The 19 Best Face Oils for a Healthy, Hydrated Glow, Tested & Reviewed
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From face oils for dry skin to ones that will reduce redness, these recommendations can help every skin type.
InStyle/Jhett Thompson
For an instant shot of glowiness and touchability, nothing beats a face oil. While a traditional moisturizer or serum seeps into your skin, allowing it to absorb all those powerhouse ingredients, the best face oils act as occlusives. They form a protective barrier between your skin and the outside world, and they also prevent moisture loss so your skin holds onto its hydration.
While anyone and everyone can benefit from a facial oil at the end of their skincare routine, the oil you choose will heavily depend on your skin type and your goals. To help you find the best face oil for your dewiest look yet, our editors, with a wide range of skin types individually tested 36 face oils in our New York City-based lab. We rated the products on how the consistency felt against our skin, noting if it applied smoothly or left a greasy residue behind, their feel, and how long each one took to absorb. We also considered other factors such as if the oils noticeably brightened our skin or had other moisturizing benefits.
Best Face Oil Overall: Kora Organics Noni Glow Face Oil
What We Love
Thanks to the lightweight, quick-absorbing formula, this oil feels totally weightless on the skin.
What We Don’t Love
According to reviews, the oil takes a while to sink into the skin.
Packed with antioxidants and fatty acids, (like noni extract, rosehip oil, and sea buckthorn oil) KORA Organics Noni Glow Face Oil will truly soothe and brighten your skin while leaving the most beautiful, luminous glow. While the oil is extra moisturizing because of its nourishing, organic ingredients, it’s also actually extremely lightweight. It didn't feel like anything on our combination skin, but still managed to keep it soft and supple (and smelling good, too) without a heavy consistency. Truly, its non-greasy formula and lack of residue make it great for all skin types.
Outside of moisturizing and highlighting the skin, this oil will plump, even skin tone and texture, and diminish any sun damage and scarring. Essentially, it does it all, so if you want an opportunity to simplify your skin care routine, now is your chance with this catch-all face oil.
Skin Type: All skin types, especially dry and dull skin | Size: 1.01 fl oz. | Ingredient Highlights: Noni extract, Rosehip oil, Pomegranate oil, Sea buckthorn oil
Best Splurge: Isdin Isdinceutics Melatonik Overnight Recovery Serum
What We Love
This serum actively works to repair and rejuvenate the skin’s appearance throughout the night.
What We Don’t Love
It doesn’t leave skin with a dewy finish, which is typically expected with face oils.
Its name might say otherwise, but this night serum is actually a serum-in-oil combination product. The three-in-one formula works to improve the skin’s natural defenses, reinforce the skin barrier, and boost skin elasticity all with the help of melatonin, bakuchiol (a gentle retinol alternative), and vitamin C. While the price is steep, all of these powerful ingredients make the oil a powerhouse for those needing to calm stressed, dehydrated skin. However, if you’re looking for a product that provides a bit of glow, this one might not be the one for you. Being a nighttime serum it had no glow or shine and looks and feels matte.
Skin Type: All skin types | Size: 1.01 fl oz. | Ingredient Highlights: Melatonin, Bakuchiol, Vitamin C
Best Budget: Palmer's Cocoa Butter Formula Skin Therapy Face Oil
What We Love
The oil absorbs quickly, yet still deeply moisturizes the skin.
What We Don’t Love
Although we’re fans of the scent, sensitive skin types might not be.
The secret to silky skin? Cocoa butter, which is often used in body butters for its super moisturizing properties. As one of its key ingredients, Palmer’s Cocoa Butter Formula Moisturizing Skin Therapy Oil not only smells amazing, it also transforms the skin in a plethora of ways. It intensely nourishes, smooths fine lines and wrinkles, brightens your complexion, and treats dark spots. While it does have a slightly matte finish, the oil manages to deliver deep moisture to the skin, all the way to the epidermal layer. It even feels light and comfortable on our extremely dry skin and rejuvenated it so that it feels so silky to the touch. In fact, it works better than some expensive face oils we've tried in the past.
Skin Type: All skin types, especially textured, sensitive, and mature skin | Size: 1 fl oz. | Ingredient Highlights: Cocoa butter, Vitamin C, Retinol
Best Drugstore: Burt's Bees Facial Oil with Rosehip Seed Extract
What We Love
The product keeps skin hydrated all day long.
What We Don’t Love
There is a slight greasy feeling after application.
Burt’s Bees may be known for their lip scrubs, but their skincare is just as good and totally underrated. With a blend of jojoba, rosehip, and evening primrose oils, Burt’s Bees Hydrating & Anti-Aging Facial Oil has all the essential ingredients for revealing healthy-looking skin. It penetrates the skin to intensely hydrate and combat early signs of aging like fine lines and wrinkles. We enjoyed how the oil felt and looked on our faces, noting that it gave our skin a nice, healthy glow. That said, it took a while to absorb (but that is ideal for the cool, winter months to lock moisture in).
Skin Type: All skin types | Size: 0.51 fl oz. | Ingredient Highlights: Jojoba, Rosehip, Evening primrose
Best for Oily Skin: Kinship Kinskin Ceramide Barrier Repair Oil
What We Love
The oil is light and airy and leaves no residue behind.
What We Don’t Love
Those with dry and/or dehydrated skin might prefer a heavier product.
Contrary to popular belief, oily skin can also use and benefit from facial oil. It’s key to use a lightweight formula, like this one from Kinship. Because it contains both linoleic and oleic acids, the oil shouldn’t clog pores while it replenishes the moisture barrier and restores skin. It is also fast absorbing, so you won’t have to worry about it sitting on top of your skin as you sleep. Plus, the oil helps reduce the effects of blue light for extra skin protection.
However, the one thing we would change about this product is the finish. It didn't moisturize as much as we had hoped and there was no real glow.
Skin Type: All skin types, especially dry, acne-prone, sensitive, and damaged skin | Size: 1 fl oz. | Ingredient Highlights: Oat ceramides, Vitamin C ester, Linoleic acid, Oleic acid
Best for Acne-Prone Skin: Ghost Democracy Softglow Facial Oil
What We Love
The ingredient list is full of antioxidant-rich oils and fatty acids to balance and calm inflamed skin.
What We Don’t Love
The oil has a chemical-y scent.
As it says in the name, Ghost Democracy Softglow Facial Oil is all about providing you hydrated skin and a lit from within glow. We felt like this left a really beautiful glow on our skin and would compares its after effect to a face mask. A bonus: the oil is non-greasy and quick-absorbing, perfect for those with acne-prone skin who want to avoid a heavy residue. Plus, it’s filled with gentle antioxidants and fatty acids to balance and help calm inflammation.
We also love that it contains uncommon ingredients you don’t see in most skin care: Like cloudberry and cottonseed oil. The iconic duo is what makes this oil exceptionally great at supporting the skin barrier, calming the skin, and giving it a moisturizing dew — a must for those with acne-prone skin who are looking for a product that will work extra hard at reducing inflammation and strengthening the skin barrier to diminish acne and scarring.
Skin Type: All skin types | Size: 1 fl oz. | Ingredient Highlights: Cloudberry, Cottonseed, Meadowfoam oil
Best for Sensitive Skin: Le Prunier Plum Beauty Oil
What We Love
Plum-seed oil is the only ingredient. Plus, there are no added fragrances.
What We Don’t Love
The oil can be a bit runny.
It still amazes us that Le Prunier Plum Beauty Oil balances, restores, and refreshes the skin with just a single, indulgent ingredient: Plum-seed oil. The benefits of using plum oil range from healing to hydrating the skin, but it is most effective at protecting from damaging free radicals, and leaving you with a radiant complexion. Not only does it give us the best glow, it also smells amazing. We highly recommend splurging a little on this gem — it will last you forever because you just need a little drop. Besides your face, you can use this product on your hands, hair, and body, making it a powerful multi-purpose oil.
Skin Type: All skin types, especially congested, sensitive, and allergy-prone skin | Size: 1 fl oz. | Ingredient Highlights: Plum-seed oil
Best for Dry Skin: Youth to the People Superberry Hydrate + Glow Dream Oil
What We Love
The oil has a natural, sweet fruity scent.
What We Don’t Love
Until it’s fully massaged and absorbed into the skin, the oil feels greasy.
The first thing we loved about this product was its hydration factor. It gives us a confident feeling that our skin will be moisturized for hours. While “glow” may be in the name, dry skin users will certainly enjoy that the oil provides rapid relief and hydration to lock-in moisture. In fact, the high levels of vitamin C, prickly pear, and squalane oil revive and illuminate dehydrated skin, while maqui combats free radicals. Just be wary that the oil does feel a bit greasy until it’s fully massaged into the skin, but once it is your skin will feel comfortable, moisturized, and happy.
Skin Type: All skin types, especially dry and mature skin | Size: 1 fl oz. | Ingredient Highlights: Maqui, Prickly pear, Açai
Best Anti-Aging: Acure Radically Rejuvenating Rose Argan Oil
What We Love
The texture of this oil is very emollient and silky.
What We Don’t Love
Reviewers say it can feel really oily if you use too much.
When it comes to hair oils, argan oil is known for its reparative properties, but it also is extremely nourishing for skin. Expect dry areas to soften, texture and tone to improve, and the senses to be invigorated during and after use. Our faces soaked up the oil and left them feeling moisturized and supple. We could see using this during the day as our only moisturizer under our sunscreen and makeup, or over a light moisturizer at night. Even with its light geranium fragrance, our sensitive skin did not react negatively, so if you’re usually not great with scented products, this one could be a real winner for you.
Skin Type: All skin types | Size: 1 fl oz. | Ingredient Highlights: Rose and Argan oil
Best for Redness: Osea Undaria Argan Oil
What We Love
Even with all of its moisturizing ingredients, it feels lightweight on the skin.
What We Don’t Love
It absorbs quickly, but it leaves an oily residue that can transfer to towels, clothes, and sheets.
This oil contains undaria algae, a replenishing seaweed that is filled with antioxidants and anti-aging properties to nourish and firm the skin for a glowy, sculpted look. And, with the addition of Moroccan argan oil, this formula also has high levels of vitamin E and fatty acids to moisturize and soothe. As a helpful tip we suggest pairing this oil with a gua sha tool to enhance the oil’s firming benefits, and of course, give a little oomph to your facial features.
While it did feel super lightweight during testing, there were some downsides. It tends to feel oily to touch, and also when it is touched, the oil transfers. So, it’s best to give it 10 to 15 minutes to sink into the skin before getting into bed so you don’t stain your sheets.
Skin Type: All skin types, especially dry, sensitive, and redness-prone skin | Size: 1 fl oz. | Ingredient Highlights: Undaria algae, Moroccan argan oil, Vitamin E
Best for Fine Lines: Kiehl's Midnight Recovery Concentrate Moisturizing Face Oil
What We Love
The glow factor is so addicting, we think it can be classified as a morning and nighttime oil.
What We Don’t Love
The tea-tree scent might be off-putting for some people.
Even if you’re not familiar with Kiehl’s, you’ve probably heard of or seen this product before. Beloved by derms, estheticians, and beauty experts alike, the Midnight Recovery Concentrate is impressively good at overnight skin recovery thanks to the unique formula that smooths, firms, and maintains the skin’s elasticity so you wake up looking refreshed and more youthful. You’ll love how seriously comfortable the oil is on the skin, especially as you sleep. Our skin feels hydrated, and it really feels like we're treating ourselves with every application.
Skin Type: All skin types, especially mature skin | Size: 1 fl oz. | Ingredient Highlights: Lavender essential oil, Squalane oil, Evening primrose oil
Best Smoothing: Bio-Oil Skincare Oil
What We Love
It's magic in a bottle because you can use it for everything — even for treating injuries, stretch marks, scars, and so much more.
What We Don’t Love
The oil isn’t the most hydrating.
Bio-Oil is considered a holy grail of face oils — and not just because of its affordability, especially for all that it does for scarring and stretch mark repair. Rather than focusing on hydration, Bio-Oil’s superpowers include repairing skin damage (it can help improve the appearance of scars and stretch marks), evening skin tone, and increasing skin elasticity, all while promoting skin renewal and a healthy glow. We love that despite all of its benefits, the oil doesn’t feel sticky or greasy when on the skin. It is also safe enough to use during pregnancy, so you know it is suitable for every skin type, even the most sensitive ones. But for expecting mothers and sensitive skin types especially, we should note it has a slightly overpowering smell. Fortunately, Bio-Oil also comes in a natural version with no added fragrance.
Skin Type: All skin types | Size: 2 fl oz. | Ingredient highlights: Vitamin A oil, Vitamin E, Chamomile, Sunflower, Lavender oil
Best Brightening: Korres Wild Rose Brightening Absolute Oil
What We Love
Even though it’s lightweight, you definitely feel and see the oil’s effects.
What We Don’t Love
Reviews have mentioned that the scent can be strong at times.
We can’t help but admire how pretty this oil is — oh, and all the plumping and hydrating it does for the skin. Infused with petals from a single rose, the oil visibly hydrates for a radiant glow, and smells just as good as it performs. It made us feel like we were in a spa and receiving a facial. Together with vitamin C, it also promotes an even-looking skin tone, and a glass skin-like radiance so you always look glowing. We love that it feels incredibly light and smooth when applied, too, but wish the scent wasn’t quite as strong.
Skin Type: All sky types, especially dull, textured skin | Size: 1.01 fl oz | Ingredient Highlights: Wild rose, Vitamin C
Best Vitamin C: Sunday Riley C.E.O. Glow Vitamin C + Turmeric Face Oil
What We Love
Your skin instantly looks brighter and less dull after use.
What We Don’t Love
Some say the scent can linger on your hands for a long time.
Prepare for your complexion to be recharged after trying Sunday Riley C.E.O. Glow Face Oil. The combination of THD ascorbate (a more stable, oil soluble form of vitamin C) and golden turmeric help fight signs of aging, improve the look of redness, and even skin tone and dark spots. While it is priced higher than most products on this list, the vitamin C serum has other advanced ingredients, such as evening primrose oil, jojoba seed oil, and ginger root extract, that lock moisture, antioxidants, and nutrients into the skin for luminosity boost.
Skin Type: Normal, dry, and combination skin | Size: 1.2 fl oz. | Ingredient Highlights: THD ascorbate, Golden turmeric, Ginger root extract, Bisabolol
Best CBD: Frigg Attuning Face Potion
See at Effleuragestudiobeauty.com
What We Love
It has a pleasant scent that isn’t too overpowering. Plus, your skin appears and feels more resilient.
What We Don’t Love
There could be more glow to this oil.
This potion hits all the right notes – it’s light, absorbs quickly, and brings back the radiance in your skin. And if your skin is overly and constantly stressed out by environmental aggressors, then this will rebalance oil production for a calmer appearance. The plant-powdered tonic helps strengthen and heal your skin barrier while boosting your skin’s collagen levels so it appears more youthful. Expect it to also plump fine lines, calm redness, and fade hyperpigmentation.
If you’re not into the smell of CBD, this might not be the oil for you, but we loved everything about this product from the scent to the consistency.
Skin Type: All skin types | Size: 1 fl oz. | Ingredient Highlights: Broad-spectrum CBD, Sea buckthorn, Squalene
Best Absorbtion: Drunk Elephant Virgin Marula Luxury Facial Oil
What We Love
This luxe oil absorbed in less than a minute.
What We Don't Love
We didn’t notice a specific increase in our glow factor.
If you live in fear of your face oil transferring onto your pillowcase after your evening skin routine, or you simply don’t have more than a couple of minutes to spare, we’d recommend the Virgin Marula Luxury Facial Oil from Drunk Elephant. Once we patted this onto our skin, the oil absorbed in less than a minute, and the soaked-in feeling left us totally confident this oil wouldn’t transfer onto our sheets or other fabrics. We’d also nominate the Virgin Marula Luxury Facial Oil for the “plays nice with others” award—that is, it layered nicely with our moisturizer. We can’t say that we noticed a specific glow after applying this oil, but it felt effective as the last step in a nighttime routine.
Skin Type: All skin types | Size: 1 fl oz. | Ingredient Highlights: Sclerocarya birrea (marula) seed oil
Best with Antioxidants: Josie Maran 100 Percent Pure Argan Oil
What We Love
The simple, singular ingredient—argan oil—is extra rich in vitamin E.
What We Don't Love
This oil felt heavy upon initial application, but it quickly soaked in.
The sun, smog, the random person vaping next to you on the patio—our skin is susceptible to a lot of environmental damage. That’s when we turn to antioxidants, which help protect your skin from free radicals and other environmental hazards. While the Josie Maran 100% Pure Argan Oil boasts only one ingredient (you guessed it—argan oil), but that ingredient is packed with fatty acids, antioxidants, and vitamin E. Vitamin E is an antioxidant, and to boot, it’s known for reducing the signs of aging. Application-wise, we did feel this oil was a little thick at first, but it absorbed surprisingly quickly and delivered an instantly smooth texture (without feeling greasy).
Skin Type: All skin types | Size: 1.7 fl oz. | Ingredient Highlights: Pure argan oil
Best with Clean Ingredients: Elemis Superfood Facial Oil
What We Love
The vegan and cruelty-free ingredients are powerful yet gentle.
What We Don't Love
The oil felt thick and heavy, and it didn’t absorb quite as well as other products we tested.
Your skin deserves superfoods, too. Our eyes popped out at the ingredients list of the ELEMIS Superfood Facial Oi (in a good way): broccoli, daikon radish, flaxseed, and rosehip, to name a few of the nine superfood oils featured. This face oil is both vegan and cruelty-free, and yet it still manages to be highly effective. We were also delighted by the scent, which was herbal and spa-like. The oil felt a tad heavy going on, so we’d recommend applying one drop at a time to reach your ideal level of emollience.
Skin Type: All skin types | Size: 0.5 fl oz. | Ingredient Highlights: Flaxseed oil, daikon radish, broccoli seed oil
Best Scent: Aesop Fabulous Face Oil
What We Love
The scent is pure bliss, thanks to sandalwood, rose, and geranium.
What We Don't Love
On occasion, the product spilled and made the bottle feel slippery.
If you’re into the idea of making your skincare less of a routine and more of a ritual, the Aesop Fabulous Face Oil may be the luxurious experience you’re craving. The oil is thoughtfully fragranced with notes of sandalwood, rose, geranium, and ylang-ylang, and the botanical oils are hydrating and nourishing for a soft, smooth texture on your skin. Overall, applying this face oil felt like an aromatherapy experience at the spa. We do feel the packaging could be improved a bit (at times, the product spilled and left a slippery residue on the bottle), but we wouldn’t consider that a dealbreaker.
Skin Type: All skin types | Size: 0.9 fl oz. | Ingredient Highlights: Juniper berry, ylang ylang, jasmine petal
What To Keep In Mind
Skin Type: Face oils work for all skin types, but some will benefit more from certain ingredients. Those with dry or normal skin will want to search for facial oils with squalane, coconut oil, marula oil, and other oils with high amounts of fatty acids. Acne-prone and/or oily skin can also use squalane to balance oil production, as well as oils that are non-comedogenic, including tea tree, jojoba, and argan oil. Most of these oils are great for soothing sensitive and/or mature skin, but all skin types will benefit from oils that provide instant hydration – it’s just a matter of finding the right one for you.
Consistency: Especially during the warmer months, a greasy face oil is never ideal. Of course, the consistency and feel of a face oil will vary from skin type to skin type, but you’ll want an oil that doesn’t sit on top of the face and won’t feel heavy. All of this depends on how quickly the oil can penetrate the skin, which relies on the chemical composition of a formula’s fatty acids, the ratios of acids inside its ingredient list (oils with more oleic acid than linoleic acid will feel thicker on the skin), and much more. Plant-based formulas are often the most lightweight because they contain non-comedogenic oils.
Your Questions, Answered
How often do you use facial oil?
Depending on your skin type, how often you use facial oil will vary. Oily and combination skin types should use a face oil once a day compared to drier and sensitive skin types who might benefit from more frequent use. In general, face oils are best used in the evening, as a night oil, for a boost of moisture while you sleep, but can also be used in your morning routine. Oftentimes, a few drops dabbed or patted on the skin is all that’s needed, depending on your skin’s needs, after applying your thinnest products. You can use your face oil on damp or dry skin, and even mixed with your moisturizer.
Does facial oil go on before or after moisturizer?
The universal rule for skin care application is to apply your products from the thinnest to thickest consistency. With this in mind, face oils should be patted on top of the skin after moisturizer to seal the product in, and to create a barrier over your skin to prevent water loss. Another reason why face oils should be your last step is because they’re able to easily penetrate through serums and moisturizers, but not vice versa (your other products don’t have this same ability when used after oils). If you want to use a face oil in the morning while you're still wearing your bathrobe, the only exception to this rule is for sunscreen – face oils must be applied before.
Why Shop With Us
Madison San Miguel is a contributing writer for the commerce team at InStyle, and has covered everything from fashion week to beauty product reviews. Her work has been published in Travel + Leisure, TripSavvy, Bustle, Elite Daily, V Magazine, and other lifestyle publications. In addition to her research, she went through the testing results provided by our testers to give the most accurate review.
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