Tuesday, September 3, 2013

Five Face Oils

I've been meaning to write this post for a long time, but have always slacked off on it because, simply put, these different face oils I use are practically indistinguishable to me. I use them in exactly the same way for exactly the same purpose with more or less the same results. Clearly, this is not going to be some verifiable scientific breakdown of each of them. None of these are miracle workers, but having converted to face oils roughly this time last year with the purchase of Josie Maran Argan Oil, I can say that generally, my bare face has become more presentable in public, and somewhat ironically, my skin is overall less oily now.



Josie Maran 100% Pure Argan Oil
My first face oil, and in a way, my sentimental favourite. I bought this at Sephora in New York while on vacation. I started my foray into face oils by mixing 2-3 drops of this with Nivea Soft and applying it day and night for the 3 weeks I was in NYC. I don't know if it was the lack of stress or the increased exercise from walking around on holiday, but I swear, I look back on pictures from the trip and my skin has never looked better. I've rationed this 15ml travel size bottle for a good year, though I've almost finished it. What I love about the Josie Maran is that it's completely scentless and seems to be one of the more refined oils I've tried. The skin just drinks it up, and it softens and soothes. I've contemplated ordering another bottle from Sephora via the overpriced Tarazz multiple times, but eventually settled for the argan oil from Garden of Wisdom. I'm hoping it'll be exactly the same thing.

Sukin Certified Organic Rose Hip Oil
One of my most recent additions, after being convinced I needed a rosehip oil in my life after repeated exposure to Trilogy Rosehip Oil on beauty blogs. Never mind that I already had the Antipodes Divine Face Oil which has rosehip in it. I needed the unadulterated stuff. The scent of this oil always reminds me of fish oil capsules. Not my favourite, but the smell at least doesn't linger. I find this is quite rich in that if I apply 2-3 drops to bare skin in place of a regular moisturiser, my skin will have a slight greasy residue after a couple of hours. I'm not sure whether it's because it doesn't absorb as readily, or whether I just use too much. It's very hydrating and seems to work overnight to restore the skin and give it back some suppleness and smoothness. However, I don't think it did anything significant in reducing scarring from spots.

Antipodes Divine Face Oil Organic Avocado Oil & Rosehip
I do like this and find it very similar to the Sukin, in that it's a bit on the heavier side. I'm not a fan of the scent which I always think of as a little hippie and musty (almost like pee, dare I say?). It has avocado oil, macadamia nut oil, jojoba oil, rosehip oil, vitamin E and essential oil fragrances of ylang ylang, sandalwood and jasmine. I really love the packaging of this, with the patterned dark green label, amber bottle, quirky Antipodes font and contrasting gold ring at the top. I've used about half of the 30ml bottle, but given that it acts very much the same way as pure rosehip oil, the smell is off-putting to me and I'm a bit on the fence about the added essential oils, I'm not sure whether I'd repurchase. If I didn't have the Sukin though, I'd be content using this daily, either applied to a freshly cleansed face or mixed in with my regular moisturiser.

Sanctuary Spa Therapist's Secret Facial Oil
This one has a whole bunch of ingredients, including sunflower seed soil, rosehip oil, wheat germ oil, jojoba seed soil, rosa centifolia (cabbage rose) flower extract, frankincense and rosa damascena flower oil. I have no idea what half of those things are or what they're meant to do. The liquid is much paler than the Sukin (which is amber) and Antipodes (dark yellow). This one is much nicer on the nose with a faint sweet rose smell. I find the oil lighter and slightly more readily absorbed than the Sukin and Antipodes, closer to the Josie Maran in the way it feels on the skin.

Caudalie Divine Oil
This French multipurpose dry oil comes in a large 100ml cylinder with a pump dispenser and can be used for body, face and hair. The primary ingredient is grape seed oil, said to be high in omega-6 and vitamin E, but it also contains sesame seed oil, shea butter extract, sunflower seed oil, hibiscus seed oil, argan oil and tomato extract. This one is heavily, heavily perfumed, to the extent you could easily use it purely for the fragrance, especially if applied to the ends of the hair. Those sensitive to strong scents may not want this anywhere near their face. One squirt gives you a decent amount, I would say equivalent to at least 4-5 drops of the other oils. This one is the fastest absorbing and doesn't leave much of an oily residue, but it doesn't feel immediately hydrating or soothing either. I find the smell too rich for the day so I only use this as part of my nighttime routine, in combination with my Trilogy Very Gentle Moisturising Cream, or as a final layer of treatment/hydration over any moisturiser/oils I've already slapped on.

41 comments:

  1. I absolutely love the one from Caudalie! and the smell is divine, at least for me haha

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  2. I need to get myself a face oil because i have been intrigued by them and want to incorporate them into my skincare routine. I am quite interested in the Caudalie one at first, but because it smells so strongly, i am a bit put off by that. I am looking at the Clarins face oils because they have specific ones for different skin-types!

    Thanks for the helpful reviews and you have introduced me to brands that i wasn't aware of. Have a lovely day <3

    *- YingcBeauty-*

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  3. Love this post! My only face oil is my rosehip oil but the Josie Maran Argan Oil sounds fantastic x

    http://itsjessicachoy.blogspot.com/

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  4. I wish I didn't love the josie maran argan oil as much as i do! I hate how pricy it is! I also use the Caudalie Divine oil but I'm not such a huge fan of the scent. I think it's an acquired smell. I also want to try the Tarte Maracuja oil and the clarins blue orchid oil.

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  5. I love the Trilogy Rosehip oil. I've used it mixed together with a night cream and that's a pretty good combination. :)

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  6. I couldn't live without face oils in my routine! They've been an absolute godsend in keeping my skin radiant and hydrated, and I've actually found my face is less oily too. They're just so nourishing for the skin and are so well worth the investment! I only have Caudalie Divine Oil out of your five and I love to use this when I've just come out of the shower all over my body. I've heard amazing things about the Josie Maran Argan Oil, but I think I want to try Trilogy's Rosehip Oil next. I just recently started using Nude's ProGenius Treatment Oil and oh my God, I'm so in love! Definitely worth the investment! My skin feels so soft and supple when I wake up in the morning. I love it!

    http://vintagemachine.blogspot.com

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    1. That Nude oil sounds really good - I just looked up the ingredients and it seems really potent and nourishing! Though to be perfectly honest I have no idea how the different oils differentiate themselves lol :p How'd you get a hold of the Nude? It seems quite pricey but I'm sure well worth it if you've had impressive results.

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  7. I have yet to add a face oil to my routine... I know that so many people say that it actually makes the skin LESS oily but the constant mindset of keeping acne at bay (yayyyy problem skin) makes me far too terrified to put on oil on my face. I feel like I'd be so stressed about whether or not the oil was going to break me out that the stress I was creating would end up breaking me out regardless haha. People do constantly seem to sing praises for face oils though so maybe one of these days I'll calm the eff down and give it a shot ;)

    ♥Cassie
    thriftthick.blogspot.com

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    1. Maybe you can try doing a spot test then? Apply a bit to a small part of your face first? :p I can understand what you mean by the paranoia though - sometimes that in itself is enough to cause a breakout!

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  8. You have me itching to go get some face oils! I've never used any before simply because I assumed they just make your face oily so it's good to know what they actually do for you!

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  9. I've been a fan of oil as my moisturiser for quite some time now. I'm using Garden of Eden Scar Serum made of pure Vitamin E oil and really like it! It's only available in my country I believe cuz I've never heard anyone else talking about the brand that at all.

    Other than that, I tried to use the Rosehip one from the same brand and didn't like the end result. I started to have congested skin on my cheeks, temples and jaw line when I use it. So I stopped. Maybe Rosehip isn't for me?

    At the moment, I'm really looking forward to trying the Virgin Grapeseed oil as my night time moisturiser. It's 100% natural with no added chemicals which I prefer. But I don't know yet since they're so many skin care products that claimed to be amazing by beauty bloggers that I don't know which one I should choose. I guess natural ingredients is my first approach. :)

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    1. I wonder what it is about rosehip oil that didn't work for you! I don't really know the difference in each of the oils, but I guess it comes down to trial and error and personal preference. Each skin reacts differently, so it's about finding the one for you :)

      I haven't tried virgin grapeseed soil but I suppose the closest thing I have is the Caudalie. I do like the sound of 'natural' but I'm not really an expert on how it's better than things with chemicals in it :p I've been a pretty happy face oil user for a year now though, so I will continue to use them in place of regular moisturiser or with a moisturiser :)

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  10. The only one of these that I've used is the Caudalie Divine Oil and I have never actually used it on my face, only my body and hair. I'm using the Trilogy Rosehip Oil Antioxidant at the moment and I really love it, it's a definite repurchase, I'm sure after reading this post that you would love it too!

    Emma x

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  11. I love face oils. Josie Maran's argan oil was my gateway oil too. :)
    The Grass Skirt

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  12. Great post! I'm just starting to get into face oils so this is really helpful.

    Katie | and-katie.com

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  13. Oh the josie maran argan oil sounds very good! I hope sephora paris will carry it as well. :-D
    I have the caudalie one but I don't really like it as hair or face oil.
    I prefer to use it as body oil as I find it too oily for my face or hair..
    have you tried the lotus oil from clarins? it is a very nice product :-)

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    1. I think the Caudalie would be great for moisturising the body especially because the spray is so convenient!

      I haven't, but I have heard really good things about it over the years. Maybe when I finish up one of my existing oils ;)

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  14. Stick with rosehip oil! I've been using it for a good three months and I've started to see real results in the last few weeks! x

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  15. I do love the argan oil myself! I love how moisturizing it is during the winter months without causing me to break out, but I did have to stop during the summer. It was just too much oil for my skin. I do look forward to using it again with winter on the way. :)

    ~ Yun

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  16. This is so helpful, I've been wanting to try out new oils lately but I never know what to go on a limb with since I like to be sensible with my money as well. I really love the Josie Maran Argan Oil too, it gives me that certain glow you mentioned that looks so lovely especially in photos xx

    Jordan | Boho Vanity

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  17. Very helpful post, thanks. I have always been interested in rosehip oil for my acne scarring but it sounds like it didn't work for you. The hunt continues!

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  18. Such a handy post for me at the moment! Facial oils have really been at the front of my mind lately, possibly because of all the people raving on rosehip oil! Bummer you haven't been seeing any results with it, I've been hopeful after reading up rosehip has some form of Vit A in it... though I do suspect it is quite a low, perhaps insignificant, dose. You've given me some other products to look into :)

    www.beautibop.com

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  19. wow thank you so much for the comparison! you replied to my comment really quickly haha. i've tried the sukin rosehip oil and the akin rosehip oil so far. the buy one get one free on all sanctuary products has the spa sanctuary oil calling my name.... thankyou so much for the great blog post! :)

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    1. I was thinking about posting a comparison so when you asked, it was the final push I needed! :) Yes, the BOGOF on Sanctuary I imagine would be very tempting, especially if you haven't tried many of their products before. I quite like the Therapist's Oil, especially for a less greasy/heavy feeling on my face at night :)

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  20. Loooooooooove oils. You need to try NUDE someday. It's expensive but WORTH IT.

    I'm going to embark on a hunt for the best rose hip oil in the near future. This is helpful!

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  21. I have the Josie Maran oil and have only used it on my hair and didn't love it that much. I'm going to try it on my face :)

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  22. I've never tried any face oils before but the Josie Maran one is quite appealing to me and it's also more easily accessible for me compared to the other face oils you have mentioned! :)

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  23. I've only tried two Rosehip oils - the original Trilogy one and the Kosmea one. I have to say I really like them both (the Kosmea one more so) as I found them both very hydrating and I did actually notice an improvement in my acne scars, and overall skin texture with prolonged use. Even though face oils have become super popular lately, people with oily skin need to get out of the mindset that oil is bad!

    x Tashi
    http://shiwashiful.blogspot.com.au/

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    1. I think the skin's texture definitely improves - hence I'm more comfortable being totally bare-faced in public. But I had some spots a couple of months back and applying oils every single day didn't really minimise the scarring in any noticeable way that would've been different with my skin's natural healing over time. Maybe I just need to persevere!

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  24. I've only tried Bio-Oil in my skincare routine. I really want to try Sanctuary Spa one (and take up on the Priceline special!).
    xxx Kat

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  25. I never tried a face oil but I really want to! I was thinking of getting the Josie Maran one [it's the least expensive retailed at brazillian sephora] but I'm afraid it would disturb my normal to oily skin. You said that your skin is less oily now, but how was it before?

    from isabela at fusels.com | bloglovin

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    1. I would say it was fairly oily, nothing that was too problematic, but my foundation would generally be sliding and slipping off my face (especially if it was one of the 'glowier' ones) by midday. Now, I don't really experience that much of that kind of sensation. I blot less and feel parts of my face (especially around the T-zone) are less shiny in pictures.

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  26. I never though about using oil on my face for anything...I have oily/dehydrated skin...oil doesn't feel nice to me.
    But I'll maybe give a try to the Caudalie one.
    Please Take Care, have a nice day!!*

    beauty-with-love.blogspot.com

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  27. Oh I LOVE my Josie Maran Oil - so good to read about others!
    Love your blog by the way, stumbled across it via someone else's and I am lurking old posts hard haha! x

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    1. It is a really great oil! Wish it weren't so pricey though, but I suppose that's what you get for nice packaging/"brand name"/etc. :)

      Awww thank you! Welcome haha :)

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  28. I've never tried applying oil to my face, I've always been to scared to incase it makes me break out. I think I will have to give it a try :D xx

    Gem │ ♥ │ Miss Makeup Magpie

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  29. I love the Caudalie oil, it's such a life saver during the winter! xx

    ferdies-place.blogspot.com

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  30. I'm not entirely sure where i stand on face oils, i've tried a couple and on some days i really love the results but sometimes i just really hate how it feels on my face. I think i just haven't found a product i really love yet and until then, i feel like it's not something i need to spend money on..I'm undecided

    à la foliee

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  31. I need to get back into the swing of face oils! Winter is coming and my skin is aching for these multitaskers x

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  32. Great post! I'm just starting to get into rosehip for face so this is really helpful.

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