Sunday Riley UFO- cheaper option?

[carlsish]

I’m loving Sunday Riley’s UFO oil but I’m struggling with the price tag. Anyone know of a similar or comparable product lower in 💸?

[greeneyedgirl107]

@carlsish  Here's the review of UFO from beautypedia.com (2/5 stars):

Spoiler

As a skincare brand, Sunday Riley is perhaps best known for its popular oil products (such as Luna Sleeping Oil). U.F.O. Ultra-Clarifying Face Oil expands the oil-themed lineup, but it's a tough sell due to some formulary missteps.

This oil comes in an elegant glass jar with a dropper dispenser. The first thing you'll notice (aside from its forest green color) is that it has a strong herbal/floral fragrance, and this fragrance lingers.

The oil itself goes on well, oily, but absorbs quickly and easily. While Sunday Riley describes this as a "dry" oil, and it certainly doesn't remain greasy, you will see a slight sheen on skin where it's applied.

U.F.O. is designed to help treat acne, and does contain a host of good antioxidant oils that can serve to soothe and protect skin, including pomegranate seed oil, cranberry seed oil, and flax seed oil. These are great additions to your skincare routine, but none of them have research showing they help reduce breakouts.

Unfortunately, some not-so-great ingredients show up are here as well. They include fragrant oils like black cumin seed oil (which likely gives this product its main scent), along with neroli oil and grapefruit peel oil. All of these can lead to potential irritation, which is particularly problematic for those with oily or acne-prone skin (see More Info for details).

The other problem is that while this does contain the acne-fighting superstar salicylic acid (BHA), for this ingredient to really work to exfoliate, it has to be at the right pH. We tried to determine the pH of this formula, but because the salicylic acid is suspended in an oil, we couldn't (determining pH is most effective when it's in a water-based solution). What this means is that it's uncertain exactly how beneficial the salicylic acid in this formula is to fighting acne—and we suspect it's not effective.

Because of this, U.F.O. winds up being a product that falls short of being out-of-this-world. For better options, see our list of Best BHA Exfoliants or Best Face Oils.

PROS:

• Contains a host of beneficial plant oils to soothe and protect skin.

CONS:

• Has a strong herbal/floral fragrance that poses a risk of irritation.
• Contains fragrant plant oils that can lead to further irritation.
• The pH of the salicylic acid cannot be determined, so its benefit is unknown.

I like Clinique Smart Treatment Oil; Clinique also has Turnaround Revitalizing Treatment Oil which is a few bucks less.  Both are tanked 5/5 stars.  As for BHA, I adore Paula's Choice.  Good luck!

[carlsish]

Thanks @greeneyedgirl107 girl! I'll do some research on those 🙂 

[PenelopeBT]

Hi @carlsish,

If you're looking for an acne fighting serum at a lower price point, please check out BareMinerals Blemish Remedy Anti-Imperfection Serum. It is half the price of Sunday Riley's UFO and has similar ingredients. It contains salicylic acid and willow bark to fight inflammation. I personally use this serum and can attest that it's effective at fighting acne. I hope this helps!

Thank you for being a valued Sephora client.

Stay Gorgeous,

Penelope 

[carlsish]

thanks @PenelopeBT

This is awesome- thanks so much for the rec! I'm definitely going to try this! 🙂