After a hectic start to 2025, I’m seeking small moments of self-care wherever I can find them. To me, skin care has always been therapeutic—the act of putting on serums, moisturizers, and masks feels meditative after I’ve spent all day (and often most of my night) looking at a screen. But lately, I’ve been wishing my skin care routine could be more than just a soothing ritual and work to actually calm me.
Unfortunately, you can’t rub anxiety medicine on your face, so I’ve been looking for a skin care product that delivers relaxing effects. Luckily, Neuraé, a neuroscience-backed skin care brand from Sisley Paris, is based on making your skin and brain feel good. The brand’s newest product, the Harmonie Oil, is packed with ingredients that can make a difference not just in your skin but also in your overall emotional well-being.
Neurae Harmonie Oil
The Harmonie Oil joins Neuraé’s suite of mood-boosting skin care, which includes serums, creams, and “Emotion Boosters,” or roll-on oils that have fragrances to calm, elicit joy, or bolster energy. Each Neuraé product is made with something called N|A3 technology. N|A3 is a three-pronged approach to feel-good skin care; it’s based on neuroactive ingredients, neuroactive fragrances, and neuroactive textures.
The Harmonie Oil is packed with mood-lifting ingredients, but it contains one neuroactive element that makes it unique from the other products in the line—concentrate from the resurrection plant, a resilient type of spike moss found in arid desert environments. “It has an extremely calming effect on the skin, and it lowers your cortisol levels,” says Christine d’Ornano, the global vice president of Sisley Paris. The oil also has phytosqualane, meadowfoam oil, moringa oil, castor oil, and camellia oil to nourish and de-stress skin.
The oil smells like palo santo, which is a key component to its spirit-lifting properties. The scent is woodsy and buttery, which I can attest makes spreading it on your face a truly sensorial experience. But this oil doesn’t just smell good; palo santo is also packed with limonene, a compound that may help reduce stress. A 2013 study showed that when it was inhaled, limonene promoted anti-anxiety responses in mice.
As for the texture, it’s meant to be comforting and nourishing, and leave skin with a luminous finish. I find this to be one of my favorite features. As someone with dry skin, I don’t shy away from oils like those who are acne-prone might, but I do still worry about clogging my pores. This product sinks into my skin nearly instantly, and doesn’t leave behind a film like other formulas can.
The Neuraé Harmonie Oil has quickly become a necessity in my skin care routine, particularly on days when I need a pick-me-up. I might not be able to prescribe Zoloft for my skin, but this oil works well to help me de-stress on tension-filled days.