The £5.91 Hawaiian Tropic Sun Lotion Buyers Love (and the One Thing That Catches Them Out)

Why so many people keep buying it

Strip away the complaints for a second, because the majority verdict here is warm. Of the 100 reviews we looked at, 75 gave it five stars, and the praise is remarkably consistent: it smells gorgeous, it sinks in fast, and it leaves skin feeling soft rather than coated.

The scent is doing a lot of the heavy lifting. "I love H/T, used it for years. The smell for one always makes me think I'm on holiday, sometimes it takes me back to halcyon days when I was sailing around the Med, the West Indies or Indian Ocean, it just smells so good," wrote Walleroonie. D GUNESH put it more simply: "Even without the sunshine, having this on my skin and smelling the Hawaiian smell. Makes me feel that the sun is shining."

The texture wins people over too. Several reviewers say it behaves more like a daily moisturiser than a thick, white-casting sunblock, which makes the daily reapplication far less of a chore. C, who left a five-star review, uses it as a morning base layer: "I put this on right after a shower before I go anywhere for that base layer SPF and moisturizer and it's so much nicer than those super thick, white casting other ones!" That is down to the cocoa butter and shea butter the formula leans on, plus the 12-hour moisturisation claim on the bottle. For dry-skinned holidaymakers, that combination of sun protection and hydration in one step is the whole appeal.

The yellow stain problem nobody warns you about at the till

Now the catch. If you only read the headline rating you would never see it coming, but thirteen of the hundred reviews raise the same complaint: this lotion can leave yellow or orange marks on fabric. It is by far the most common reason people knock stars off, behind more than half of the one- and two-star reviews.

The cream contains tinted ribbons that give skin a subtle sheen, and that colour is what transfers. "Nice texture and smell but you can't use it with a light colour bikini or clothing as it's coloured with beige bronzer and it leaves marks/stains," explained one Amazon Customer. Jessica described the same thing in motion: "when sunbathing and sweating, it runs off with an orangey colour that transfers onto towels and clothes. It stains fabric and just feels messy overall."

For some buyers the marks washed out, for others they did not. One Amazon Customer found the towel stains lifted "when you wash on a hot wash," while Miss Hannah was far less lucky: "When wearing white this item causes significant staining, yellow spots appear as well as a general tarnish. These stains have to be soaked and bleached out." Ryan O'Malley, who still gave three stars for the protection, summed up the frustration: "stains light coloured clothing worse than any other sun cream I've ever used. Haven't found a way of getting rid of these stains."

My view: this is the one thing to weigh before you buy. If you mostly wear darker swimwear and beach clothes, you may never notice it. If your holiday wardrobe is full of whites and pale linens, go in with your eyes open, keep it well away from anything you care about, and give it a few extra minutes to absorb before you get dressed.

Does it actually protect you?

Staining aside, the protection side of the ledger is mostly positive. SPF 30 is a medium level of broad-spectrum cover, and plenty of reviewers report coming home tanned rather than burnt. "Wore this factor in Singapore all day and didn't get burnt!" reported one Amazon Customer, which is no small claim near the equator. Another Amazon Customer had a full week in the sun with "no burns at all," and Mummymo said she has "never been let down by it, tan well with no burning."

There are exceptions, and they are worth taking seriously because sun protection is not a cosmetic nicety. Tia left the harshest review on the list after she and her family burned despite, in her words, following "all the correct steps when applying." One reviewer like that does not condemn a product that protected 99 others, but SPF 30 is medium cover, not maximum, so it pays to respect the basics: the bottle itself says to apply 30 minutes before sun, use enough, and reapply every two hours or after swimming. Skimp on the quantity and any sunscreen, this one included, will let you down.

It is also worth knowing what is and is not in the formula. The listing describes it as oil-free, vegan, paraben free, microplastic free, and free from oxybenzone and octinoxate, two filters often flagged in reef-safety conversations. One reviewer, Katie Butterfield, raised a concern about PFAS after purchase; that claim is hers and is not something the product listing states either way, so treat it as a single shopper's worry rather than an established fact.

Light and silky, or greasy? Why reviewers can't agree

Here is a disagreement that runs right through the reviews. Roughly the same product gets described as "light," "more like a moisturiser" and "not too greasy" by one set of buyers, and "very sticky and oily" by another. Both groups cannot be wrong, so what is going on?

Part of it is simply how much you use and how thick the cream feels going on. Earl ohara found it "very thick cream so it doesn't smoothly spread when you apply it," meaning a lot gets used in one sitting. Jules 57, who still gave four stars, summed up the middle ground: "Works well easy to apply and nice fragrance, I do find it a tad greasy despite its claims so only 4 stars."

Part of it may be the formula itself. A handful of long-time buyers are convinced it has been reformulated and not for the better. DCC, a longtime user who says they won't buy it again, wrote that "the previous formulation of Hawaiian sun was absolutely fantastic," but felt the current one is "now as greasy and horrible as everything else," adding pointedly that "it proudly states water resistant on the bottle, ie., it's just greasy." Sarah and a couple of others echoed the sense that "the formula of this seems to have changed recently." We cannot verify a reformulation from the product data, so take it as longtime-customer sentiment rather than confirmed fact, but it is a thread worth knowing about if you remember loving an older bottle.

Who it suits, and how to get the best from it

After 100 reviews, a clear picture emerges of who walks away happy. If you have dry or sensitive skin and want sun protection that doubles as a moisturiser, this is a strong, affordable pick. Several sensitive-skinned reviewers singled it out: Nicola said it "feels more like a moisturizer than a suncream" and protected her from "prickly heat and hives caused by the sun," while Wings of Steel reported that of a whole family with skin sensitivity, "none of us have had an adverse reaction." Add in the scent that fans return for season after season, and you can see why so many call it their go-to.

To keep yourself in the happy camp, three small habits help. Apply it 30 minutes before you head out and use a generous amount, because under-applying is the quickest way to burn. Let it absorb fully before you dress, especially around pale fabrics, to limit any colour transfer. And reapply every couple of hours or after a swim, as you would with any SPF 30.

Who should think twice? Anyone whose holiday wardrobe is mostly white or pale, anyone who hated a greasy feel in the past, and anyone who needs maximum rather than medium protection for very fair skin or intense sun. For everyone else, at £5.91 a bottle, it is an easy and pleasant suncream to live with. White Knight maybe captured the everyday verdict best: "Covers well, sinks in quickly and smells good. I don't like putting on cream, but this is bearable! Keeps my sensitive skin from burning and lasts the daytime."