The photostabilizing electronic excited state energy--particularly singlet state energy from a UV-absorbing molecule has been found to be readily transferred to (accepted by) .alpha.-cyanodiphenylacrylate compounds of formulas (I) and (V) having an alkoxy radical preferably in the four (para) position (hereinafter methoxycrylenes) on one or both of the phenyl rings: ##STR00001## wherein at least one of R.sub.1 and R.sub.2 is a straight or branched chain C.sub.1-C.sub.12 alkoxy radical, preferably C.sub.1-C.sub.8, more preferably C.sub.1-C.sub.4, and most preferably methoxy, and any non-alkoxy radical R.sub.1 or R.sub.2 is hydrogen; and R.sub.3 is a straight or branched chain C.sub.1-C.sub.24 alkyl radical, preferably C.sub.12-C.sub.24, more preferably C.sub.20; ##STR00002## wherein A and B are the same or different and are selected from the group consisting of oxygen, amino and sulfur; R.sup.1 and R.sup.3 are the same or different and are selected from the group consisting of C.sub.1-C.sub.30 alkyl, C.sub.2-C.sub.30 alkylene, C.sub.2-C.sub.30 alkyne, C.sub.3-C.sub.8 cycloalkyl, C.sub.1-C.sub.30 substituted alkylene, C.sub.2-C.sub.30 substituted alkyne, aryl, substituted aryl, heteroaryl, heterocycloalkyl, substituted heteroaryl and substituted heterocycloalkyl; R.sup.2 is selected from the group consisting of C.sub.1-C.sub.30 alkyl, C.sub.2-C.sub.30 alkylene, C.sub.2-C.sub.30 alkyne, C.sub.3-C.sub.8 cycloalkyl, C.sub.1-C.sub.30 substituted alkyl, C.sub.3-C.sub.8 substituted cycloalkyl, C.sub.1-C.sub.30 substituted alkylene, C.sub.2-C.sub.30 substituted alkyne; R.sup.4, R.sup.5, R.sup.6 and R.sup.7 are the same or different and are selected from the group consisting of C.sub.1-C.sub.30 alkoxy straight chin on branched and a, b, c and d are each either 0 or 1, and a, b, c and d add up to 1, 2, 3, or 4.