Serums and Treatments · The Edit

Face Oils

Premium face oils sorted by oil family, weight and routine job: pure squalane, vitamin C glow oils, superfood blends and aromatic night oils

A face oil is not a moisturiser and it is not a serum, and most disappointment with the category comes from expecting it to be one of those. An oil adds no water to skin. What it does is slow water leaving: pressed over damp skin or over a moisturiser, a few drops form the occlusive, cushioning layer that keeps the water based steps underneath working for longer. That is why the same oil can feel transformative on dry, tight skin in January and like pure grease on oily skin in August. The category rewards readers who choose by oil family and weight, not by the glow promise on the front of the bottle.

The ten oils in this edit fall into four honest families. Pure squalane oils are single ingredient, featherweight and fragrance free, the closest thing to skin's own sebum chemistry in a bottle. Vitamin C oils carry an oil soluble form of vitamin C in a nourishing base, so the glow step and the sealing step arrive together. Superfood and seed oil blends bring a wider fatty acid and antioxidant spread, at the cost of a more present texture and natural scent. Aromatic treatment oils, the French pharmacy tradition, build essential oils into the formula deliberately, which is either the point or the reason to skip them, depending on your skin. Every oil here was verified on its live Amazon listing through an official brand channel, and the specs quoted are the ones printed on the listing or the bottle.

Read the best-of guide How to choose

Biossance Squalane + Vitamin C Rose Oil pink tinted 30 ml dropper bottle with rose gold collar and white label — Biossance Squalane + Vitamin C Rose Oil: the leading pickThe Face Oils Edit

No. 1

The Leading Three

The top of the ranked guide, in brief. The full ranking sits in the best-of.

No. 1

Biossance Squalane + Vitamin C Rose Oil

Best Overall

The glow oil built on squalane: an oil soluble vitamin C in a sugarcane squalane base, finished with Chios crystal oil and Damascus rose extract.

It is the easiest first oil to recommend honestly: a featherweight sugarcane squalane base carrying an oil soluble vitamin C, so the sealing step most routines need also does brightening work. The rose scent is the one caveat, and it is stated on the entry rather than buried.

Suits

Normal, dry and dull looking skin that wants its brightening step and its oil step in one bottle, and readers new to face oils who want a light first oil with an active in it.

Skip if

You avoid fragrance character in leave on products. The Damascus rose extract gives this oil a noticeable rose scent, and the pure squalane entry below is the scent free route to the same base oil.

Size: 30 ml / 1 fl oz
Format: Dropper facial oil
Key ingredients: Squalane, vitamin C, Chios crystal oil, Damascus rose extract
Use: Press a few drops onto clean skin morning and night, after serum and moisturiser to seal, as directed on the listing
Formula note: Vegan, plant derived squalane base, as printed on the bottle

View on AmazonPremium listing verified: Amazon listing for the Biossance brand with manufacturer Biossance and manufacturer part number 3000641 as printed in the product details.

Sunday Riley C.E.O. Glow amber orange 35 ml dropper bottle with gold collar and label reading Vitamin C + Turmeric Face Oil with THD Ascorbate

No. 2

Sunday Riley C.E.O. Glow Vitamin C + Turmeric Face Oil

Best for Glow

The statement glow oil: THD ascorbate and golden turmeric in cold pressed raspberry and evening primrose oils, in the orange bottle.

THD ascorbate with golden turmeric in raspberry and evening primrose oils is the most deliberate glow formula here, and the orange bottle delivers the morning radiance its name promises. It ranks below the Biossance only because its scent and tint ask more of the user.

Suits

Dull, uneven looking skin that wants a visible morning glow from its oil step, and vitamin C users who prefer the comfortable, oil soluble form over a water based serum.

Skip if

You want a fragrance free, single job oil. Turmeric and the seed oils give C.E.O. Glow a warm, distinctive scent and an unmistakable orange tint on the skin at first application.

Size: 35 ml / 1.18 fl oz
Format: Dropper facial oil
Key ingredients: Vitamin C (THD ascorbate), golden turmeric, evening primrose oil, red raspberry seed oil
Use: Warm a few drops between palms and press onto clean skin morning or night, as directed on the listing
Vitamin C form: THD ascorbate, an oil soluble form of vitamin C, as printed on the bottle

View on AmazonPremium listing verified: Amazon listing data for ASIN B07P2QDSD3 (1.18 fl oz) with model name C.E.O. Glow Vitamin C and brand Sunday Riley as printed in the product details.

Clarins Aroma Blue Orchid Treatment Oil golden yellow 30 ml dropper bottle with silver collar and 100 percent plant extracts badge

No. 3

Clarins Blue Orchid Face Treatment Oil

Best for Dehydrated Skin

The French pharmacy original for dehydrated skin: blue orchid and hazelnut oil in a formula Clarins has sold since the aromatherapy era began.

Hazelnut oil and blue orchid in a 100 percent plant extracts formula is the classic answer to skin that feels tight and looks dull, with decades of the same brief behind it. It is a night oil with a real aromatic presence, and the ranking says so openly.

Suits

Dehydrated, tight and dull looking skin, especially skin that feels dry yet still produces some oil, and readers who enjoy a classic aromatic treatment ritual at night.

Skip if

You avoid essential oils on principle. Blue Orchid is an aromatic treatment oil in the Clarins tradition, and patchouli essential oil is part of its identity, not an accident.

Size: 30 ml / 1 fl oz
Format: Dropper treatment oil
Key ingredients: Blue orchid extract, hazelnut oil, patchouli essential oil
Use: Warm a few drops in the palms and press over a damp, cleansed face in the evening, as directed on the listing
Formula note: 100 percent plant extracts, as printed on the bottle

View on AmazonPremium listing verified: Amazon listing data for ASIN B09XTYHXN2 with manufacturer Clarins and item model number 3380810329391 as printed in the product details, in the current Clarins Aroma packaging.

See all 10 picks in the Best Face Oils 2027 guide

No. ·

Keep Researching

Every page in the Face Oils edit.

No. ·

More from the Serums and Treatments Desk

Serums and Treatments

Anti-Aging Creams

Eleven premium creams for the look of lines, read by active system rather than by promise

Read the edit

Serums and Treatments

Dark Spot Correctors

Serums for the look of dark spots, compared by ingredient route rather than by promise

Read the edit

Serums and Treatments

Face Serums

The premium serums a reader meets first, sorted by the job each one actually does

Read the edit

Best anti-aging creams Best dark spot correctors Best face serums All serums and treatments coverage

Disclosure: links on this page are affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, Eclat Press earns from qualifying purchases, at no added cost to you. Rankings are never sold. See our affiliate disclosure and methodology.