It sometimes really hard to understand why make-up brands diversify into skincare. This has partly to do with my regimented way of thinking, but let’s be honest, Huda Beauty make some great skincare products with their Wishful range.
Is the same true for Charlotte Tilbury’s face oil?
Sizing matters
I’ve bought the 8ml face oil, which set me back £25 and means per/ml I am paying £3.125 (or Rs 300/ml). The larger size (30ml) sets me back £2/ml or Rs 200/ml. That’s a 33% difference in pricing, which is quite offensive.
What are you paying for?
I went through the ingredient list and I’ll be honest I am not 100% impressed with it. First, there are no indications that the oils included are cold-pressed or organic. I cannot emphasise what a difference to the final product the quality of the oils make because refining removes so many nutrients from the product (including anti-oxidants and various vitamins).
Secondly, I don’t think avocado oil and olive oil are the best ingredients for your face skin and £3.125/ml I will be honest with you, these would not be my first choice.
The oils that I do like are Evening Primrose Oil, Raspberry Seed Oil and Blueberry oil (Note 1 below) and you can see the benefits of these oils at the end of this blog. BUT the benefits I have listed are cold pressed, organic versions.
Finally the oil has an odd combination of Babassu Oil, Cocoa Seed Extract and various essential oils:
- Lavender (anti-inflammatory)
- Eucalyptus (anti-inflammatory, anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial)
- Magnolia Bark Extract (reduces redness)
Collagen peptides
What you need to appreciate, is that even though a brand like Charlotte Tilbury says its products are for everyone, the same is not true for this face oil. What you are paying for is essentially, “COCOYL HYDROLYZED COLLAGEN.”
This is a vegetarian (and vegan) form of collagen (as opposed to bovine or marine collagen).
In a face oil, its function is to help skin retain moisture and thereby have the effect of making skin look plumper. The effects are temporary.
So the question you need to ask yourself is this:
are you at that age when you need your skin (e.g.) under your eyes to be plumped out?
BUT if you are in your 20s and 30s, seriously ask yourself, do you need your skin to look plumper? If the answer is no, then don’t buy this product.
Would I buy this product again?
Its so easy to forget that brands target specific consumers when they make products. This is not a panacea for all skin types especially because its so expensive.
The price alone is enough to put me off buying the product again BUT the real deal-breakers for me are:
- The smell is of Lavender and it is overwhelmingly strong.
- The oils are not organic and/or cold-pressed.
- I don’t understand why this combination of oils is used especially avocado oil and olive oil and I write that because they are not my first choice of oils for the skin
Note 1) Organic, cold pressed Evening Primrose oil
One of the few plant oils that is rich in Gamma Linoleic Acid (GLA). Our bodies cannot synthesise GLA for itself and high GLA content oil help to regenerate, firm and rejuvenate the skin barrier, thereby maintaining the skin elasticity. In addition the oil reduces TEWL, thereby improving skin hydration, improving skin smoothness and lipid content of the skin. (With age, the lipid content of the skin reduces, so you always want to use products that up these). (INCI name is Oenothera Biennis)
Organic, cold-pressed Raspberry Seed oil
High concentrations of essential fatty acids and exceptionally high in Vitamins E and provitamin A, and protects against UV radiation (which causes photodamage (wrinkles, hyper-pigmentation, loss of skin elasticity etc) (INCI name is Rubus Idaeus Seed Oil)