My latest beauty obsession is skin oil, mostly because it promises to preserve youth, sort of like how the pickle juice in a jar preserves the pickle. (The facial oil is the juice and I am the pickle in this scenario). I was wary of face oils at first because I’ve always broken out easily, so slathering oil on my face sounded counter-intuitive when it seemed like my body was producing enough of its own. But I kept reading that oils are beneficial for those with oily complexions, so I decided to give it a go. I’ve tried several, and this one is my favorite so far. After the first few I went through, which were all too thick, heavy, or never seemed to fully absorb, leaving oily streaks on my pillow, I finally went into Sephora and the saleswoman recommended Algenist Advanced Anti-Aging Repairing Oil to me, and packaged up a few samples. I love samples because it’s so fun to try new products, but am also skeptical of them; I always wonder if people are being paid to promote the product (in the case of this blog, I’m not), not sharing because they love them.

But, whether or not there was something in it for her to share this one with me, I’m glad she did because it’s great. In addition to the tiny packet that came on the back of this card, she also gave me enough of a sample to last for a week and that was enough to sell me on actually purchasing it. She told me it was the lightest and quickest to absorb of their oils, and she was right; it doesn’t feel like a mask sitting on my face, or like I got in a food fight with a bottle of olive oil. But even though it absorbs quickly, it’s also really hydrating; it’s one of the few products I’ve found so far that I can use on top of my Retin-A that prevents my face from drying out and peeling. And it says anti-aging on the bottle, which is a buzzword for me as I crawl toward 30. And it’s “harnessed from Microalgae with painstaking precision.” And you guys know how much I love algae. It’s on the pricier side, but not as expensive as some other oils or Botox; and, I waited to write this blog until I’d used the entire bottle, which lasted me roughly 3 months.

What products are your secrets to eternal youth? (I’ll add them to my Sephora cart now, and a few glasses of wine in, buy them and then forget until the box arrives and then it will be like Christmas in spring!)