SPF Nostalgia

Sunscreen, as a consumer good, tends to fall into the gloppy gray area between need and want. We are all aware that the sun, as dazzling and mood-bolstering as it may be, is an unmerciful adversary. Sustained exposure to UV radiation, the science tells us, comes with a roster of terrible potentialities, from skin cancer to cataracts to leathery wrinkles. So the need is clear; but what about the want? I have rarely stood in the sunblock aisle of a drugstore and found myself overwhelmed with desire. My concerns are practical: I am pale and quick to crisp. Give me high SPF, at a reasonably low price, and I'm sold.

- —Rachel Syme

But, back in the summer of 2021, when I was newly vaccinated and practically feral for sensuous experiences, I found myself drawn to a brand of sunscreen, called Vacation, that I'd never seen before. Or had I? The bottle of the brand's Classic Lotion, a cream-colored tube with squiggly neon-blue lettering and a lemon-yellow cap, looked like a relic from 1985. I felt an inexplicable pang of deep nostalgia for the stuff, which touted itself as “The World’s Best-Smelling Sunscreen,” even though it was, technically, new to the market. I bought a small bottle (then $20, now $15), and, upon sniffing it, further tumbled out of time. There was the traditional