Saturday 21 May 2016

Body Oil Comparison

Body Oil Comparison Live Clean Dry Body Oil, Palmer's Cocoa Butter Formula Soothing Oil, Palmer's Cocoa Butter Formula Moisturizing Body Oil and Clarins Tonic Body Treatment

I didn't really understand how an oil could be 'dry' and why people would want to apply something so liquid onto their skin. Now that I've been able to try out a few varieties of body oils, I thought I'd do a comparison post.

Body Oil Comparison Live Clean Dry Body Oil and Clarins Tonic Body Treatment

The competitors are Live Clean Sheer Light Dry Body Oil* ($), Clarins Body Treatment Oil* ($58CDN, 100ml ), Palmer's Cocoa Butter Formula Moisturizing Body Oil* ($5CDN, 250ml), and Palmer's Cocoa Butter Formula Soothing Oil* ($5CDN, 150mml).

I'm looking to see which of these truly absorbs quickly and leaves a dry touch, moisturizes well and is the lightest feeling on the skin. They all promise to be lightweight and absorb without leaving greasy marks but in practice, I experienced differently. Also, their ingredients are worth noting.

Body Oil Comparison Palmer's Cocoa Butter Formula Soothing Oil and Moisturizing Body Oil

ApplicationTextureScentAbsorptionMoisturization
Clarins Tonic Body Treatment Oil
pour; oil can dribble out and onto bottle
medium weight
herbal and minty
takes a little while and it warms as you apply it onto your skin, quite pleasant
moisturized well
Live Clean Sheer Light Dry Body Oil
pump; oil does get onto the bottle
light
light warm near shea scent
very quick
quite moisturizing for such a light weight oil.
Palmer's Cocoa Butter Formula Soothing Oil for Dry Itchy Skin
spray; no oil on bottle
slightly lighter than Live Clean
baby powder and chocolate but not long lasting and very faint
faster than the Palmer's Body Oil but not as fast as Live Clean
moisturized ok but nothing amazing
Palmer's Cocoa Butter Formula Moisturizing Body Oil
pour; oil can dribble out and onto bottle
slightly heavier than Clarins
canola and chocolate
takes a long time and leaves greasy marks
moisturized ok but nothing amazing

Application: All bottles needed multiple pours and generally left the bottles greasy. The type of pour method seems to depend on the viscosity of the oil. I much prefer the pump over an open top. A spray is nice but doesn't seem to work with thicker oils.

Texture: Yes all of these are oils so they have a slippy oily feel when you're rubbing them on. However, they do have differences in heaviness. See chart for comparison. I don't mind the weight of Clarins actually since it absorbed better than one of the Palmer's which had lesser weight.

Scent: I really liked the scent of Clarin's but I like herbal mentholated scents to begin with. 

Absorption: The winner here, by far, is the Live Clean option. It really does absorb quickly and my hands are barely left with any greasy trace. I would only use the Clarins just before going to bed and if felt like some of my bedding soaked a little in. The Palmer options sat on the skin for longer and I didn't enjoy those as much.

Moisturization: In terms of ingredients, I much prefer those Live Clean which doesn't use cheap oils like canola or soybean (both Palmer's) as its base. It's also free of mineral oils, petroleums, parabens, silicones, phthalates, dyes, and preservatives, and moisturizes better due to its fast absorption. The Clarins option moisturized about equally well but it does take longer to absorb.

The winner here: Live Clean Sheer Light. Even though its more expensive, the ingredient make up, light weight feel and truly fast absorption make this my preferred body oil. A close second is Clarins which, even with its weight and absorption style, really gave a spa type experience with its scent. 

Have you tried a body oil before?

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