May 24, 2016

Hit or Miss: Facial Oils

facial oils

I feel facial oils are kinda sorta losing momentum in the trending world. Granted, we all still use ’em and many brands continue to pump out new ones daily (HELLOOOO Tom Ford $250 Facial Oil!) but they seem to be a trend that tapered off a little bit. I’m thinking cleansing balms are the next big trend myself 🙂 Or maybe essences! Those are getting a lot of air time recently aren’t they?

Are facial oils a hit or a miss for you?

As a dry skin girl I’d love to say they are a complete hit. I’m caught in the middle if I’m honest. Sometimes I feel they are a completely hit as they offer fantastic hydration plus certain ones like Lancome Bienfait Multi-Vital Daily Replenishing Oil make my face look brighter and visibly smoother!

But sometimes, I also feel like I’ll wake the morning after and my skin will be all sorts of smooth but I also find certain formulas make me a little oily well after I’ve cleansed my face or even a bit of dullness. Maybe I’m imagining things?

For me, it really depends with facial oils! Some are hits, some are misses!

What about you?

Are facial oils a hit or a miss in your skincare routine?

Do share!

About the Muse

Isabella MuseIsabella is just an average everyday geeky girl who doesn’t blend her eyeshadow correctly, wears too much blush, and hopes she never finds her holy grail products because she likes the thrill of the chase so much. Her mission is to bring you super honest reviews on makeup, skincare, fragrance and all things beauty. She’s in no way an expert on the topic and she sure as hell isn’t a super model. But she’s passionate about makeup and is seeking like-minded individuals that like pina coladas, getting caught in the rain, and ones that enjoy spending hundreds of dollars at Sephora without feeling buyer’s remorse. If you’re that person feel free to reach out and leave a comment or follow me on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Bloglovin‘.

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Comments

  • Kelly Zollo

    I am still researching them. I use a lot of essential oils myself in other things and I have been thinking of making my own concoction. I am still researching which oil will work best for me coconut is a no go, Argan feels really heavy. I am totally interested but I haven’t jumped the gun just yet.

    • Kelly Zollo

      I will say in an update I did go purchase the Botanics Facial Oil yesterday I had a $5 off card at Target so I got a super good deal on it. I so far really like it and it doesn’t feel as heavy as the other ones I have tried like Argan oil and the Maracuja oil from Tarte. My face so far feels really hydrated and it seems to sink in really well with no reactions so far. It could be it has sweet almond oil in it and the other ones were too heavy for my skin.

  • Jennifer

    The first one I ever tried was the Josie Maran. I found it too oily. I do like the light version though. But for summer i don’t want any oils on my face. My make up slides off as it is, even with a primer. I live in Florida and facial oils are a no go for next 3 months.

  • Flaky

    Once I figured out that my skin really doesn’t like Argan oil, I started experimenting with some of the brands that do blends. I’m officially in love with facial oils again. My current favorites are Caudalie Premier Cru and Laura Mercia Facial Oil.

  • Dee

    The only one I’ve tried, and LOVE, is Josie Maran’s. Great stuff!

  • Ash

    I like facial oils. I have dry and sensitive skin. Some oil formulas are too heavy to get absorbed. They only sit on top of the skin and makes u look oily. Nuxe Dry Oil is what I am loving atm. Which oils do u like for ur skin except Lancome ?

    • Isabella Muse

      Herbivore phoenix, clinique smart oil, and French Girl Organics Facial Oil Elixir

  • LP

    I’ve really enjoyed a lot of these oils, but they are pricey. I tried the Smashbox oil primer, and it worked really well under my full-coverage foundation. I see a lot of these high end brands use rosehip oil, so I went the DIY route, and tried it under my foundation, and it was amazing! Just plain old rosehip oil. It’s light enough to sink in without leaving a big goopy mess. The best part is, I think it really extended the wear of my foundation. I should mention, I’m on the oily side, but the rosehip oil seems to convince my face not to overproduce.

  • Linda M

    I’ve tried many in the past, but my all-time favorite is 100% Jojoba Oil. I only use it at night and my extremely dry skin is so soft and smooth in the morning.

  • Agona

    I’m trying the Lancôme one at night as Jan Marini discontinued my favorite moisturizer that I use to rescue my skin when it becomes red/sensitive and flaky. I’ll let you know how it goes. I’m having a flaking spell right now that I’m trying to recover from.

    (Rando fact…apparently, it helps if I stop drinking alcohol and drink more water. -_- )

    • Isabella Muse

      Let me know what you think of Lancome, currently on my top five list 😀 I wish that helped for me but I don’t drink at all :-/ but more water I can def use!

      • Agona

        Update! Okay, I’ve been using at night for a week. Also dabbing around my red/flaky sensitive areas during the day. The Lancome Bienfait Multi-Vital Daily Replenishing Oil definitely works the best (at least for visible, noticeable improvement), as you said in your review, overnight. I only tried day use once or twice and not only did I not notice any visible improvement, once it absorbed, my foundation that was on top of it looked uneven. So I only used it to spot treat during the day. My sensitive/dry flaky red areas are healing (about the same speed as my previous Jan Marini recovery cream) BUT one difference: I do notice the oil prevents the areas from flaking as much during the day. The flakes still come off in the evening when washing, but at least it doesn’t look as grossly peel-y in the day even if it’s not healing it any faster than with my previous (discontinued) cream. 🙂 And, my skin breaks out if you look at it wrong, and the oil does NOT seem to aggravate any breakouts. I definitely recommend for overnight use and possible spot treatment of sensitive areas during the day.

        • Isabella Muse

          yayyyyyyyyyyy! That’s great news Agona happy to hear. I can’t use it in the day, it’s too rich for me and makes me look shiny so I tend to stick to it as a night treatment!

  • Ana Nz

    I love By Terry rose oil & Mario Badescu Vit C oil. Also have tried Clarins, Balance Me, Jurlique & Aesop’s ones & also some of the rosehip oil from drug stores, they are quite lovely too!
    So in summary, facial oil is a hit for me 🙂

  • Hanna

    I also have extremely dry skin but it’s also really sensitive. I will break out, have lots of redness or get hives at the drop of a hat.

    I want to love facial oils but 99% of them make my skin react badly. Josie Maran seems to be the gold standard and it gives me hives. Korres Wild Rose oil was the worst and left me a raw red mess for a week after using it just twice.

    Organic 100% jojoba oil (which isn’t even technically an oil at all) is the only oil my face doesn’t hate and I buy it online in bulk because I literally rub it all over my whole body, as well as making body and lip scrubs with it.

    Basically sharing this in case anyone else reacts badly to other oils they’ve tried!

  • Christian

    Face oils make me break out. My skin didn’t like any of them.

  • breyerchic04

    They’re a hit for me, but I think the big thing is there are now enough that everyone has found one that works for them, and why really change it up? I have two that I love, Sunday Riley Luna and Fresh Seaberry oil, both work amazingly for me. Straight argan oil makes me break out, though.

  • Jennifer

    I’ve only tried Sunday Riley. I love the way they made my skin feel but my dermatologist told me to stop using them because they were likely part of the reason my face started breaking out. Still have 1/2 a bottle of the Luna and the Artemis 🙁

  • Jennifer

    I use the Josie Maran Argan Oil just around the lower part of my eyes along with eye cream because my face gets so darn dry just in that one area. I have been using it for about 2 months now. I haven’t seen a huge improvement over just using the eye cream so I am not sure if I will buy more when this runs out.

  • kellly

    I use plain old jojoba oil every morning and love it. It absorbs in quickly and gives me a nice smooth foundation for applying my makeup. I see no reason to quit using it since it works so well for me. It doesn’t cost me $250, either!

  • Emily F

    I have dry/normal mature but good skin. I have tried several, some I liked, some I didn’t. The best one yet is the least expensive, Aura Cacia Restoring Rosehip Oil with Vitamin E, love, love this stuff. It has made such a difference in my fine lines. At night I use this with Josie Maran Argan Oil & love the way my face feels in the morning. I tried a sample of the Lancome Absolue Precious oils, this would be good for dry skin but I refuse to pay the price for it. I tried the Caudalie Premier Cru , it was drying for me. I think the grapeseed oil in it is drying. I am testing a sample of the Tatcha Gold Camellia beauty oil. I use it during the day and so far so good on it, sinks right in. I just really enjoy the whole experience of applying oils.

  • Cheryl

    I like the Bare Minerals 5 oil blend. At night, I mix 4-5 drops of the oil with a few drops of the Paula’s Choice Vitamin C booster, a drop of her hyaluronic acid, and 2 drops of her 1% retinol, and my skin has been so soft and smooth, with a noticeable fading of hyper pigmentation. Good stuff! I switch up daytime products frequently, but I have been sticking with this night time combination since it really works for me.

  • Dora

    Hit! I have been using DHC’s Virgin Olive Oil for years — before facial oils were a trend (well, here, anyway). Very happy with it but just ordered Clinique’s Turnaround facial oil — to try it and well, yes, because I wanted a Nordstrom GWP offered yesterday. I haven’t tried others — oh, the Tarte Maracuja, which I wasn’t thrilled with. Oh, and I use the Tatcha Dewy Mist, which is kinda a facial oil. But anyway, fine for me if the trend dies down — will be happy going back to the DHC oil, which has been around forever.

  • Gillie

    I love them. My favorite is actually L’Oreal Age Perfect Glow Renewal Facial Oil. I had a terrible breakout of psoriasis under my eye last Fall, and this was the only thing that soothed it while I was waiting to get in to see the dermatologist. I’ve been using it for regular skincare ever since!

    I used to be a big fan of Caudalie – well, I still am, but the L’Oreal has similar ingredients and is significantly less expensive, especially with coupons.

  • Lynette

    I mix a couple drops of oil in with my moisturizer everyday. It soaks right in and makes my skin feel so soft and hydrated. I really like the Josie Maran Light Argan Oil and the Tarte Maracuja Oil, but I’ve also bought some face oils on Etsy that are great too!! 🙂

  • Vickie

    believe or not, I use the palmers face oil and I absolutely love it!! it gives me a very nice glow.
    I apply at night under my moisturizer and wake in morning with my face feeling soft and glowy.

  • Court

    I can’t be without my face oil, Hush & Dotti’s Dream Drops. No one has ever even heard about them. You can only buy their products from their site but they are the BEST! All natural and filled with a mixture of tons of skin living oils, I glow when I use it. Very affordable too. It’s 50 something bucks for 2 whole ounces! I’m also obsessed with their cleansing balm and eye balm. An oil for my eye area? Yes, please! I’ve tried other oils but Dream Drops is my holy grail face product.
    I have found that I prefer a mixture of oils rather than a single one like argan oil or rosehip oil. Josie Moran doesn’t do anything for me.
    I will never be without an oil again. 100% hit with me!

    • Isabella Muse

      I think you or someone else recommended this brand before and I’ve been wanting to try it 😀 I think they have an eye cream too someone (or you) recommended as well!

      • Court

        It might have been me. I heard about Hush & Dotti from a comment thread somewhere else. I tried it and love their stuff. I’ve not tried their makeup line. But everything is organic, vegan, and cruelty free. Plus, I love supporting small businesses. I recommend the dream drops to anyone who listen. Haha.

        • Isabella Muse

          I can’t remember if it was you but as soon as it was mentioned I started looking into the line and made a list with a few items I want to try 😀 the dream drops are def on the top of my list 😀

    • Lisa

      Court, I couldn’t agree more. I love Hush + Dotti too. The Dream Drops is absolutely amazing. Their makeup is really good too. I’ve only bought their lip colors & just bought two eyeshadows today. I’m a bit darker and so they don’t have my shade yet in foundations. Hope they get some soon.

  • Onyx

    Love them. My usual go to is the Elizabeth Arden All Over Miracle Oil, which is so light I’ve actually been using it in pace of a serum before applying moisturizer or sunscreen. When I feel really dry, I’ve got some straight up, lab grade pomegranate oil that I use in place of a night cream. It takes a while to really sink in because it’s really thick, but it leaves me so soft in the morning, and brightens my complexion.
    I’ll try different oils sometimes, but always seem to come back to the EA miracle oil.

  • kamikity

    I bought lots of facial oils (bosia, josie maran, julep, caudalie, just to name a few) but I found myself always going back to trader joe’s jojoba oil. I use it for my hair, face, arms, leg, and belly (for pregnancy stretch marks) and love the scentless and fast absorbing feel!

  • genevieve

    I can’t use rosehip oils because I react to the perfume, but Isabella – you won’t be surprised when I say I am a big oil convert and my favourite is Physician’s formula argon oil. It has worked wonders on my dry, mature age skin and it is so inexpensive,

  • Rachel R.

    I’ve tried some. I don’t feel they do anything for me, but I have oily skin.

  • Katmary

    I too continue to like oils. I started with my hair and jojoba oil and my hair sucks it up too much so I ended up using it on my face, then noticed a cuticle oil I was given and liked was a combo of sweet almond oil and grapeseed oil and I decided I was going to learn more about carrier and essential oils at that point. These days there are so many good companies out there with interesting items to try it’s hard not to buy everything! In case this helps someone, when my Mom went through radiation for breast cancer, calendula oil was recommended for the area.

    One company not mentioned is Shea Terra Organics, but if you want to order, sign up and you’ll get a coupon code for 30% off. I haven’t tried their oils, but their Nilotica Shea Butter melts into the skin and I was using that under my eyes as my under eyes were crazy dry a few winters ago. Etsy has a great selection, Mountain Rose Herbs, Garden of Wisdom (though I never bought anything but learned quite a bit on their forum), and even many vitamin stores online have good. You all have given quite a list of brands and companies, I’m in trouble cuz I’m saving the list!

  • Sammy

    I love facial oils! I mix my own. Always wash my face with the OCM -10% Castor Oil/90% Apricot Kernel Oil. I use Rose Hip Seed Oil mixed with drops of Frankincense Oil. Costs a lot less and I know exactly what’s in the formula. I even make my own body butter…whip up some Shea Butter with Olive and Frankincense/Myrrh oils with an electric mixer and voila!