Best body lotions to give dry skin a moisturising boost (2023)

Our parched heatwave-dried skin is crying out for nourishment and there is only one beauty product up to the task - the humble body lotion.

While you may have your facial routine down to a fine art, many of us leave our limbs to fend for themselves on the lotion and potion front - but no longer.

Instead of smearing on the minis you find in hotel bathrooms, treating your body to quality moisturising ingredients will leave it silky smooth, hydrated and radiant. When it comes to ingredients, look for heavy hitters like shea butter, argan oil and collodial oatmeal that will support the skin’s nautral barrier and bring the conditioning you deserve.

Whether you’re on a budget or ready to invest in luxe, looking for thick and deeply nourishing or lightweight and cooling, or lotion, cream, butter or oil textures, the market is awash with products. It can often feel overwhelming to know where to start, which is where we come in.

Over the years, as a moisturising addict, I’ve sampled hundreds of formulas in the name of journalism. I’m in the prime position to advise on the ones worth snapping up and the ones to leave gathering dust on the beauty hall shelf.

I’ve been able to put them through their paces to determine the wheat from the chaff but as is often the case with skin and body care, this can be a hugely personal experience. Luckily, body lotions sit at the more cost-friendly end of the beauty product spectrum so don’t be afraid to add a few of the below to basket and try them out for size.

Here are the only body lotions worth investing in.

Aveeno Daily Moisturising Lotion

Not only is this one of the best body lotions on the market, but it comes with a purse-friendly price tag - so there’s no excuse not to apply after every shower.

The formula may appear thick on first pump, but as soon as it touches the skin, you’ll feel it is lightweight - even while doubling down on the nourishment - and sinks right into the skin. The collodial oatmeal within the product offers long-lasting moisturisation and is ultra-soothing.

So gentle and kind to skin is the Aveeno hero product that it can even be used by those with sensitivites. It’s fragrance-free, has no oily residue and leaves the most sumptuous skin-feel in its wake. Pay particular attention to dry areas like the elbows to see the product pack a real punch.

Buy now £7.86, lookfantastic

Neutrogena Norwegian Formula Deep Moisture Body Lotion

When it comes to moisturiser, in some cases, the more nourishing that you’re looking for, the thicker you want the texture. But not with Norwegian Formula. The brand excels in its super absorbant and non-greasy creams, whether you are talking about its hand creams or this body lotion.

You will be a convert in just one use after seeing the benefits of this product on dry areas. It has one of the deepest moisturisations on the market and will keep it that way for up to 24 hours. There’s a lovely, but very subtle aroma that adds to the freshness.

Buy now £4.23, lookfantastic

Sol de Janeiro Brazilian Bum Bum Cream

If you’re not yet familiar with Sol de Janeiro or the Brazilian skin, hair and fragrance label’s cult Bum Bum Cream, you’re in for a treat. We cannot stress enough the effect that this product will have on your mood, as well as your skin.

It is enriched with one of the most heady aromas on the market - a combination of almond, vanilla and coconut that you will catch a whiff of throughout the day. While the scent is transporting you to the golden sands of the Copacabana with a caipirinha in hand, the nourishing benefits of cupuaçu butter, coconut oil, açaí oil, guayusa and Brazil nut are hydrating your skin and packing it with much needed nutrients, antioxidants and essential fatty acids.

At the heart is guaraná, an Amazonian vine that has a smoothing and revitalising effect - brimming with five times more caffeine than coffee. Believe the hype.

Buy now £46.00, Space NK

Cetaphil Moisturising Body Cream

When you have sensitive skin, tracking down a product that wont exacerbate the situation may lead you down a path of medicinal formulations that aren’t exactly the most enticing to use. Enter Cetaphil - a brand that provides intense rehydration and yet still feels pampering to apply.

This mighty formulation gives long-lasting moisturisation and is suitable to soothe a whole host of skincare concerns and conditions without causing further irritation. It is thick and nourishing where a little goes a long way.

Buy now £14.99, Superdrug

Institut Esthederm Tan Prolonging Body Lotion

Rehydrate with this body lotion after a sun-drenched day and your skin will certainly thank you. The luxurious label Institut Esthederm has formulated this spray to absorb instantly and get to work soothing any warm weather related dryness or discomfort on the skin. The texture is creamy and brings hydration in spades. Don’t holiday without this.

Buy now £40.00, Net-A-Porter

AMELIORATE Transforming Body Lotion

When skin is dry, peeling or cracking, you need something that will provide instant hydration with real lasting power - and this lotion from AMELIORATE should be on hand.

The unperfumed product uses lactic acid to gently exfoliate the skin, while the brand’s signature LaH6 complex has impressive moisturising capabilites.

To take this to the next level, there’s nourishing sweet almond oil that leaves skin feeling silky smooth. Its light texture also makes it ideal for all-season usage.

Buy now £19.20, lookfantastic

Weleda Skin Food Body Lotion

There is a reason why Weleda’s Skin Food is considered a cult product and one of the brand’s bestselling products: it works. The deeply nourishing formula is brimming with shea butter, pansy and calendula that is a godsend to very dry skin types. While treating your arms, legs or wherever else you coat yourself, it has the soothing, sweet scent of lavender, sweet orange and benzoin resin.

Buy now £14.95, lookfantastic

Malin + Goetz Rum Body Lotion

Daily use of this body lotion from Malin + Goetz will be a saviour to skin everywhere. The hydrating ingredients include healing grapeseed oil and provitamin B5, and are all natural so it can be applied by those with rosacea and the likes without incorporating harsh chemicals into your routine. Each time you layer this up will feel like a true act of self-care thanks to the delicious lime and rum concoction.

Buy now £30.00, Space NK

Neom Energy Burst hand and body lotion

Incorporating pampering products like this lotion from Neom into your routine will have you relishing the often arduous task of full body cream application. That is not in a small part due to the delicious notes of grapefruit, lemon and rosemary that make up the revitalising aroma. This product has been created to give you an energetic boost in the morning and get you ready to take on the day. It will also leave your skin soft and smooth with shea butter, sea buckthorn oil and argan contained within the formulation.

Buy now £22.00, Selfridges

Laura Mercier Ambre Vanille Soufflé Body Crème

You will not be able to get enough of Laura Mercier’s addictive aroma in this cream. The bestselling Ambre Vanille collection is made up of a hand cream, a foaming bath emulsion and this heavenly body butter that you’ll want to lather up for a sensorial experience.

The scent is created with notes of tangerine, coconut and almond, and a heart of tiger orchid, milk flower and heliotrope for a warm, sensual fragrance that still remains light. It is also packed with vitamins A, C and E to nourish and enhance skin’s touch appeal.

Buy now £56.00, Space NK

La Roche-Posay Lipikar Lait Urea 5+ Lotion

This product, like the entirety of La Roche-Posay’s skincare offering, has the label’s signature Thermal Spring Water at its heart. This provides an immediate hit of hydration that will be very welcomed to parched skin. It has a milky texture that sinks straight into the skin to soothe, reduce roughness and boost its natural barrier. The gentle formula should be massaged into the skin and is entirely hypoallergenic so can be used by even the most sensitive of skin types.

Buy now £23.00, lookfantastic

Elemis Frangipani Monoi Body Cream

The frangipani aroma of this body cream from Elemis wont be for everyone but the sweet, floral and exotic scent is ideal for bringing a touch of summer to your skincare routine no matter the time of year. The formula contains a winning cocktail of natural oils - monoi, coprah, macadamia and sesame - for deep nourishment and intense conditioning. Your skin will thank you.

Buy now £29.00, lookfantastic

Susanne Kaufmann Hyaluron Body Gel

With an addictive watermelon scent, Susanne Kaufmann’s Hyaluron Body Gel will become your go-to all summer longer. The soothing gel formula has an instant cooling effect to offer relief to dehydrated or overly sun-kissed skin. Calming irritation, it is boosted with hydration hero hyaluronic acid as well as supportive balloon vine extract, gentle aloe vera and menthol.

Buy now £50.00, Cult Beauty

Tata Harper New Resurfacing Body Serum

In its latest launch, Tata Harper is on a mission to encourage us all to give our bodies the same love, care and attention as we do our faces. Adding to the brand’s collection of facial serums is one designed specifically for the body.

The Resurfacing Body Serum has a milky texture and contains gentle exfoliants in the form of AHA superfruits to encourage better absorption of the other powerhouse ingredients, namely hydrating hyaluronic acid, brightening vitamin C and anti-ageing vitamin A. Use a scrub first to maximise the benefits and massage into skin.

Buy now £135.00, Space NK

Fresh Hesperides Grapefruit Body Lotion

From the light and bright fresh citrus scent, to the easily applied featherweight lotion texture, this body product is the ideal warm weather product.

It instantly soothes and nourishes with the combination of shea butter, sugar cane, sugar maple extracts, lemon and orange extracts, and vitamins A and C. Brimming with antioxidant production, the formula works to strengthen the skin’s natural barrier and counteracts dryness over a longer period of time.

Buy now £24.00, Space NK

Summer Fridays Pool Time Glowing Body Oil

You don’t need to have spent a week soaking up the sun rays in St Tropez to get that fresh from the beach glow. Summer Fridays has bottled the enviable radiant complexion and made it accessible all year round with this body oil.

It is a skincare product first and foremost so it’s packed with the nourishing cocktail of jojoba, macadamia, sunflower, and apricot kernel oils as well as vitamin E to protect against free radical damage. The formula hydrates and leaves skin feeling velvety soft.

The product has a beautiful addictive aroma too, with the fresh notes of almond, vanilla blossom and coconut. Dry and dull skin has met its match.

Buy now £36.00, Space NK

OLEHENRIKSEN BeamCream Smoothing Body Moisturizer

OLEHENRIKSEN has ventured into the world of body care with two launches designed to smooth and brighten skin.

With the same potent formulas as its skincare products, the brand has created BeamCream that is designed to boost moisture levels with a noticeable effect in just a week of use. With continual application, your skin will feel super soft and strengthened thanks to the combination of gentle exfoliating AHAs and fruit enzymes, radiance-boosting caffeine and nourishing butters and oils. It also improves skin texture, minimises the look of dark spots and even tackles fine lines and wrinkles - in an eight week study, 75.3 per cent confirmed the latter. The formula also has a lovely citrus aroma.

The brand has also unveiled FirmlyYours Toning Dry Body Oil (£36), a firming and hydrating product with a glowy finish.

Buy now £32.00, Boots