Don't let its name fool you: Farmacy Sleep Tight Firming Night Balm, $48, may start out as a balm, but it warms up into an oil-gel that's light but still provides the right amount of moisture for nighttime. It's loaded with a special type of Echinacea that has the highest known concentration of collagen-boosting cichoric acid of anything you can put on your face. In addition, a blend of other essences and seed oils (think: jojoba, grape seed and evening primrose) hydrate, firm and protect your skin.
The Body Shop Oils of Life Intensely Revitalising Facial Oil, $39, contains three cold-pressed seed oils from around the world, painstakingly chosen for their ability to make your skin look as ageless as Jennifer Lopez. Black cumin seed oil from the Egyptian Nile Valley is like a karate-chop of antioxidants to your face; camellia seed oil from the Evergreen Trees in China hydrates and plumps skin; rosehip seed oil from the Andes in Chile is superrich in omega-3 and 6 fatty acids, which are just as good to put on your face as they are to put in your body.
It's a not-so-secret (and no-so-fun) fact that as you age, your skin gets drier. (Thanks, diminishing epidermal lipids.) Origins Plantscription Youth-renewing Face Oil, $51, works to balance and restore these lipids with a non-acnegenic oil. It contains the brand's signature Plantscription anti-ager African anogeissus, plus a bevy of ingredients chosen specifically because they mimic key facial lipids that keep skin hydrated and youthful-looking.
Skyn Iceland Artic Face Oil, $35, is cruelty-free and contains only three skin-plumping, balancing ingredients. It's 99.9 percent cold-pressed camelina oil that's naturally sourced from the Camelina Sativa plant. "Woo-hoo, more plants," you might be thinking. But this one is extra special: This plant contains nine essential fatty acids that make it able to survive in sub-zero temperatures (brrrr). This ability lends itself well to repairing and restoring aging, dry skin. The other 0.1 percent is made of sunflower oil, a natural preservative, and vitamin E, which provides anti-oxidant benefits (get outta here, free radicals) and helps restore skin's elasticity.
The ingredients your face is missing: broccoli. Well, broccoli seeds. The oil that's squeezed out of these seeds is filled with vitamin A and omega-9 fatty acids, which work with your sunscreen to protect skin from harmful, wrinkle-causing UV rays. It's also one of the many key ingredients in Sunday Riley's anti-aging superstar Juno Hydroactive Cellular Face Oil, $125. In line with the veggie theme, it also contains wild carrot seed oil, which helps increase skin's elasticity and makes your complexion glow. Also packed into this powerhouse jar: cold-pressed blackberry, blueberry, cranberry, red raspberry and black cumin seed oils. All together, these create an inflammatory-and-free-radical-fighting, skin-brightening, collagen-boosting elixir.
