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These Body Lotions Smell as Expensive as Our Favorite Eau De Parfums
To keep skin glowing from head to toe, dermatologists recommend moisturizing immediately after showering. And if you’re a fragrance fiend like I am, the best-smelling body lotions are the best products for the job. While fragrance isn’t for every skin type, those who tolerate it have an olfactory playground of body-care options that keep the skin soft, luminous, and swathed in irresistible scents. To help you whittle down the selection, we’ve done the legwork for you, testing dozens of options at every price point to bring you this definitive list of the best scented body lotions to uplevel your skin health and smell.
Our Best-Smelling Body Lotions
Whether you prefer to nourish your skin with a drugstore-aisle gem that has a fluffy texture and a vanilla scent, or want to uplevel your skin-care routine with a luxurious French body balm that smells like spicy leather, there’s a body lotion that’s been calling your name in the edit below. Happy moisturizing!
Frequently Asked Questions
Best Overall: Josie Maran Whipped Argan Oil Body Butter in Topless Tangerine
Why we love it: From the perfumer behind Byredo’s Bal d’Afrique and Gypsy Water, the scent of Josie Maran’s Oil Body Butter splices tangerine with hints of pink grapefruit and brown sugar. It smells like sipping a rum cocktail under a canopy of citrus trees. Made with argan oil to tighten the skin, the famously lightweight formula—as airy as the foam on that cocktail—also has shea butter and avocado oil to drench the body in moisture that makes every inch of it glow. Pairing this with a bikini and some SPF would be a dream beachside ensemble, though Allure editors find that it also pairs deliciously with an everyday body-care routine.
“I slather Josie Maran Whipped Argan Oil Body Butter in Topless Tangerine all over my limbs (also my butt) every morning. Except when I reach for the Bohemian Fig. It’s always one or the other—unless it’s the Vanilla Bean. Every scent of this luscious cream if more irresistible than the next—not surprising since they were dreamed up by perfumer Jerome Epinette, who’s also created some of my (and probably your) favorite scents from Byredo, Phlur, Victoria Beckham, and many more.” —Jenny Bailey, executive beauty director
- Key ingredients: argan oil, avocado oil, shea butter, white and green tea extracts
- Scent options: Unscented, Golden Hour, Bohemian Fig, Vanilla Vibezzz, Vanilla Bean, Vanilla Apricot, Sweet Citrus
Best Budget: Eos Cashmere Whipped Oil Body Butter in Vanilla Cashmere
EOS
Cashmere Whipped Oil Body Butter in Vanilla Cashmere
Why we love it: Eos Vanilla Cashmere Whipped Oil Body Butter is that treat that’s way richer than you’d bargained for, in the best possible way. The drugstore-aisle gem has a whipped-cream-like texture that slips silkily into every limb. As it sinks in, the body butter nourishes the skin with a patented blend of shea butter, cocoa butter, and argan oil that cloaks it in creamy hydration. As for the scent, the deceptively affordable salve melds notes of vanilla, soft musk, and caramel for a fragrance that’s luxuriously warm and sweet.
Tester feedback from senior director of audience development Lexi Herrick
“I am an absolute sucker for a whipped vanilla body butter, I have learned, and this one is excellent. I love the soft, fluffy texture and how smooth it glides onto my skin. It locks in moisture and smells amazing all day long, and feels like luxury for a drugstore price!” —Lexi Herrick, senior director of audience development
- Key ingredients: shea butter, cocoa butter, argan oil, coconut oil, glycerin
- Scent options: Vanilla Cashmere
Best Splurge: Diptyque Eau Rihla Body Balm
Diptyque
Eau Rihla Body Balm
Why we love it: Eons more luxurious than a typical body lotion, Diptyque’s Body Balm has a melting texture that sinks slowly into the skin, turning moisturizing into a moment of self-care that’s impossible not to look forward to. (Moisturizing will never be a chore to rush through again.) The formula—a blend of mango butter and camelia wax—moisturizes and softens the skin, and perfume plays a starring role in the whole sensory experience. The Rihla scent pairs notes of leather, iris, and cedarwood for an earthy, spicy, and warming scent inspired by travels through the Middle East.
“There are very few moments of self-care in my day as a new mom, making them all the more precious. I slather on Diptyque’s Eau Rihla Body Balm as my little bit of luxury every night. Drifting off to the scent of woodsy, smokey scent is now a non-negotiable in my bedtime routine.” —Kassidy Silva, social media director
- Key ingredients: mango butter, candelia wax
- Scent options: Fleur de Peau, Philosykos, Do Son, Orphéon
Best Floral: Saltair Santal Bloom Body Butter
Saltair
Santal Bloom Body Butter
Why we love it: Melding notes of sandalwood, rose, and jasmine, Saltair’s body butter smells like a boho-luxe retreat with massages on the beach. And—just like those hypothetical spa services—it pampers and nurtures the skin. The fluffy butter is made with a ceramide complex and sea buckthorn oil that pack a moisturizing punch; it also has a carefully balanced ratio of phospholipids, fatty acids, and phytosterols to support the skin barrier and lock hydration in.
“This smells like a fancy spa, but it only costs 20 bucks. It starts out (olfactorily) strong with a coconut butter base, which creates a slightly sweet foundation on top of which sit notes of sandalwood, rose, and jasmine. The result is a light, floral scent that lasts for hours and layers well with other scented products.” —Kara McGrath, content director
- Key ingredients: ceramide complex, sea buckthorn oil, phospholipids, fatty acids, phytosterols
- Scent options: Pink Beach, Seascape, Island Orchid, Salt Water Vanilla, Exotic Pulp, Black Tide, Golden Hour, Green Grapefruit
Best for Subtle Shimmer: Fenty Skin Butta Drop Whipped Oil Body Cream in Fenty Fresh Shimmering
Fenty Beauty
Butta Drop Whipped Oil Body Cream in Fenty Fresh Shimmering
Why we love it: Fenty’s Whipped Oil Body Cream is not only RiRi-approved and editor-approved, but also dermatologist-approved. “It is a light formulation with powerful natural moisturizing oils such as Kalahari melon, sunflower, and jojoba, which are proven to be beneficial for nourishing the skin and maintaining the proper hydration needed,” Calvin Williams, MD, a board-certified dermatologist based in Bedford, Texas, previously told Allure. “And with the powerful antioxidant effects of mango butter, this product has helped my patients achieve that soft, supple skin they’ve been wanting all along.” The silky body treatment has since expanded to include a soft-gold-shimmer edition of Fenty Fresh (bergamot, jasmine, and white orchid) that adds extra sheen to your limbs—without looking too obvious.
- Key ingredients: Kalahari melon, sorrel, baobab, sunflower, rice bran, coconut, jojoba oils, shea butter, mango butter, glycerin
- Scent options: Fenty Fresh Shimmering (Fenty Fresh is also available in the original glossy formula, as well as Guava Getaway and Citrus Sorbet)
Best for Layering: D.S. & Durga I Don’t Know What Body Lotion
D.S. & Durga
I Don’t Know What Body Lotion
Why we love it: In the same ineffable scent as the body wash that won a 2024 Best of Beauty Award, D.S. & Durga’s I Don’t Know What Body Lotion has a fragrance that’s tough to pinpoint, but impossible to resist. With a central note of Iso E Super—the synthetic molecule that hovers close to the skin, adjusting to the body chemistry of whomever wears it—the scent also layers in woody vetiver and ambrox super. The lotion was designed as a fragrance enhancer, so whatever is layered on top of it, from body oil to perfume, will take on a more luminous-smelling quality. Formulated with moisturizing glycerin, coconut oil, and shea butter, the lotion itself has a cushiony texture that’s a dream for dry skin.
- Key ingredients: glycerin, coconut oil, shea butter
- Scent options: I Don’t Know What
Best for Sensitive Skin: Sidia Soaked The Cream
Why we love it: In the same Soaked scent that helped Sidia’s hand serum land a Best of Beauty Award, Soaked the Cream blends musky notes with foresty hints of juniper and cypress. The woody fragrance is but one appealing aspect of the body lotion, which soothes and smooths the skin with antioxidants like vitamin E, shea and avocado butter, prickly pear, hyaluronic acid, and aloe vera. Vegan, cruelty-free, and paraben-free, the cream is also well-suited for pampering sensitive skin.
P.S. Shopping director Shanna Shipin, who has very dry skin that’s also prone to eczema, adores the Braless Serum if you’re more into a lightweight spritz situation. “You’re done in mere seconds, smell great, and have already primed your skin with moisture before you’re even fully dry. I love it as a hydration replenisher throughout the day, and the fragrance is so long-lasting I don’t need to layer anything over it,” she says.
- Key ingredients: shea butter, avocado butter, prickly pear, aloe vera, cactus flower extract
- Scent options: Soaked
Best Firming: Laura Mercier Ambre Vanille Serum Body Cream
Laura Mercier
Ambre Vanille Serum Body Cream
Why we love it: Laura Mercier’s Ambre Vanille Serum Body Cream has a rich but nongreasy texture that melts into the skin, leaving a trail of vanilla spiked with sandalwood and amber in its wake. The formula is infused with a serum that has a whirl of ingredients to soothe and restore damaged skin. Starflower oil is packed with antioxidants; French plum oil plumps the skin and lends a touch of glow, and French algae replenishes moisture. The gourmand cream also contains tapioca starch, which smooths the skin while giving it a velvety, blurred look.
- Key ingredients: French algae, starflower oil, olive leaf extract, tapioca starch
- Scent options: Almond Coconut, Neroli Du Sud
Frequently Asked Questions
How we test and review products
When Allure tests a product, our editors look at it from every angle in an effort to best serve you. We review ingredients, scrutinize brand claims, and, when necessary, examine peer-reviewed scientific and medical studies. In addition to testing each and every product that’s included in each and every review, we rely on experts who shape their fields, including dermatology, cosmetic chemistry, and medicine, to help us vet the ingredients and formulas.
For our list of the best-smelling body lotions, we considered each product’s performance across five primary categories: product ingredients and efficacy, packaging, fragrance, texture, and product wear. Every product was determined to have excelled in each category by our editorial team, which is composed of in-house writers and editors as well as contributors—along with special consideration from dermatologists. To learn more information on our reporting and testing processes, read our complete reviews process and methodology page.
Our staff and testers
A beauty product is a personal purchase. You might be searching for a face cream to address persistent dryness or a new nail product to add to your Sunday self-care routine; you may simply be browsing around for the latest launches to hit the hair market. No matter what you seek or your individual needs and concerns, Allure wants to ensure that you love anything we recommend in our stories. We believe that having a diverse team of writers and editors—in addition to the wide range of outside testers and industry experts we regularly call upon—is essential to reaching that goal.
