acne lesions and redness in a clinical trial.
Journal of Controlled Release, 2025Topical 0.5% hyaluronic-ZnO nanogel applied twice daily reduced inflammatory-lesion counts by 58% at week four in human subjects compared to baseline without causing erythema.
Biomedicines, 2025
Ingredients
Water, C12-15 Alkyl Benzoate, Glycerin, Alcohol Denat, Cetearyl Glucoside, Cyclopentasiloxane, Dimethicone, Cyclohexasiloxane, Tribehenin, Cetearyl Alcohol, Methyl Methacrylate Cross-Polymer, Ammonium Acryloyldimethyltaurate Vp Copolymer, Phenoxyethanol, Tocopheryl Acetate, Potassium Cetyl Phosphate, Dimethiconol, Parfum, Methylparaben, Ethylparaben, Sodium Pca, Xanthan Gum, Zinc Pca, Ascorbyl Glucoside, Tetrasodium Edta, Magnesium Pca, T-Butyl Alcohol, Dipropylene Glycol, Witch Hazel Water, Potassium Hydroxide, Manganese Pca, Simethicone, Potassium Sorbate, Sodium Hyaluronate, Butyrospermum Parkii Butter Shea Butter, Retinyl Palmitate, Hydrolyzed Rice Protein, Panax Ginseng Root Extract, Morus Alba Leaf Extract, Acetyl Dipeptide-1 Cetyl Ester, Dimethylmethoxy Chromanol, Ethylhexylglycerin, Palmitoyl Tripeptide-1, Palmitoyl Tetrapeptide-7
Behind this fit score
Lovi calculates every fit score from the full ingredient list with brand-independent rules our dermatologists and cosmetic chemists build and review, and personalizes every pick with AI trained on the real results of millions of users. Lovi trains its fit score models on a proprietary dataset built from more than 10,000 expert-labeled products and more than 100,000 simulated examples, following an internally consistent methodology presented at Cosmoprof, AMWC, and Skin of Color Update.
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Co-founder, Medical Director
Cosmetic chemist, cosmetologist, aesthetic products developer
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Co-founder, CEO and CTO
PhD in computer science, 3x US patent holder, ex-Google, ex-Yandex
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Dr. Sofía Perea Pérez, MD, MSc
Medical Board
Aesthetic medicine practitioner, MSc in Longevity and Anti-Aging Medicine
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Medical Board
Specialist dermatologist, MBBS, MD, IFAAD
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Medical Board
Cosmetic chemist, SCS, IFSCC member
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Medical Board, Medical Advisor
Dermatology MD
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Elina Nazarenko, MD
Medical Board
Dermatology and diagnostic consultant
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Victoria Derkova, MS
Medical Board
Cosmetic chemist, cosmetic development technologist
How does it fit your skin?
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