The skin is the largest organ in our bodies, which is why it makes perfect sense to have the best possible skincare routine to keep your skin healthy.
If you’re here, you probably have your eyes on Sunday Riley and Drunk Elephant, both of which are high-end skincare brands.
So, which one of them is better: Sunday Riley vs Drunk Elephant? Let me start by saying that the question itself is inaccurate.
Skin-care routines can vary greatly from person to person, and there’s no sole brand providing the best product for every skin.
Still, I decided not to settle for that broad of an answer and to be more specific.
So, I sank a lot of time (and money) to find the best product per category per brand. Then, I tested both of them for a couple of months.
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Sunday Riley vs Drunk Elephant
I’ll be comparing four basic categories in skincare routines: cleansing, brightening, eye cream, and moisturization.
I wanted to include sun protection as well, but for some reason, Sunday Riley doesn’t have a dedicated sunscreen product in the meantime.
They used to have Lighthearted Sunscreen which was my go-to. For some reason, it’s discontinued.
That being said, let’s jump to the comparison.
Cleansing
Sunday Riley offers the Ceramic Slip Clay Cleanser, and Drunk Elephant has the Beste No. 9 Jelly Cleanser.
Both products have the same price tag (with only a $1 difference), so there isn’t much to compare price-wise.
However, my sensitive skin liked the Jelly Cleanser more. It’s perfect for most skin types, even sensitive ones.
I also found that it excels in removing makeup and impurities without stripping my skin from its natural oils.
Don’t get me wrong, the Clay Cleanser is still an excellent product for oily skin. It helps absorb excess oil and minimizes pores.
However, those of you with drier or more sensitive skin types may find it too drying for you.
As such, the point here goes to Drunk Elephant’s Beste No. 9 Jelly Cleanser.
Brightening
I didn’t spend much time comparing Sunday Riley’s C.E.O. 15% Vitamin C Brightening Serum and Drunk Elephant’s C-Firma™ Fresh Day Serum.
Price-wise, C.E.O. costs $6 more than C-Firma, which costs $79.
So, once again, not that big of a deal here (especially since the C.E.O. bottle is 30 ml compared to C-Firma’s 28 ml).
As for why I quickly found a winner, it’s because of the potency of Sunday’s C.E.O.
Its formula effectively targets dark spots, uneven skin tone, and hyperpigmentation for a visibly brighter complexion.
This is mostly because of its higher concentration of vitamin C, which smoothens wrinkles, boosts collagen, brightens the skin, and promotes healing.
Drunk Elephant’s C-Firma still did a great job, but since it has a lower concentration of vitamin C, it was a bit less effective compared to C.E.O., which is branded the #1 brightening specialist in the U.S.
So, this time, Sunday Riley takes the bout.
Eye Cream Treatment
The skin under your eyes is delicate, thin, and more prone to dryness, puffiness, and wrinkling compared to the rest of your face. As such, it needs a dedicated product.
Sunday Riley offers the Auto Correct Cream, which costs $65, and Drunk Elephant has the C-Tango™ Multivitamin Eye Cream, costing $64. No price comparison here.
This one was tricky for me, and I almost regarded both of them as equal products.
The Auto Correct Cream specifically targets puffiness, dullness, and dark circles.
It contains ingredients like caffeine to address puffiness, horse chestnut extract for brightening, and squalane for hydration.
On the other hand, the C-Tango is formulated specifically for the delicate under-eye area. It contains a blend of vitamins, including vitamin C for brightening and vitamin E for nourishment.
What made me choose a winner, though, is not my own experience, but a friend’s. She found that despite the close match, C-Tango isn’t as effective in targeting eye puffiness.
Once again, Sunday Riley takes the win.
Moisturizing the Skin
This one was an extremely close call. I’ll still pick a winner in the end, but you might consider it an even match. The prices are an exact match of $65, so I won’t talk about this anymore.
That being said, Drunk Elephant’s candidate was the Protini™ Polypeptide Cream.
This lightweight, oil-free moisturizer is perfect for oily skin. It provides hydration and SPF protection without clogging pores.
The formula is oil-free and absorbs quickly, making it a great choice for those with oily or acne-prone skin.
On the other hand, Sunday Riley’s Ice Ceramide Moisturizing Cream was a very close contender. It provides lightweight hydration and SPF protection.
It also contains ceramides, which help strengthen the skin barrier and can be beneficial for all skin types, including oily skin.
However, compared to the Protini, it might be slightly less mattifying.
The difference is all but noticeable, but we’ll give the point to Drunk Elephant this time around.
Final Thoughts
As you can see, the products I managed to get from both brands were more-or-less the same in comparison with only marginal differences.
The price tag, indications, and method of use are also almost the same for both.
However, if I’m to give you my personal opinion, Sunday Riley seems to have more concentrations of the active ingredients in their composition compared to Drunk Elephant.
As such, they often achieve better results in exchange for slight skin dryness.
On the other hand, Drunk Elephant’s reduced concentration may render some of their products more gentle on the skin, making them more suitable for sensitive or acne-prone skin.
In other words, I wouldn’t recommend choosing just one of these brands to buy all your skincare routine products.
It’s best to see which product works best for each step of your skin and standardize it in your routine.
If you’ve never tried products for either brand, go for Drunk Elephant for cleansing and moisturizing products, and Sunday Riley for skin-brightening products and eye creams.