I’ve had oily skin since I was a teen and if you ask anyone with oily skin, they’d tell you that they avoided any product with oil in it like the plaque. That was just how it was. I remember when I started working at my local MAC counter back in the day, I over heard a conversation between two senior makeup artists about the virtues of skin care. One of the artists was a cool girl I worshiped and she mentioned how oily her skin got and that to balance it, she used oil on her skin. My ears perked up and I jumped right into the conversation. I mentioned that I, too, had oily skin and how was it that she used oil without breaking out or clogging up her skin? She had gorgeous skin, BTW. She explained that oil can moisturize and clean oily skin and balance the skin without striping it like most oil-free products tend to do. But the big caveat was using oils that oily skin can take. I never thought about that and what she said made total sense.
So fast forward years later and facial oils are all the rage. Usually most oils offered by skin care lines are geared towards people with drier skin. But now companies are starting to see that oils formulated for oily skin are beneficial and can do wonders to address things like acne, redness, and hyper pigmentation. One facial oil in particular that comes to mind is the Sunday Riley U.F.O. Ultra-Clarifying Face Oil. This is perhaps one of the best oils I’ve used to date.
THE BREAKDOWN
ADDRESSES
Acne and blemishes, blackheads, pores
KEY INGREDIENT
1.5% salicylic acid
BENEFICIAL INGREDIENTS
Tea tree oil, black cumin seed oil, licorice and hexylresorcinol
TEXTURE
Dry oil and absorbs beautifully
SCENT
Almost medicinal, but clean
This emerald green oil does what it says it will do. I was experiencing hormonal acne over the last month or so and I needed something that would calm my skin and clear it up a quick as possible. I got a sample of this oil a while back with my Sephora VIB Rouge points and I used it right away. Needing to get rid of one large pimple, after the first night of use, I woke up and noticed that that one stubborn pimple had gotten smaller overnight. Needless to say that I was relieved. I knew it had to be the U.F.O. oil. I continued to use my sample and made a purchase of a full bottle at Sephora within the week. The acne I had definitely calmed my skin and it looked a lot more radiant than it had in the last few months. I’ve even applied extra oil to my neck and decollete and it’s never looked better!
I’ve read up on Sunday Riley oils before and I know they can be quite expensive. So when I visited Sephora, I was happy to see that Sunday Riley offered a smaller more affordable size (.5 oz) for $40. The more I use this face oil, the more I know that I’ll end up purchasing the larger bottle for $80. It has earned a place on my bathroom counter.