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The 15 Best Body Lotions Of All Time

From aromatherapy blends to a sleep-inducing hero.

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best body lotion

If you aren't bothered about body lotion, you aren't using the right one. Not just something you grab from the back of the cupboard when your heels are cracking and you're about to stick on a pair of sandals, a good body moisturiser is a true beauty treat: something you look forward to massaging in after a long day (or before a big night).

Today's best body moisturisers come with multi-faceted appeal. Alongside the skin-softening powers of a good hydrating formula, there are aromatherapy-grade scents to calm an anxious mind (or boost a sluggish one), fragrances fine enough to replace your perfume, and bottles so good looking they’ll make your basic bathroom feel just a little like a fancy spa. There’s even a smart body lotion to slough away those chicken-skin bumps that seem to have multiplied over the last year.

Below, see team ELLE's verdict on the very best body lotions, from soul-soothing moisturisers to deep-hydrating creams.

The Best Body Lotions To Indulge In Now

Best for aromatherapy benefits

Alexandra Kay Time To Restore Magnesium Lotion

Time To Restore Magnesium Lotion
Best for aromatherapy benefits

Alexandra Kay Time To Restore Magnesium Lotion

£40 at greenpeople.co.uk
Credit: Green People

Created in memory of Green People founder Charlotte Vøhtz's daughter, Alexandra Kay is an aromatherapy brand with heartfelt thought behind it.

This clever body lotion is blended with pure magnesium (which isn't an easy thing to do, due to the mineral's tendency to affect the texture) that is absorbed by the skin and used to relax tense muscles. Combine that with a signature blend of vetiver, bergamot and lavender essential oils, and you've got a decadently rich lotion that'll send you off to sleep like no other.

Best for resurfacing

Tata Harper Resurfacing Body Serum

Resurfacing Body Serum
Best for resurfacing

Tata Harper Resurfacing Body Serum

Credit: .

Think of this one as more of an intensive skin treatment than a simple hydrator. True to Tata's maximalist ethos, it's packed with hard-working plant extracts that not only impart moisture, but gently exfoliate away dead, dull skin cells to leave limbs supple and luminous. It smells lightly citrussy and feels more like a cream than a serum, leaving even the driest of legs feels incredible.

Best for special occasion prep

Charlotte Tilbury Charlotte's Magic Body Cream

Charlotte's Magic Body Cream
Best for special occasion prep

Charlotte Tilbury Charlotte's Magic Body Cream

Charlotte Tilbury has tweaked the face cream that made her brand so famous into a body cream, so you can reap the softening, smoothing benefits from head to toe. Formulated with the same skincare nous as the legendary original, this silky lotion is boosted with hyaluronic acid and caffeine: apply it with long, firm strokes towards your heart to reap the maximum benefits.

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Best for sensitive souls

La Roche Posay Lipikar Body Lotion

Lipikar Body Lotion
Best for sensitive souls

La Roche Posay Lipikar Body Lotion

Credit: .

If you've got sensitive skin, you're already acquainted with La Roche-Posay: this French pharmacy hero is famed for treating delicate types right. True to form, this simple body lotion sorts out sore elbows and irritated areas while encouraging the skin to heal. It might not be fancy, but it sure is effective.

Best for tired minds

This Works Deep Sleep Body Whip

Deep Sleep Body Whip
Best for tired minds

This Works Deep Sleep Body Whip

Credit: .

This recent addition to everyone's favourite sleep-inducing line is a seriously good one. This fluffy, almost jelly-like body cream is supercharged with magnesium to help physically relax your muscles and copper PCA (hence the blue hue) to boost the skin's microbiome. And of course, there's that famously good lavender and vetiver scent to knock you out as well.

Best for luminous limbs

Glossier Body Hero Daily Perfecting Cream

Body Hero Daily Perfecting Cream
Best for luminous limbs

Glossier Body Hero Daily Perfecting Cream

Most of us know by now that Glossier isn’t just an oh-so-Instagrammable pretty face. Case in point, this fantastic body cream that imparts enough hydration to last for hours on end. And there's more: the tiny reflective pigments make limbs gleam in the most flattering way: no chunky glitter to find here.

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Best luxury body lotion

Chanel Les Exclusifs de Chanel Fresh Body Cream

Les Exclusifs de Chanel Fresh Body Cream
Best luxury body lotion

Chanel Les Exclusifs de Chanel Fresh Body Cream

Credit: .

Possibly the most decadent thing you can slather on yourself, Chanel's body cream is designed to complement and heighten the trail of any fragrance in the house's prestige Les Exclusifs line. Whatever your signature scent may be, this gently musky cream will leave your skin glowing and perfectly prepped for perfume.

Best for an extra-rich texture

Fenty Skin Butta Drop Whipped Oil Body Cream

Butta Drop Whipped Oil Body Cream
Best for an extra-rich texture

Fenty Skin Butta Drop Whipped Oil Body Cream

Now 16% Off
Credit: .

If Rihanna knows anything, it’s how to formulate good skincare (ok, and pretty much everything else), so when Fenty Skin released a body moisturiser, we were here for it.

Happily, it lived up to the hype, helping to relieve taut, tight skin and delivering hydration that doesn't dissipate in the time it takes for you to get to work. It's thick, indulgent and smells like cocktail hour on a far-flung beach. Heaven.

Best for a fine fragrance

Jo Malone English Pear & Freesia Body Crème

English Pear & Freesia Body Crème
Best for a fine fragrance

Jo Malone English Pear & Freesia Body Crème

Now 42% Off
Credit: Jo Malone

A scented body lotion is a great way to extend the trail of your signature scent: lucky then, that Jo Malone London has formulated all its bestsellers into a richly fragranced cream. We love the timeless English Pear & Freesia, which is juicy without veering too sweet, and just floral enough to smell fresh, not fusty. Wear it alone, or layer beneath the corresponding cologne for maximum impact.

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Best for serious skin benefits

Augustinus Bader The Body Lotion

The Body Lotion
Best for serious skin benefits

Augustinus Bader The Body Lotion

Credit: .

Don't be fooled by the incredibly light texture of this one: it's working hard behind the scenes to bring about real skin benefits. A serious luxury player, Augustinus Bader's Body Lotion contains the same trademarked TFC8 complex of vitamins and amino acids as the brand's industry-shaking face cream, meaning you can kiss goodbye to scaly patches, shaving rashes and uneven texture for good. It's completely scent-free, so good for sensitive types, and feels undetectable once absorbed.

Best for value

Garnier Intensive 7 Days Mango Body Lotion

Intensive 7 Days Mango Body Lotion
Best for value

Garnier Intensive 7 Days Mango Body Lotion

Credit: .

Garnier makes some of the best budget body lotions. Give the ‘seven-day’ spiel a firm side-eye, but with a tropical scent this good, you won’t mind slathering it on every day anyway.

Best for keratosis pilaris

Ameliorate Transforming Body Lotion

Transforming Body Lotion
Best for keratosis pilaris

Ameliorate Transforming Body Lotion

Keratosis pilaris – those tiny, pesky bumps on the back of your arms – can actually be treated with next-to-no effort. The solution is this body lotion, which comes boosted with alpha-hydroxy-acids to gentle exfoliate that chicken skin away. Stick with it, and we think you'll be satisfied.

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Best for a tan

Tan-Luxe The Butter

The Butter
Best for a tan

Tan-Luxe The Butter

There are so different tanning formulas out there, from oils to mists and coconut-spiked balms, we don't blame you if you're completely baffled by the whole thing. Our advice? Stick to this: the most indulgent, mega-moisturising gradual tan, which will soften your elbows and impart even colour at the same time. Job done.

Best for a grounding scent

Byredo De Los Santos Body Lotion

De Los Santos Body Lotion
Best for a grounding scent

Byredo De Los Santos Body Lotion

Credit: Space NK

If traditionally feminine scents don't do it for you, Byredo has got your back. One of the brand's most memorable fragrances, De Los Santos is deep, meditative and kind of witchy, (in a really good way). Think: the grounding air of palo santo, mixed with clary sage and cosy musk.

Best for high end fragrance

Le Labo AnOther 13 Body Lotion

AnOther 13 Body Lotion
Best for high end fragrance

Le Labo AnOther 13 Body Lotion

Credit: .

Le Labo makes fragrances we all want to wear, and now there are more ways to do so. This is its most intriguing, can’t-put-your-finger-on-it-but-you-love-it perfume, but in a body moisturiser. Enough said.

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