I’m rubbing and rubbing and rubbing in circular motions into my cheeks until the sunscreen feels stiff against my skin. It's absorbed into my pores as much as it possibly can, but the ghostly greyness won’t budge. I grab my laptop and reread the marketing material the brand pinged me on email—a new tinted mineral SPF ... "for all skin tones."

This is my job. As Cosmopolitan UK ’s beauty director, packages containing new product launches arrive for me every day, and I slap them on to my skin, hair, and body to see if they live up to the claims they come with.

"Can’t wait to hear what you think!" the PR signs off via email. She’s also followed up to see how I’m getting on with the product. I double-check the press release that’s attached. A trio of women from different ethnicities sm

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