Face oils provide a multitude of skincare benefits, from soothing easily irritated skin to adding nourishing ingredients and promoting deep hydration. Designed for use alongside moisturisers, serums, and other skincare products, there are plenty of excellent picks to choose from for every budget and skin type.
Benefits of Face Oils
Oils offer a protective barrier that helps skin retain moisture by sealing it in effectively. If you are prone to dry skin or need a hydrating boost, adding an oil into your routine will help other moisturising skincare layers work more efficiently. By preventing the loss of natural moisture, oils are suitable for skin prone to irritation, sensitivity, acne, dryness, and redness.
Depending on your skin type and concerns, key ingredients to look out for include brightening vitamin C, healing rosehip, plumping peptides, and soothing vitamin E. For those with sensitivity, fragrance-free formulas may be the best choice. According to skin experts, face oil should typically be applied as the final step in your skincare routine to successfully seal hydration into the skin's surface. However, it remains vital to apply SPF on top during the day for protection.
Whether your skin is oily, sensitive, combination, or dry, oils can help rebalance sebum levels. Yet, not every face oil delivers the same results, so thorough testing is essential to find the best options.
How We Tested
We trialled the face oils in this round-up over several weeks, with some products used in our daily skincare routine for six months or more. To make the final list, the oils needed to be smoothing and nourishing while effectively promoting hydration. Below is our full tried and tested list of the best face oils to suit all budgets.
The Best Face Oils
1. Best Face Oil Overall – By Sarah London Hero Facial Oil
This organic product is free from essential oils and fragrances, making it ideal for skin prone to irritation. With only six plant oil ingredients, including sweet almond, pumpkin seed, argan, and vitamin E, it offers a lavishly soothing thick formula. We used about three drops, and the oil soaked in well while leaving a dewy softness. It is skin-plumping and minimises dullness or redness, striking a perfect balance between calming and hydrating.
2. Best Budget Face Oil – The Ordinary 100% Organic Cold-Pressed Rose Hip Seed Oil
This organic oil has a thick consistency, best applied once a day. It works well at night when skin is thirstiest but also provides a daily nourishment boost under makeup. The oil smooths over skin and feels gently comforting on irritation, offering a lingering glossiness for a glass-skin look. We saw noticeable improvements in redness and inflammation, all at a bargain price.
3. Best Face Oil for Dry Skin – Clarins Blue Orchid Treatment Oil
With a light botanical scent and plant-extract ingredients like rosewood, patchouli, and blue orchid, this oil is perfect for dry skin. A tiny amount soothes and adds visible moisture, absorbing quickly without greasiness. It leaves skin noticeably glowing and softened, with extra dewiness under makeup, making it a go-to choice.
4. Best Soothing Face Oil – StriVectin Multi-Action Super-B Barrier Strengthening Oil
Featuring a slightly sweet scent and key components like probiotics and vitamin B3, this oil absorbs fast while leaving a sheeny veil. It calms red, dry patches and improves softness, and its lightweight texture makes it great for mixing with moisturiser or foundation for a quicker morning routine.
5. Best Evening Face Oil – Liz Earle Superskin Concentrate Oil for Night
Designed for nighttime use, this blend includes rosehip-seed oil, argan oil, chamomile, neroli, and vitamin E. Its rich botanical scent and lightweight, runny texture make application easy, spreading across face and neck before absorbing quickly. Used before bed, it hydrates and softens skin by morning, offering both skincare benefits and a relaxing aroma.
6. Best Multi-Tasking Face Oil – Lumity Skin Nutrients Facial Oil
With a dreamy spa-like scent from essential oils and ingredients like marula oil and evening primrose oil, this lightweight oil adds a refreshing feel and intense moisture boost. It is calming on sensitive skin and versatile enough for use on hair, nails, or as a highlighter over makeup.
7. Best Skin-Softening Face Oil – Ole Henriksen Strength Hydrabarrier Nourishing Face Oil
Containing vegan-friendly peptides, vitamin E, and berry oils, this midweight oil feels glossy and leaves a velvety-soft finish. It soaks in efficiently, with surface hydration lingering throughout the day for a glow, and can be mixed with moisturiser for extra nourishment.
8. Best Face Oil for Dewiness – Sacred Elemental Glow Face Oil
With an intoxicating scent from cedarwood, ylang ylang, turmeric, and mandarin, plus ingredients like olive squalane and hemp-seed oil, this lightweight oil feels richly nourishing. A drop or two covers the whole face, providing a noticeable glow and smoothing over dry patches for an even base.
9. Best Luxury Face Oil – Perricone MD Chia Oil
This luxe oil with chia seed oil, sweet almond oil, lipids, and vitamin F is gentle on sensitive skin and absorbs easily without greasiness. It leaves a subtle glow and helps plump out fine lines, ideal for morning or evening use with a sweet, creamy scent.
10. Best Face Oil for Acne-Prone Skin – Dermatology M Anti-Acne Face Oil
Offering a demi-matte finish, this anti-comedogenic formula includes sunflower oils, prickly pear seed, rosehip, vitamin E, and bakuchiol. It provides a slight tingle on application but balances tone and brightens skin, leaving it smooth and silky soft without blocking pores.
11. Best Vegan-Friendly Face Oil – Kora Organics Noni Glow Face Oil
This vegan-friendly oil features noni extract, rosehip oil, pomegranate, and sea buckthorn oil, leaving a visible glow and radiance. It soothes and hydrates skin with a fresh, light scent, and a tiny amount goes a long way for daily use.
The Verdict
By Sarah London's hero facial oil is our best buy overall for its soothing, calming, and skin-softening properties. Liz Earle's superskin concentrate oil for night offers a relaxing evening option to promote hydration, while Lumity's skin nutrients facial oil is a comforting, versatile layer suitable for hair and nails too.
