Full disclosure: most of the products that I review are ones that I purchased myself (having a discount at some stores and access to samples definitely helps), so I never really ‘plan’ posts in advance. When I received my bottle of Suti Rejuvenate Face Oil from Spirit Beauty Lounge, I immediately knew I had to review this for the beautiful presentation alone before I even used the product! The oil is a vibrant orange hue and it is housed in a weighty clear glass bottle with a beautiful dropper that is fitted with a clear top. I think the combination of the weight clear glass and the rich vibrant color is a visual feast and even after spending weeks with this product, my mood is instantly lifted when I see this on my beauty counter.
Enough about the packaging, let’s get to the precious oil itself! The first thing you’ll notice upon using the oil is the scent. Suti’s Rejuvenate Face Oil is probably the most fragrant natural face oil I’ve used period. This isn’t a an overwhelming, cloying trait, but rather quite delightful as the scent of tangerine, neroli, and citrus’ envelop the senses. Not a big surprise from a company that is just as focused on aromatherapy as they are on skincare. The scent plays a part in uplifting mood, which means the ‘Rejuvenating’ isn’t just done to skin but rather to the senses as well. Indeed, this is the only oil I use where I cup my hands over my nose and take in two deep whiffs before I massage it through my skin.
The ingredients are top notch – all the oils are organic and the carriers are Rosehip & Evening Primrose which is rarely seen:
Rosa Rubiginosa (Rosehip) Seed Oil*, Oenothera Biennis (Evening Primrose) Oil*, Argania (Argan) Spinosa Kernel Oil*, Limonene**, Citrus Reticulata (Tangerine) Peel Oil*, Tocopherol, Santalum Austrocalendonicum (Sandalwood) Wood Oil, Boswelia Carterii (Frankincense)*, Citrus Aurantium Bigaradia (Orange) Flower Oil*, Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba) Seed Oil*, Daucus Carota Sativa (Carrot) Seed Extract*, Rosmarinus Officinalis (Rosemary) Leaf Oil*, Linalool**, Geraniol**, Citral**
Rosehip is often lauded as nature’s retinol and it is a wonderful anti-aging ingredient that also fades acne marks. Evening Primrose is known to ward off dry patches and it is an anti-inflammatory high in Omega-6 fatty acids which improve the overall health of skin. Argan is quite common in facial oils at this point but that’s only because it is one of the best for skin. With these three carrier oils, it’s quite obvious that healing and rejuvenating skin is the objective. The natural fragrances at the end (Linalool, Geraniol, Citral) are used to strengthen the scent as they’re derived from citrus plants, but to be honest, I’d much rather have a facial oil that didn’t have these ingredients as I personally think it lowers the purity of active ingredients in the formula. To me, the blend of Rosehip, Evening Primrose, and Argan is strong enough without diluting the blend with all these fragrant ingredients, I’d much rather see 2 or 3 more essential oils to balance out the list instead to make this a more power packed anti-ager.
The texture of the oil is light. I was quite surprised because rosehip and evening primrose are known to be heavier oils suited for drier skin types. I think what this means is that the concentration has a higher essential oil/carrier oil ratio, which helps explain the fragrant scent of Tangerine and Neroli. Because of the high concentration of citrus oils, Spirit Beauty Lounge advised caution using this during the daytime due to the potential for photo-sensitivity. This is an issue I have with a lot of wonderfully scented facial oils that rely on citrus, while those oils do have great skin benefits in addition to smelling good, it makes me feel like the priority is scent over skincare. As a girl who wears SPF 45 sunscreen everyday, I can’t bring myself to apply this during the day and so I save it for night. So if you’re looking for an oil you can apply during the day, I would advise looking elsewhere.
Despite being lighter in consistency than I predicted, for some reason since I’ve been using this, my skin has been more prone to breaking out. I’m not attributing the blame entirely on this since we did go into summer where it’s easier to breakout in general. I have been swapping it out and I noticed that my skin seems calmer when I am not using this so I’m afraid that this does at the very least play a part in my blemishes. I think the reason might be that the carrier oils are not suited for acne-prone skin types, Evening Primrose is an oil that is typically used for mature skin and Rosehip is also on the heavier side of the oil spectrum as well. I think the ingredients list is fairly straight forward, not a lot of flash, it is divided between two camps: citrus oils used for fragrance and anti-aging oils used for rejuvenating, which tends to center around ingredients not known for playing well with acne prone skin types.
So although this oil isn’t right for me, I believe it is going to be heaven for someone out there, may-haps for the reader with mature/dry skin living in a frequently overcast city like Seattle? At $52, it is definitely a great deal for an organic oil, there are just a few caveats that might be deal-breakers for some.
gosh this sounds so lovely except for the whole not-suitable-for-acneic-skin-thing. i love rosehips but also find them a little too heavy for me. i saw sandalwood in the ingredients list, but you mentioned more of a citrus scent — can you detect any sandalwood at all? i’m wanting to try something from suki but will have to keep researching! recommendations welcome. appreciate the thoughtful review!
I couldn’t really detect sandalwood, but this doesn’t mean you won’t be able to, I think I have a bad nose about certain scents and sandalwood is one of those that I can’t seem to ever detect unless it’s ‘alone’.
Suti’s other facial oil is the Nourishing one, which I want to try because I read that it smells like jasmine but what if it’s heavier than this oil? They do have a trial pack which I think is a good deal although it doesn’t have the toners. I kind of want to try their Rose toner although it’s just one ingredient. It has something to do with the moon’s feminine energy, I’m not sure what that’s all about but I want to try. I kind of want to spray the feminine energy on my bf and see what happens.
Nice review, thank you. Thanks for flagging up the issue of citrus oils. It is dissapointing to see so many companies use it. I currently use ren bb spf 15 cream, which I really like, but which also contains a few citrus oils; so not sure if I will continue. (Although ren says the concentration is low and does not cause photosensitivity).
Thank you Lara! I checked out the Ren BB Cream and it is well done. I really like the scent and texture but between the low SPF for summer and very very minimal coverage, I don’t think it will be a repurchase.
I really would like to try Suti facial oils but both of them might be seem heavy for my skin too. Which sucks because their scents sound right up in my alley. The brand has really interesting standard in how they pick their ingredients, I am also eager to try their toners just because I want to know if their method makes any difference. The packaging is damn pretty!
I do trust all of the ideas you have offered to your post.
They’re really convincing and can certainly work. Nonetheless, the posts are too brief for starters. May just you please prolong them a bit from next time? Thanks for the post.