“It rubs the lotion on its skin...”

The best-smelling lotions, butters & body oils I’ve ever used

In the spirit of ‘do what I say, not what I do’, I regularly chastise people for not consistently moisturising their skin, then wondering why their fragrances aren’t lasting as long as they used to. “Oh but when you moisturise, the scent locks into your skin for hours longer!” I say. “Aroma molecules evaporate far more rapidly on dry skin, so always start by using a body oil or rich lotion,” I advise; “either unscented, matching your perfume, or with a scent that enhances one of the fragrance notes.”

This is excellent advice, and I stand by it. I just don’t always, um, okay, hardly ever follow it myself.

Throughout summer I’m slathered in factor 50 SPF head-to-toe anyway, and so I tend to neglect any extra body self-care steps – especially during mornings. I am not, by nature, a ‘morning person.’ I often finish writing around 4am, and my ‘morning routine’ involves a two-minute shower, hastily dressing, slapping on some mascara and a bold lipstick (to give the impression I’ve made an effort), and calling it a win if knickers are on and both shoes are matching before I grab a banana and run to the train station / begin my next batch of writing. In Norwegian, there’s apparently a phrase in response to people asking how you are, which is: “Oppe, og ikke gråter” – “Up, and not crying.” And I think that’s a very reasonable bar to set oneself to start the day.

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At this time of year, when one begins to consider such things as re-visiting the Gordian-knot-like chaos of The Tights Drawer and arguing with family members about when to put the central heating on; my thoughts inevitably turn to how little attention I’ve paid to my skin from the boobs down. So, that little voice in my ear (partly mine, merrily giving advice to others; partly Buffalo Bill in Silence of the Lambs) whispers to me whenever I step out of the shower: ‘It rubs the lotion on its skin, and it does this whenever it’s told...’ Okay, fictional serial killers aren’t always the best people to get your beauty advice from, but in this case, they’re wise words! Why hadn’t I been listening?

If you are similarly afflicted, and looking to de-desiccate lizard-esque limbs or simply make your scent last longer, here are my go-to lotions to layer with...

Mirror Water Smooth Body Oil – £27 for 50ml spacenk.com

It’s highly unusual to find a truly smoky / woody-scented body product, and so when my friend Nicola Bonn (host of Outspoken Beauty and my co-host of On the Scent podcast) told me about this, it was in my basket faster than Precious*, after the chicken bone. It’s much smokier than I was imagining, with lots of vetiver – dry, grassy, hugely grounding – deeply resinous Canadian black spruce, and aromatically nurturing cedar. There’s a tinge of bonfire smoke on the breeze rather than incense, and I’m here for that seasonal shift. A bright shaft of bergamot prevents it being entirely charred, and so it layers beautifully with fragrances that have bergamot and some woodiness, which you’d like to add a little autumnal heft to. It also has the benefit of sinking in immediately yet feeling perfectly smoothing all day long.

*[Precious is Buffalo Bill’s dog in Silence of the Lambs, and his intended victim, Catherine, lures the dog into the well she’s being held prisoner in, with a leftover chicken bone. …Quite why I’ve never been offered my own beauty column is beyond me.]

Officine Universelle Buly Huile Antique Damask Rose Dry Body Oil – £42.06 for 75ml buly1803.com (Also available in-store at their Selfridges counter, but it’s incredibly popular so can be out of stock. SO want a Buly boutique in London. If you get a chance to visit their other stores, they’re utterly exquisite).

I feel like Marie Antoinette would have lusted after this in her boudoir, as well she might, because it’s one of the most divinely scented body oils I’ve ever used – and LOOK at that bottle! A trilogy of sesame, apricot, and coconut oils make the texture satisfyingly luxurious to apply, yet supremely fast drying, leaving limbs scented with velvety damask rose. Tingled with a touch of ginger, radiating a base of vetiver, Atlas cedar and musk as it warms, this is the one I reach for whenever I’m wearing a rose-centric perfume. It feels as though I’m surrounding myself with an invisible, deep red velvet cloak that protects me from the outside world and swishes satisfyingly as I walk – billowing plumptious, dewy rosiness but (being invisible) never feels too swaddling or overwhelming.

Weleda Skin Food Body Butter – £21.95 for 150ml weleda.co.uk

Oh my GOD this is gorgeous – a balmy body butter that genuinely smells good enough to eat, being comprised of their iconic Skin Food scent (lots of good stuff, but primarily sweet orange, shea butter and chamomile with a hint of lavender) but ramped up to 11. Basically, it makes you smell like a Terry’s Chocolate Orange that went for a spa day. I wasn’t sure if I’d be into that vibe, but slather me up and call Augustus Gloop – if the river in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory smelled like this, I’d be diving in head-first and refusing all help. I tend to save this exclusively for colder months, firstly because of my slap-dash summer routine (as previously described), but mostly because if I’m wearing a gourmand-y perfume, it’s going to be from now onwards, and I feel this layers best with a scent that either has a touch of sweetness already, or can handle being paired with it. It’s beautiful worn beneath earthy, dark chocolate-y patchoulis, FYI.

Sanctuary Spa Golden Sandalwood Mousse-to-Oil Moisturiser – £14 for 200ml uk.sanctuary.com

Sandalwood is one of my all-time favourite notes in a fragrance – creamy, dreamy, silky woodiness that seems to wrap itself around you and whisper soothing words all day. Finding this (again, thanks to Nicola) was genuinely life-changing, not only because it smells bloody amazing, but it’s so easy to use (and therefore, more likely to be reached for). Sanctuary Spa formulations are utter genius, and easily compete with far more spendy brands. They really think about those of us who haven’t got time (or can’t be bothered) to spend on ourselves post-shower, so if you hate the potential mess of body oils but crave their nourishment, this is your perfect product. It instantly melts from mousse to oil the moment you apply it, and a little goes a long way. Even if I’ve forgotten to moisturise all over, I’ll spend thirty seconds slinking some of this onto my legs for an effortless – and heavenly-scented – burnished glow.

L'Occitane Almond Shower Oil – £7.50 for 75ml (Travel Size) uk.loccitane.com

I think this was the first ever L’Occitane product I tried and have purchased on repeat ever since. It’s so richly nourishing that I often find I don’t really need to apply a body moisturiser after using it (win!), but because it turns into a milky lather on contact with water, it doesn’t make me feel as though I’m slipping and sliding in my shower like a hapless contestant dressed in an inflatable sumo wrestler suit on a 1980s episode of It’s a Knockout (also a win). If you feel your skin does need an extra layer, they also do a matching body oil, but genuinely when using this shower oil I feel I can skip that extra step. The smell? It’s blissfully linear – sweet (but not too sweet) almond oil, which pairs brilliantly with pretty much anything, but is especially suited to smoothing the olfactory edges of any scent that feels a bit too fresh in the top notes to be seasonably correct right now. Or, you might like to wear this with a tonka-heavy scent, to really ramp up the toasty almond aspect of that ingredient.

Whichever fragrance you decide to layer on top of these body products, none of them are going to overpower the perfume for the whole day (the fragrance to carrier ratio isn’t strong enough for that), so don’t worry too much about it not ‘matching’. But if you are concerned, do look for the many (many!) specifically matching body care products you can add into your routine, if wished, from various fragrance houses. My favourites, to date, have been the Frederic Malle Portrait of a Lady collection (comprising shower cream, foam bath, hair & body oil and hair mist); and if money were no object, I’d be daubed in every scented unguent of that line.

Now, please tell me YOUR favourite scented body products to try...?