Here I am, the end of what was a particularly mild winter. And while we seem to have survived the cold intact, New York City is on edge with the coronavirus beginning to affect us directly.

But, hey, I’m more than prepared — with my bougie Touchland hand sanitizer, a 3-month supply of migraine meds, and my uber-fashionable black N95 mask. (For the record, I ordered mine days before Gwyneth Paltrow posted herself in the same damn mask en route to Paris.)

Paris? I’m staying right here at home in Brooklyn with Orpheus, practicing social distancing, working on my blog — and playing with all kinds of cool skincare products. You know I’m making the best of it! I’m particularly excited about a few new Vitamin C serums, moisturizing facial pads, a natural deodorant cream, and lightweight facial oils for the warmer days to come.

Even though winter in the City this year wasn’t as excruciating for me as it usually is, I still needed to switch up my skin care to keep my face from drying out in the cold. And one of the very few things I love about the cold is a good facial oil. (That and basketball!)

At the outset of the facial oil season back in mid-December, I wrote a blog article titled, My Favorite Facial Oils for Combatting Cold Weather. If you missed it, you can still catch it here.

In it, I highlighted six facial oils that I considered among the best I’ve come across — including selections from my two favorite clean beauty brands — Herbivore’s Phoenix facial oil and the Bia Facial Oil from Codex Beauty. Both are rich, nourishing, cold weather treatments made with some of the finest non-fragrant plant oils available in skin care.

In particular, the Codex Facial Oil formula is the ideal blend of seven plant oils, including my cherished Rosehip Seed Oil, perhaps the most well-rounded oil with legitimate anti-aging benefits.

Through January, I alternated between those two fantastic formulas. They brought me tremendous pleasure — and tremendously moist, healthy skin!

But as winter has waned, I’ve been on the hunt for lighter formulas. Simply, my skin won’t need a heavy, occlusive layer to prevent dryness and dehydration. So, I’m excited to share three of the best facial oils I’ve come across that I love — and think you’ll enjoy, too!

The Glow Maker 1% Bakuchiol Facial Night Oil

Since I first started exploring the plethora of Bakuchiol skin care that came to the market last fall, I’ve come across numerous Bakuchiol serums and Bakuchiol moisturizers — some terrific, some terrible.

Interestingly, though, there haven’t been a whole lot of facial oils made with the natural Retinol alternative. I think it’s because facial oils aren’t nearly as popular among consumers as serums and conventional moisturizers are. Facial oils are more niche — and commonly misunderstood as being only for dry skin.

And while dry skin does indeed benefit the most from a facial oil, not all of them are created equal. Facial oils run the gamut — from a dry oil like The Ordinary’s 100% Plant-Derived Hemi-Squalane to a rich, wet oil like the aforementioned Herbivore Phoenix.

And then there’s everything in between!

That’s where you’ll find The Glow Maker’s 1% Bakuchiol Facial Night Oil. It’s closer to a dry oil on the facial oil spectrum.

If you haven’t had the chance to try anything from The Glow Maker, or are unfamiliar with the brand, I reviewed it on my blog here.

The Glow Maker is a range of remarkably well-formulated clinical skin care. Many of the products are the kind of active-powered serums that I prefer in my routines. Serums tend to penetrate the skin more readily and, thus, deliver greater efficacy. But the brand’s also got several really well-formulated facial oils that are a real pleasure to use — including Sleeping Night Oil with 2.5% Granactive Retinoid and the oil-based Vitamin C/E & Ferulic Acid Serum.

Not only are The Glow Maker’s products well-formulated and clean, they’re also natural and cruelty-free — with a significant amount of organic actives in each formula. Oh, and they’re affordably priced, too — one of the brands that I designate as embracing the philosophy of democratic skin care.

The 1% Bakuchiol Facial Night Oil is super lightweight and formulated with, of course, a one-percent concentration of Bakuchiol, the industry standard. The Glow Maker formula is loaded — and I mean loaded — with skin-replenishing, nourishing and revitalizing non-fragrant plants oils. Many of them, too, are organic. Among the most notable are Rosehip Seed Oil, Blackberry Seed Oil, Apricot Kernel Oil and Borage Seed Oil — all of which are both organic and cold-pressed.

What’s the deal with “cold-pressed”? There’s an excelled article titled, Why Cold-Pressed Skincare Products Are Better For Your Skin on the Zoe Report here.

In the article, I found this:

While labels like “organic” and “biodynamic” refer to how ingredients are grown and harvested, “cold-pressed” refers to how said ingredients are processed. Typically, there are two main ways to extract oil from raw nuts and seeds: via heat processing, or through the use of chemical solvents. Both methods actually “reduce the quality of the oil by decreasing the active components,” Moe Kittaneh, the CEO of Herbal Dynamics Beauty, explains in an email to TZR — the “active components” being the vitamins, antioxidants, and fatty acids natural oils are known for.

Because cold pressing extracts the oil from plant substances without ingredient-compromising heat processing or solvents, the extracted oil maintains optimum levels of antioxidants and nutrients at more efficacious levels.

In addition to numerous organic, cold-pressed plant oils, The Glow Maker’s 1% Bakuchiol Facial Night Oil also contains effective levels of powerful antioxidants including Astaxanthin, Coenzyme Q10, and both organic Ginger Root Extract and organic Curcumin — the principal curcuminoid of anti-inflammatory, antioxidant turmeric.

It’s such a terrific formula! You can grab The Glow Maker 1% Bakuchiol Facial Night Oil on the brand’s website for $30 here.

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Ghost Democracy Softglow Facial Oil

One of the more intriguing recent brand discoveries for me has been Ghost Democracy Skincare. And as the name implies, it’s a democratic skincare brand! Los-Angeles based Ghost Democracy believes in “a higher standard of clean” — that is, less chemicals, more actives, and accessibility for all. You know I’m down with that!

And you know what else I’m down with?

Waterless skin care! Ghost Democracy is focused on developing superior skincare products without watering down the formulas, something I’m very much paying attention to of late. Not only is water in skin care wasteful and nonsensical, it also misses the opportunity to deliver the most pro-skin health benefits possible.

I talked a bit about the benefits of replacing water in skin care in my blog last week on Biophile, a brand whose founding formulator prefers to use nutrient-rich fermented broths in place of water.

Taking it a bit further, Rex Chou, founder of Ghost Democracy Skincare says, “The future is bright for waterless beauty, as long as other proven active ingredients are involved. Waterless beauty that just replaces water as a base with ‘cucumber water’ or other infusions that have no proven effect is equally detrimental to the industry as overpriced alternatives.” I couldn’t agree more with that sentiment.

While I’ve been playing around with Ghost Democracy’s inaugural range of six products, two of them stand out to me. The first is the brand’s waterless Lightbulb Vitamin C Serum, which I will be reviewing soon in an article about new Vitamin C discoveries of 2020. (Psst…this one’s blown me away. Stay tuned!)

“We believe that clean skincare and the confidence it brings should be accessible to everyone.”

- Ghost Democracy Skincare

The other stand-out in the Ghost Democracy range is the Softglow Facial Oil. It’s more of a wet oil than The Glow Maker’s 1% Bakuchiol oil, but it’s not the least bit greasy. In fact, five or ten seconds after application, it’s completely absorbed.

Softglow is a 100% natural, non-toxic formula that’s both silicone- and fragrance-free. In fact, it’s almost as notable for what’s not in it as what is!

Ghost Democracy makes no bones about the fact that Softglow has…

“No sulfates, no silicones, no essential oils, no drying alcohols, no added fragrance, no phthalates, no parabens, no mineral oil, no synthetic dyes, no propylene glycol, no formaldehyde, no MEA, DEA, TEA, no PEG compounds, no EDTA.”

With just 14 ingredients, Softglow is a clean oil dream. There are numerous common, expected plant oils, like Sweet Almond Oil, Sunflower Seed Oil, and Apricot Kernel Oil and Bisabolol — the active component of chamomile that’s a terrific irritation soother. But that’s where the road to normal ends.

Things get more intriguing around ingredient number four with the inclusion of Cloudberry Seed Oil, Meadowfoam Seed Oil, and Abyssinian Seed Oil. All off them are terrific non-fragrant plants oils with potent antioxidant and skin-replenishing benefits.

Where things get intriguing, though, is at ingredient number nine, Garcinia Mangostana — or Mangosteen Seed Oil. It wasn’t that long ago that I had no idea WTF a mangosteen was. It takes me back to my first trip to Hong Kong in November, 2012. I had never heard of mangosteens in my life — and suddenly they were a thing. And they’re delicious, too!

The first time I ever saw a mangosteen was on a trip to Hong Kong back in 2012.

I had no idea, then or now, that they’re so nutritious. Rich in vitamins and minerals, mangosteens contain several nutrients with antioxidant activity, including vitamin C. More interesting, mangosteens are rich in xanthones — a unique plant compound known to have strong antioxidant properties, among other benefits.

According to the US National Institute of Health, “Several studies have shown that xanthones possess significant biological properties, including anti-oxidant, anti-tumor, anti-inflammatory, anti-allergy, anti-bacterial, anti-fungal and anti-viral activities.”

I’m having fun peeling back the layers of Ghost Democracy as much as I’ve had peeling back the layers of a mangosteen. You can check the brand out for yourself and cop the $38 Softglow Facial Oil here.

Terra Beauty Bars Super Hemp Lite Oil

I first discovered Terra Beauty Bars at the onset of the holidays and was immediately taken by the brand’s range of four “mask grains” — natural powdered masks that you charge up with a bit of water. The Morning Glory Turmeric + Brazilian Yellow Clay Dry Mask featured prominently in a #selfcaresunday video on my IGTV channel over the New Year’s break.

So, with my deep immersion into the brand’s powdered masks, I was excited to explore more. I’ve tried numerous hemp-derived facial oils, both with and without CBD. The Terra Beauty Bars Super Hemp Lite Oil contains no cannabidiol. In fact, it contains nothing but a single ingredient — Cannabis Sativa (Hemp) Seed Oil.

In my earlier blog article on my top facial oil picks, I talked about the Kiehl’s Cannabis Sativa Seed Oil Herbal Concentrate — a terrific, albeit imperfect facial oil.

Also known as Cannabis Sativa Seed Oil, Hemp Seed Oil is characterized as one of the best actives for the skin by my skincare muse, Paula Begoun.

It’s a terrific nourishing emollient substance that’s also rich in replenishing fatty acids, amino acids and antioxidants. All of which are superb for maintaining and restoring skin health.

Here’s what Paula has to say about Hemp Seed Oil:

“Because both hemp and marijuana are from the genus Cannabis, they are often thought (erroneously) to have similar properties. In cosmetics, hemp seed oil is used as an emollient and to supply skin with omega fatty acids it needs to replenish itself and strengthen its surface against moisture loss. Specifically, hemp seed oil contains the omega-3 fatty acid, alpha-linolenic acid, and the omega-6 fatty acid — linoleic acid.
Hemp seed oil also contains beneficial phospholipids, plant sterols, amino acids (it’s especially high in the amino acid arginine) and is a rich source of antioxidant vitamin E.
Another benefit of hemp seed oil is that it seems to enhance the benefits of cannabidiol, also known as CBD. This is likely due to the interaction between trace amounts of cannabinoids in hemp seed oil and pure cannabidiol.”

Terra Beauty Bar’s Super Hemp Lite Oil is reminiscent of single-note facial oils like The Ordinary’s Hemi-Squalane and Good Molecules’ Pure Cold-Pressed Rosehip Seed Oil. What I love about the Super Hemp Lite Oil is you get the full hemp oil experience — replete with that earthy, savory scent of the hemp that I personally love.

The Terra Beauty Bars oil is formulated with 100% organic, cold-pressed Hemp Seed Oil rich in omega 3 and omega 6 fatty acids that Terra says is, “potent, raw and unrefined.” It’s simple, and simply, pro-skin health — as basic, yet full of goodness as it gets.

Super Hemp Lite Oil is super lightweight and easily layered, with little to no dry-down time.

I’m having fun exploring the good, clean, organic skin care from Terra Beauty Bars — and I think you will, too. In fact, I’m honored to collaborate with Terra on a cool giveaway so that one of you can explore the brand for yourself! Details are just below.

It’s a wrap! I hope you’ll check out these three excellent facial oils from three indie brands that are new to the scene. They deserve some love!

🖤 SKINCARMA

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The Glow Maker 1% Bakuchiol Facial Night Oil

Terra Beauty Bars Super Hemp Lite Oil

Ghost Democracy Softglow Facial Oil

The Ingredient List of The Glow Maker 1% Bakuchiol Facial Night Oil:

Key Ingredients: 1% Bakuchiol (Plant-Base) Retinol Alternative, 1% Alpha Lipoic Acid, Astaxanthin, Coenzyme Q10, Vitamin E (Natural, Non-GMO), Vitamin K2
Botanical Extracts: Organic Ginger, Organic Curcumin (Standardized to 95%), Rosemary Oleoresin
Natural Oils: Organic, Cold Pressed Rosehip Seed Oil, Organic, Cold Pressed Prickly Pear Seed Oil, Organic, Cold Pressed Blackberry Seed Oil, Organic, Cold Pressed Apricot Kernel Oil, Organic, Cold Pressed Grape Seed Oil, Organic, Cold Pressed Borage Seed Oil (Standardized to 18% Gamma Linolenic Acid), Organic, Cold Pressed Evening Primrose Seed Oil (Standardized to 10% Gamma Linolenic Acid), Organic, Cold Pressed Sunflower Seed Oil (high linoleic variety)

The Ingredient List of the Terra Beauty Bars Super Hemp Lite Oil:

Cannabis Sativa (Hemp) Seed Oil

The Ingredient List of the Ghost Democracy Softglow Facial Oil:

Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis (Sweet Almond) Oil, Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Oil, Gossypium Herbaceum (Cottonseed) Seed Oil, Rubus Chamaemorus (Cloudberry) Seed Oil, Limnanthes Alba (Meadowfoam) Seed Oil, Squalane, Crambe Abyssinica (Abyssinian) Seed Oil, Passiflora Edulis (Passionflower) Seed Oil, Prunus Armeniaca (Apricot) Kernel Oil, Garcinia Mangostana (Mangosteen) Seed Oil, Ximenia Americana (Ximenia) Seed Oil, Bisabolol, Panthenyl Triacetate, Acetyl Rheum Rhaponticum Root Extract.