Facial oil is arguably at the heart of our current skincare craze. For one, the recent surge in popularity of facial oils used as a moisturizer, serum, and oil cleanser has taught us that oil is not to be feared—even if you’re skin is naturally oily and acne-prone. Second, our love affair with facial oil has encouraged us to take a look at the ingredients in the products we slather on our skin every day—if our facial moisturizer can be this simple, natural, and beautifying, what else can?
And while there’s seemingly nothing simpler than a facial oil—whether it’s a single carrier oil like argan or a blend of oils and essential oils—there’s also been exciting innovation taking place in the world of facial oil:
Oil-based makeup.
Oil-based makeup is created with oils, feels like oil, and nourishes like oil. The main difference is that instead of acting merely as skincare, it’s skincare + cosmetics. (And yes, you can layer it with other oils!) As we now approach cooler and potentially drier weather, we’re more likely to reach for our oil-based products more often, and supplementing our normal skincare with oil-based makeup (rather than, say, a traditional matte foundation), can help our skin look and feel its best.
In my own experience with these makeup-serum hybrids is that makeup application can be so much simpler—fingers work beautifully as application tools!—and the effect is so, well, natural. Skin looks like skin but slightly more ethereal, as if you’re wearing a nutrient-rich filter IRL!
Best Innovative Oil-Based Makeup-Serum Hybrid Products
Maya Chia The Highlight of the Day, Illuminating Face Serum Makeup
This creative blend is formulated with pearlized mineral particles suspended in a lightweight oil blend (including wildcrafted chia, broccoli, sunflower, and vitamin E). It’s absorbed quickly and leaves a gorgeous sheen on skin. It can be used to selectively highlight areas of the face or lightly applied as a final layer all over the face for an incredible lit-from-within glow. It can be worn alone or over makeup. Highlight of the Day comes in four beautiful shades–afternoon delight (a peach-pink golden glow), the happy hour (a radiant, cool-toned pink), the golden hour (a warm, golden champagne), and after hours (a bronze, golden glow).
Kosas Tinted Face Oil
This oil-based tinted moisturizer made quite a splash when it hit the beauty scene this year. There’s nothing like it. Rather than serving as a tinted moisturizer in the conventional sense—à la a lotion-y foundation—t’s truly a lightweight liquid formulated with jojoba seed oil, avocado seed oil, meadowfoam seed oil, and raspberry seed oil. It comes in 16 shades and the coverage is light to medium. The finish, perhaps surprisingly, is velvet. The overall effect minimizes the appearance of pores and imperfections while letting skin look like an idealized version of itself. I’ve been mixing mine with my favorite sunscreen for a richer layer of moisture with just a hint of coverage on days when I want to look made up but feel as natural as possible. I’ll also add that it takes a bit of practice to apply it in a way that suits you most. It took me a few applications to learn how this works best with my skin—but it’s been worth it!
Kani Galaxy Milk Illuminating Beauty Oil
This stunning, pearlescent oil is simply mesmerizing—I enjoyed just rolling the bottle between my fingers and getting hypnotized. This oil serum-highlighter hybrid smells like a floral heaven and its holographic quality is perfect for when the crystals on your desktop just aren’t enough to raise your vibes. This stuff is mystical, whimsical, and, oh yeah!, nourishing for skin thanks to its blend of argan, meadowfoam, and hazelnut oil. Swoon!
Have you tried any of these serum-makeup hybrids? Let us know in the comments below 🙂
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Photo: Maya Chia Beauty via Instagram, Respective brands
