Skip to content
Sunday Riley

Luna Sleeping Night Oil

$105·35 ml·~$27/mo to use

Reviewed by SerumTruth Editorial · Price and formula checked July 2026

A gentle, comforting retinoid oil for the appearance of a smoother, more rested-looking complexion, softened by the azulene-rich botanical oils. The ester is milder than a true retinol, the level is undisclosed, and the price is firmly prestige, so you pay for the feel and the finish as much as the active. A nice easing-in option for people who find retinol serums too harsh.

Watch-outs
  • Key actives carry only limited or preliminary evidence
  • No active concentrations are disclosed
SerumProof score58 / 100
  • Evidence14 / 30

    Strength of the research behind the key actives

    • Retinyl Propionate: limited evidence

    The average of the key actives’ evidence grades.

  • Potency21 / 25

    Dosed at studied levels, not fairy-dusted

    • Retinyl Propionate: dosed at a studied level

    How strongly the actives are dosed, led by the strongest, not how many there are.

  • Delivery & stability12 / 20

    Delivery tech + packaging that protects fragile actives

    • Delivery: standard
    • Packaging: tinted glass
    • Air- or light-sensitive actives (Retinyl Propionate), so packaging is scored.

    Delivery tech plus packaging, and packaging only counts when actives are fragile.

  • Formulation1 / 10

    Disclosure, active breadth, and ingredient generation

    • 0 of 1 actives disclose a concentration
    • 1 key active (breadth credit caps at 3)
    • No current-generation or synergy bonus

    Disclosure, active breadth, and current-generation or synergistic actives.

  • Value10 / 15

    What a month of use costs vs. the category

    • About $27 per month to use
    • $105 for 35 ml, used about once a day (about 0.3 ml each time), so a bottle lasts about 3.9 months
    • Frequency is set by Retinyl Propionate, which is used no more than 7x a week, so a bottle stretches further

    What a month of use costs: full marks at $6 a month or less, the floor at $60 a month or more.

Tap any row to see how its score was built.

Ranks #25 of 25 retinoids serums we have scored.

Affiliate links. We may earn a commission at no cost to you. It never changes our score.

What’s inside

ActiveDisclosedDose
Retinyl Propionaten/aStudied

A blue-tinted night oil built on a gentle esterified retinoid (hydroxypinacolone retinoate, a trans-retinoid ester), balanced with blue tansy and German chamomile oils rich in soothing blue azulene, in a tinted glass dropper. The ester form is milder and slower than retinol, and the concentration is not disclosed, so it reads as an easygoing retinoid oil rather than a high-dose treatment. It gives the striking blue colour to a light, fast-sinking oil for night use.

How it’s delivered

DeliveryStandardPackagingTinted glass

Air- and light-sensitive actives (vitamin C, copper peptides) lose potency fast in the wrong packaging, so delivery and the bottle are scored, not just what’s on the label.

The actives, explained

What the research says

A regimen with retinyl propionate improved the look of periorbital wrinkles about as much as a prescription tretinoin regimen, with less visible irritation.

A randomized, controlled comparative study of the wrinkle reduction benefits of a cosmetic niacinamide/peptide/retinyl propionate product regimen vs. a prescription 0.02% tretinoin product regimen. British Journal of Dermatology, 2010. PubMed ↗

A study of the active, not this exact product. What matters for the score is whether this serum uses it at a comparable dose.

Higher-scoring alternatives

Same category, better SerumProof score. Worth a look before you buy.

Revision history
  1. July 11, 2026
    Price and formula rechecked
  2. July 10, 2026
    Review published

Spot an error or a reformulation? Tell us and we will fix it.

Cosmetic information for general education, not medical advice. The SerumProof score reflects our reading of publicly available research and formulation disclosures. See how scoring works.