Physician’s Formula has been pushing their oil-based skincare line lately and I’ve been excited to try it, since I generally like their brand. Ugh, and the packaging — please tell me that’s not the cutest little decanter you’ve ever seen, with all the flowers printed on it!

For $13 you get 1 fl oz of this lavender-scented oil. This is a dropper bottle, and you can pull the liquid up from the base by pressing the button on top to bring the liquid into the dropper. Then, put the dropper somewhere on your face, and push to get the oil out. This dropper won’t overdo it, it tends to take in too little product for what you actually need, so you might have to repeat the process. The consistency of the oil is very thin (although not watery).

I keep reading instructions on Ulta and Amazon about how you can use this under your makeup, or for mixing with your foundation. I personally don’t understand that at all. This oil does not dry down remotely fast enough to be used as a primer, and will 100% pill any subsequent makeup. As far as mixing it into your makeup, well… usually oil tends to break makeup down, so while the application might be, at first, brighter and shinier than usual, you may notice your foundation disappears pretty rapidly afterwards. I tend to only use oils at night, either as a standalone product, in conjunction with other moisturizers, or well after the initial moisturizers have dried down.

This certainly will make your face “brighter”, but even with minimal product usage, the overall effect is more “sweaty” than bright. IE: I wouldn’t wear this out in public.

I do like the completely plant-based ingredient listing. This product has both argan and jojoba oil, which are touted as being good for skin repair. But I haven’t seen any huge leaps in my skin condition after using this, particularly with scar healing. On the plus side, it hasn’t broken me out, so this might be worth a shot for a sensitive skin user looking to try an oil.

This product reminds me a lot of Bio-Oil, except I felt like Bio-Oil delivers more results in the way of scar-healing. I probably won’t ever re-buy this product, but I am going to use the entire bottle if not for the AMAZING lavender scent. ~A

Perceived efficacy: 2.5/5

Longevity: n/a

How much I actually like this product: 3/5

Recommended for sensitive skin: Maybe