HELP Sunday Riley Routine

[xNoemie]

Hello! I have thoses 5 products from Sunday Riley but I’m quite lost with which product I can use together. I have the UFO oil, CEO serum, Luna oil, Good genes and Tidal moisturizer. I need a routine for day and night! (SPF is really important and I have one) THANK YOU

[meou]

@xNoemie the easiest way and with the least step would be 

AM

• Cleanse
• CEO serum
• Tidal Moisturizer 

PM

• Cleanse
• UFO OR Luna OR Good Genes (In any given week I'd probably do 4 nights Luna and 3 nights exfoliation just because I don't need more exfoliating than that)
• Tidal Moisturizer 

If you find any irritation it may be the tidal Moisturizer - it has papaya enzyme which is a really gentle chemical exfoliant but it can be considered an active ingredient. 

Hope that helps

[RAWRitsRED]

Hi @xNoemie!

Since Sunday Riley Luna Retinol Sleeping Night Oil 35 mL has retinol in it, it should not be used at the same time as acids like Salicylic acid in the Sunday Riley U.F.O. Salicylic Acid BHA Acne Treatment Face Oil 1.18 oz/ 35 mL.  I would alternate Luna and UFO and use them on separate nights.  Luna should (obviously) be used only at night.

There are lots of ingredients that shouldn't be used with Retinol like Vitamin C and AHA/BHA acids.  Some people use Retinol and AHA/BHA but it can be drying for some.

You can layer SUNDAY RILEY Tidal Brightening Enzyme Water Cream 1.7 oz/ 50 mL on top of Sunday Riley Good Genes All-In-One AHA Lactic Acid Treatment 1.7 oz / 50 ml for extra brightening power or use them separately.

For Sunday Riley C.E.O. 15% Vitamin C Brightening Serum 1 oz/ 30 mL, you can layer with Tidal.  Vitamin C is best used during the day but not with UFO, since using them together will make them less effective.

UFO can be mixed with your foundation to give it acne fighting power.

[WinglessOne]

@RAWRitsRED @xNoemie I feel obligated to point out a few things: 

1. OTC retinol (like the HPR in Luna) can be layered with vitamin C, AHA or BHA, unless your skin can't tolerate those ingredients layered together. Those 3 ingredients don't counteract one another. I routinely layer an OTC retinol serum over AHA, and sometimes BHA, with my dermatologist's blessing. But I slowly built up my skin's tolerance in order to do that—which leads me to this: 

2. If you've never used a retinol or AHA product before, I recommend introducing just one of them to your skincare routine and letting your face get used to it before introducing the other product. Start with one product (either the AHA or retinol), use it once a week for a few weeks, then gradually work up to using it more frequently. Once your skin tolerates that product well, introduce the other product—again, just once a week for a few weeks, then gradually increase usage over time. Note that some folks' skin really can't tolerate AHA and retinol layered together. If you find that's the case for you, switch to alternating them: use them on different nights, or use one at night and the other at morning. (Yes, you can use AHA, BHA, or even retinol in the morning—as long as you're also diligent about using sunscreen, including reapplying it throughout the day.) 

3. Vitamin C and salicylic acid (BHA) don't cancel each other out. I know there's still info floating around about these 2 ingredients causing conflicting skin pH levels, but that's not true. Vitamin C is acidic. So is our skin's natural pH, though it's a bit higher than vitamin C's. An exfoliating product needs to be formulated at an acidic pH for its BHA (and/or AHA) to exfoliate effectively. No dermatologist I've asked about this has said vitamin C and BHA render each other ineffective or somehow change each other's pH level. 

4. Use sunscreen every day (minimum SPF of 30). Sounds like you already have one and know it's important, hooray! 🙂 

5. How I'd build a Sunday Riley routine: 

Spoiler

Disclaimer: I don't use any of these Sunday Riley products because 4 of them contain bad-for-me essential oils, and the 5th one (Tidal) is unnecessary for me. But here's how I'd arrange them into a routine. This assumes you've already built up tolerance to AHA and retinol. 

AM 

1. Wash with a gentle cleanser, unless you can get away with not washing in the morning. (I can't.) 
2. Treat with CEO for morning vitamin C. 
3. Moisturize with Tidal. 
4. Apply sunscreen. 

PM 

1. Wash - single or double cleanse. 
2. Exfoliate 1-3 times a week with Good Genes (AHA) or UFO (BHA). 
3. Treat with Luna (retinol), however many nights your skin can tolerate. 
4. Moisturize with Tidal. 

If your skin can't handle AHA/BHA and retinol together, then either alternate nights with those products or use an exfoliant (Good Genes or UFO) in the morning instead. Also, you can try applying Luna after Tidal: the retinol in it will still work that way. Applying retinol after moisturizer is a good way to reduce irritation, if necessary. 

[SDave22]

Hi I just realized that Sunday Riley products are not Clean at Sephora. Sorry about that. I’m still interested in learning about the essential oils you referred to though... 😅

[SDave22]

Hi there, do please let us know which bad-for-me essential oils you mean? I’m really interested in trying out Sunday Riley products, especially since they’re certified Clean at Sephora...and now I’m wondering how a clean product can contain harmful ingredients for my skin...

Thank you.

[badgalmomo]

Wingless One, YOU ICON! Thank you so much for taking your valuable time to help us gals, figure this all out. I have one less product than she did and I was STILL confused lol. There def needs to be like a chart or something. Sunday Riley does a surprisingly decent job and directing people specifically, on their packaging and yep it’s even still tough. HOWEVER, I am more educated now that I read your post (I read like 5 responses and yours was by far the easiest to understand and most valuable info) AND you included a mock routine ummm are you my guardian angel? Thank you so much!!!!! I am gonna follow you hope that ok and I’ll be check for more from you in the future! 😇 I am now #skincareaware @sundayriley  @WinglessOne 

[RAWRitsRED]

@WinglessOne 

I'm glad you mentioned #3!

I used to use Sunday Riley C.E.O. 15% Vitamin C Brightening Serum 1 oz/ 30 mL and Sunday Riley U.F.O. Salicylic Acid BHA Treatment Face Oil 1.18 oz/ 35 mL but the Sephora employee told me not to use them together.

That's a great thing to think about since I'm testing out some new products.