Nivea Refreshing Day Cream SPF 15
76/100 overall score
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About this sunscreen
Nivea Refreshing Day Cream SPF 15 is a moisturizer with a hybrid filter set that pairs the modern Tinosorb S (Bis-Ethylhexyloxyphenol Methoxyphenyl Triazine) with Avobenzone and salicylate filters. It wears with a balanced finish, stays lightweight, and shows little white cast, with a good fit under makeup, though the sweat-sting reading is medium. Pore-clogging risk is low. With good protection for its low SPF 15 and a score of 75.7/100, it is a pleasant daily moisturizer rather than a high-SPF sunscreen.
Ingredient & SPF scores
☀️
UV protection
Good
62
- +8 Ethylhexyl Salicylate at #3, UV filter
- +28.5 Butyl Methoxydibenzoylmethane at #7, UV filter (UVA1 +15.2)
- +11.2 Phenylbenzimidazole Sulfonic Acid at #12, UV filter
- +14.4 Bis-Ethylhexyloxyphenol Methoxyphenyl Triazine at #21, UV filter (UVA1 +4.8)
☢️
Health safety
High
90
- +100 Starting score
- −10 Avobenzone at #7 (regulatory/evidence concern)
🤧
Allergens
Low
70
- +100 Starting score
- −18 Fragrance
- −12 Opaque "Fragrance", hidden allergens that can't be checked from the label
🔥
Eye sting
Medium
55
- +100 Starting score
- −16 Avobenzone at #7, migrates into eyes with sweat
- −9 Octisalate at #3, migrates into eyes with sweat
- −2 Ensulizole at #12, migrates into eyes with sweat
- −10 Volatile alcohol at #5
- −8 Fragrance
🪨
Heavy feel
Low
96
- +100 Starting score
- −2 Butyrospermum Parkii Fruit at #16, butter/occlusive fat
- −5 Cetearyl Alcohol at #6, rich gel-network thickener
- +2.8 Volatile alcohol at #5, evaporating texture
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Fungal acne
Medium
68
- +100 Starting score
- −9 1 oils/butters that feed Malassezia (Butyrospermum Parkii Fruit)
- −23 2 long-chain (C12+) esters that feed Malassezia (Glyceryl Stearate, Sodium Stearoyl Glutamate)
👕
Fabric stains
Medium
55
- +100 Starting score
- −45 Avobenzone at #7, reacts with iron in wash water into rust-yellow stains
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Moisture
Balanced
LightNourishing
- ← 13 Volatile alcohol at #5
- ← 7.5 3 sebum-absorbing powders (Tapioca Starch, Distarch Phosphate, Hydroxypropyl Starch Phosphate)
- → 16 Glycerin at #2, the anchor humectant
- → 1 1 emollient lipids (Butyrospermum Parkii Fruit)
- → 1 Light emollient/solvent (Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride)
- → 1 1 fatty-alcohol emollients (Cetearyl Alcohol)
✨
Finish
Balanced
MatteDewy
- ← 7 3 sebum-absorbing powders (Distarch Phosphate, Hydroxypropyl Starch Phosphate, Tapioca Starch)
- ← 3 Volatile alcohol at #5
- → 7 2 emollient lipids (Butyrospermum Parkii Fruit, C12-15 Alkyl Benzoate)
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Makeup base
Good
PillsPrimer
- → 6 Quick-setting carrier (alcohol at #5), fast, even canvas
- → 6 2 soft-focus powders in moderation
- → 2 Dry-touch esters, smooth fast-absorbing base
- ← 3.5 Humectant syrup tackiness (partly offset by the base)
🌊
Water resistance
Not resistant
Non-water-resistantWater-resistant
Nothing flagged in the ingredient list.
How we rate water resistance →Skincare extras
Beneficial actives this formula contains. Informational only, not part of the rating: their effect depends on a concentration the label does not disclose.
- ✨ Vitamin E
Full ingredient list (26)
What each ingredient does and how it moves each rating: green helps, red hurts, ↑ / ↓ give the direction, and ← / → shift a slider toward its ends (finish, moisture, makeup base). Auto-derived from our scoring rules and the ingredient's position.
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1 Water
Solvent base, the water phase
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2 Glycerin
Humectant, pulls water into the skin
- 16 → nourishing the anchor humectant
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Legacy UV filter (Octisalate), high in the list, a primary filter
- ↑ 8 UV protection
- ↑ 9 migrates into eyes with sweat
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Emollient, softens and smooths skin
- 6 → dewy emollient lipid
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Volatile alcohol, a drying solvent that can sting eyes
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Fatty alcohol, an emollient and thickener, not the drying kind
- ↑ 5 rich gel-network thickener
- 1 → nourishing fatty-alcohol emollient
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Legacy UV filter (Avobenzone)
- ↑ 28.5 UV protection, incl. long-UVA (UVA1)
- ↑ 16 migrates into eyes with sweat
- ↑ 45 reacts with iron in wash water into rust-yellow stains
-
Emollient, softens and smooths skin
- 1 → nourishing light emollient
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Mattifying powder, absorbs oil and blurs the finish
- light ← 3 sebum-absorbing powder
- matte ← 3 sebum-absorbing powder
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Emulsifier, keeps oil and water blended
- ↑ 14 feeds malassezia
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Mattifying powder, absorbs oil and blurs the finish
- light ← 3 sebum-absorbing powder
- matte ← 3 sebum-absorbing powder
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Legacy UV filter (Ensulizole), low in the list, likely a minor contributor
- ↑ 11.2 UV protection
- ↑ 2 migrates into eyes with sweat
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Antioxidant, protects the formula and skin
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Botanical extract
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Emulsifier, keeps oil and water blended
- ↑ 9 feeds malassezia
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Botanical extract
- ↑ 2 butter/occlusive fat
- 1 → nourishing emollient lipid
- 1 → dewy emollient lipid
- ↑ 9 feeds malassezia
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Humectant, pulls water into the skin
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Antioxidant, protects the formula and skin
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Mattifying powder, absorbs oil and blurs the finish
- light ← 1.5 sebum-absorbing powder
- matte ← 1 sebum-absorbing powder
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20 Xanthan Gum
Thickener and texture, structures the gel or cream
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Modern UV filter, broad-spectrum and photostable (Tinosorb S), low in the list, likely a minor contributor
- ↑ 14.4 UV protection, incl. long-UVA (UVA1)
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Thickener and texture, structures the gel or cream
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Chelator, binds stray metal ions to keep the formula stable
-
pH adjuster
-
Preservative, keeps the formula from spoiling
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26 Fragrance
Fragrance
Is Nivea Refreshing Day Cream SPF 15 a sunscreen?
It is mainly a moisturizer at the low SPF 15 level, using a hybrid filter set with modern Tinosorb S. With good protection for that SPF and a score of 75.7/100, it is a pleasant daily moisturizer rather than a high-SPF sunscreen.
Does the Nivea Refreshing Day Cream SPF 15 work under makeup?
Yes, it rates a good makeup base. It shows little white cast and has a balanced, lightweight finish, though the sweat-sting reading is medium.
Is it good for acne-prone skin?
Pore-clogging risk is low and it stays lightweight, so it can suit breakout-prone skin.