Aēsop Parsley Seed Anti-Oxidant Intense Serum for oily acne-prone skin
Parsley Seed
Tocopherol Vitamin E
Red Algae
Niacinamide
Glycerin
High
- HighOily Skin Fit
- AverageEffectiveness
- HighSafety
A great choice for oily acne-prone skin; a few serums fit it even better.
This fit is calculated for the concerns frequently associated with oily acne-prone skin: shine, breakouts, blemishes, and enlarged pores. For scores and recommendations based on your full skin profile, including your 12D face scan results and any goals or preferences you have, please use the Lovi app.
Page built Nov 8, 2026How the Fit score works
Lovi Assistant explains
- Highly suitable for your oily skin, niacinamide and lactic acid work to regulate sebum and provide mild exfoliation, addressing your concerns with oiliness and breakouts.
- The serum offers excellent antioxidant protection with Vitis Vinifera Seed Extract and Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract, which help shield your skin from environmental stressors.
- The safety profile is excellent, with no risks of irritation for your oily skin due to the absence of prohibited or harsh ingredients.
How to apply
- Could be used as part of your PM routine. Start 3 times a week and build up to daily use if your skin tolerates it well.
- Apply your serum after cleansing and toning, but before putting on your moisturizer.
- Gently press 2 to 3 drops of the serum into your skin and let it absorb for a minute.
- Apply the serum on clean, dry skin to help manage your blemishes safely.
- Do a patch test before your first use and avoid the delicate eye area.
People Say
★4.9Overall rating based on 200+ reviewsThis serum is highly regarded for its deep hydration and skin-calming properties, benefiting normal, combination, and sensitive skin types, particularly in urban settings. Users frequently mention improved skin texture and reduced redness. A notable drawback is its high price, and some users find the texture sticky, which can lead to makeup pilling.
Highlights
Deeply hydrating Often Mentioned
- “delivers deep hydration that really fills your skin”
- “left my skin feeling deeply hydrated”
- “provides just the right amount of hydration”
- “keeps my skin hydrated until morning”
Expensive product Often Mentioned
- “The price point. It's expensive.”
- “adding a steep price tag on top of that makes me hesitant”
- “The price is steep”
- “Honestly quite expensive”
Calms blemishes Sometimes Noted
- “my small blemishes noticeably diminished”
- “significantly calmed my redness”
- “didn't cause any blemishes”
- “gentle ingredients don't cause any blemishes”
Fast absorption Sometimes Noted
- “absorbs incredibly fast”
- “absorbs well into the skin”
- “absorbs quickly and leaves your skin feeling beautifully refined”
- “Lightweight, fast-absorbing serum”
Causes makeup pilling Sometimes Noted
- “causes my sunscreen and cushion foundation to pill”
- “inevitably leads to my makeup pilling”
- “experience clumping when layering with oil-rich hydrators”
- “try to apply makeup over it, you'll definitely experience pilling”
Sticky texture Sometimes Noted
- “feels very sticky right after application”
- “unique texture creates a slightly stiff feeling”
- “stickiness is too intense for my morning skincare”
- “during the day, it feels too sticky”
Ineffective dropper Rarely Noted
- “The dropper is surprisingly ineffective”
- “dropper could use some improvement”
- “doesn't quite reach all the way to the bottom”
- “opening seems too large, causing the product to flow out too quickly”
Sources: lovi.care, myer.com.au, johnlewis.com, niche-beauty.com, hwahae.com, adorebeauty.com.au, and more
Questions and answers
What makes Aēsop Parsley Seed Anti-Oxidant Intense Serum a great fit for oily acne-prone skin?
This serum is a great fit because niacinamide and lactic acid help balance oil and gently clear away dead skin to prevent breakouts. It also has green tea and grape seed extracts to shield your skin from environmental stress, all with a very safe and gentle formula.
Which ingredients make this serum a good fit for oily acne-prone skin?
Niacinamide and lactic acid make this serum a great fit by helping to control oil and gently smooth your skin. It is very safe for oily skin and unlikely to cause irritation.
What does Parsley Seed do for oily acne-prone skin?
Parsley Seed helps balance oily skin and calm the redness that often comes with acne. Its antioxidant blend protects the skin while keeping your face feeling fresh and smooth.
What does Tocopherol do for oily acne-prone skin?
Tocopherol helps keep skin calm and hydrated when used for oily, acne-prone skin. Because skin surface oils can oxidize and trigger inflammation, this antioxidant may help protect the skin, though an oily or acne-prone skin type also needs lightweight, non-clogging hydration and balancing ingredients to stay clear and smooth.
Der Hautarzt; Zeitschrift Fur Dermatologie, Venerologie, und Verwandte Gebiete, 2006Mediators of Inflammation, 2010
Where does this serum go in a skincare routine for oily acne-prone skin?
This serum goes in your evening routine, applied after cleansing and before your moisturizer. Using it at night keeps things simple and avoids extra sun sensitivity, while ingredients like niacinamide and lactic acid help manage oil and breakouts with very low risk of irritation.
Can I use this serum with retinol, and in what order?
You can use this serum with retinol by applying the serum first and following it with your retinol. Because this formula is gentle and free of harsh ingredients, it is unlikely to cause irritation when paired with active treatments.
How often should I use this serum?
You can use this treatment in your evening routine, as this helps keep things simple and safe around sun exposure. Because it has a very safe profile with no harsh ingredients, it is unlikely to irritate your oily acne-prone skin.
Can this serum clog pores, cause breakouts or purging for oily acne-prone skin?
This serum is unlikely to cause breakouts or clog pores on oily acne-prone skin because it avoids harsh ingredients and uses niacinamide and lactic acid to help keep oil in check and gently exfoliate. It has a great safety profile for your skin type, though some reviewers note a sticky texture.
Is this serum fragrance-free and alcohol-free?
It contains fragrance (linalool, limonene, and geraniol) and drying alcohol (alcohol).
What the research says
Topical application of an antioxidant serum containing 15% ascorbic acid, 0.5% ferulic acid, and 1% tocopherol prevented particulate matter-induced degradation of extracellular matrix components, inflammation, and oxidative stress in the skin of 15 female volunteers compared to untreated controls.
Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, 2025Dermatological products containing d-alpha tocopheryl acetate showed non-comedogenic potential with less than a 50% increase in microcomedones in 12 healthy male subjects compared to octyl palmitate.
Contemporary Clinical Trials Communications, 2021Topical application of an antioxidant mix containing 15% ascorbic acid, 0.5% ferulic acid, and 1% tocopherol prevented PM and UV-induced skin barrier perturbation, lipid peroxidation, inflammatory markers, MMP9 activation, and Type I collagen loss in 15 healthy females compared to untreated exposed skin.
Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, 2024Topical sunscreen formulations containing UV filters, red algae extract, Ginkgo biloba, and vitamins protected hairless mice from UV-induced erythema, reduced transepidermal water loss, and significantly decreased the expression of p53 and caspase-3 compared to untreated controls.
Journal of Photochemistry and Photobiology. B, Biology, 2015Chitosan/polyvinyl alcohol nanofibrous dressings containing 3% Corallina officinalis extract exhibited bead-free morphology, enhanced mechanical strength, strong antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus, and excellent biocompatibility for skin cell survival and proliferation.
Journal of Biomaterials Science. Polymer Edition, 2026Topical post-laser application of human adipocyte-derived mesenchymal stem cell media combined with niacinamide significantly improved wrinkle index, melanin index, patient satisfaction, and investigator esthetic improvement scores compared to vehicle cream in patients with aging skin.
Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, 2021Topical nicotinamide prevented solar-simulated UV-induced immunosuppression in healthy volunteers, and men experienced immunosuppression at solar-simulated UV doses three times lower than those required for women.
The Journal of Investigative Dermatology, 2008Topical 5% niacinamide applied twice daily for 12 weeks reduced fine lines and wrinkles, hyperpigmented spots, red blotchiness, and skin sallowness, and improved skin elasticity compared to vehicle control in 50 female white subjects with facial photoaging.
Dermatologic Surgery, 2005A single application of a moisturizing fluid containing hyaluronic acid 1%, glycerin 5%, and Centella asiatica stem cells extract significantly increased skin hydration by 29% and reduced transepidermal water loss at 24 hours compared to baseline and an untreated control site in twenty healthy women.
Clinical, Cosmetic and Investigational Dermatology, 2017The emollient V0034CR significantly reduced TEWL compared to vehicle and vehicle plus glycerol, and significantly increased corneometry scores compared to vehicle and vehicle plus petrolatum in healthy volunteers with dry skin, demonstrating combined barrier function improvement from petrolatum and hydration improvement from glycerol.
Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, 2020Ten days of treatment with a cream containing 20% glycerin significantly increased skin hydration measured by corneometer values in 17 healthy volunteers compared to a placebo cream, but showed no influence on transepidermal water loss or skin sensitivity to an irritating surfactant.
International Journal of Cosmetic Science, 2001
Ingredients
Water, Glycerin, Niacinamide, Polysorbate 20, 1,2-Hexanediol, Polysorbate 80, Trehalose, Caesalpinia Spinosa Fruit Extract, Panthenol, Hydroxyethylcellulose, Sodium Gluconate, Alcohol, Lavandula Angustifolia Oil Lavender Oil, Kappaphycus Alvarezii Extract, Peg-40 Hydrogenated Castor Oil, Sodium Dehydroacetate, Bisabolol, Xanthan Gum, Maltodextrin, Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract, Tocopherol, Citric Acid, Ormenis Multicaulis Oil, Sodium Acetate, Vitis Vinifera Seed Extract Grape Seed Extract, Biosaccharide Gum-1, Cellulose, Sodium Benzoate, Lactic Acid, Parsley Seed Oil, Potassium Sorbate, Linalool, Limonene, Geraniol
Behind this fit score
Lovi calculates every fit score from the full ingredient list with brand-independent rules our dermatologists and cosmetic chemists build and review, and personalizes every pick with AI trained on the real results of millions of users. Lovi trains its fit score models on a proprietary dataset built from more than 10,000 expert-labeled products and more than 100,000 simulated examples, following an internally consistent methodology presented at Cosmoprof, AMWC, and Skin of Color Update.
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Co-founder, Medical Director
Cosmetic chemist, cosmetologist, aesthetic products developer
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Co-founder, CEO and CTO
PhD in computer science, 3x US patent holder, ex-Google, ex-Yandex
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Dr. Sofía Perea Pérez, MD, MSc
Medical Board
Aesthetic medicine practitioner, MSc in Longevity and Anti-Aging Medicine
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Medical Board
Specialist dermatologist, MBBS, MD, IFAAD
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Medical Board
Cosmetic chemist, SCS, IFSCC member
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Medical Board, Medical Advisor
Dermatology MD
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Elina Nazarenko, MD
Medical Board
Dermatology and diagnostic consultant
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Victoria Derkova, MS
Medical Board
Cosmetic chemist, cosmetic development technologist
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