have you tried neutrogena sunblock or baby sun block?
I find the only way to know if something is going to bother me is to try it.
So, when I need a new product and I am willing to spend money on it, I go to sephora and ask for a sample. They are usually more than willing to give you one and then you can see if it bothers you.
My favorite tip is one that I saw mentioned by several professionals in those “pro tips” columns - the Walgreens house brand of make-up brushes is extremely decent for the price. I tried them, and I’ve been pleased. The Walgreens brand is called “Studio 35” (which, bizarrely, I always get mixed up with “Area 51” and spend a lot of time in the store looking for that first).
Even if you use a more expensive set of brushes (I love my MAC brushes, but dang, they add up), the Walgreens would be great for a travel set or back-ups.
Another vote for all-mascara-is-not-created equal. The only one I will use these days is Trish McEvoy. The formulation is completely different from any other mascara I’ve ever used–it basically dries into little gel tubes on each lash that will not smudge and washes off with just water. Obviously, of course, that means it is not waterproof or cry-proof but for everyday use, I don’t think it can be beat. Pretty much every other mascara I’ve ever used has left me with raccoon eyes (Diorshow excepted).
Another tip is that you can just go to Michael’s and get paint brushes to use. Literally the same thing as high end brands of makeup brushes, they just have longer handles.
I usually get my brushes now from Sigma or similar places, but I used to be 100% Mac (then I let my Pro card lapse and suddenly realized it hurt my heart to pay that much for brushes).