I Tested 4 of the Most Popular Body Oils: Here's the One I'd Actually Buy Again
Besque vs GODA Silk vs OSEA Undaria vs Saltair, compared for hydration, glow, absorption, ingredients, scent and value.
These four body oils come up more than any others right now, and they are not really doing the same job. One is built for scent, one for glow, one for price, and one for the formula itself.
I compared them on the things that decide whether you actually keep using a body oil: what is in it, how fast it sinks in, how it smells, and what you pay per ounce.
Here is how they ranked and who each one suits best.
Besque® Magic Body Oil won overall. It is the only one of the four built entirely from cold-pressed oils instead of a shea, coconut or safflower base with a few extras added, and it was the best all-rounder for dry, rough and mature-looking skin.
- GODA has the best scent of the four, by a clear margin.
- OSEA is the most luxurious, with the nicest immediate glow.
- Saltair is the best value per ounce.
- Besque has the strongest overall formula.
Side by side
| Besque | GODA Silk | OSEA | Saltair | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best for | Dry, rough & mature-looking skin | Long-lasting scent | Luxury glow | Everyday hydration on a budget |
| Formula | 7 cold-pressed oils, no filler base Best |
Shea butter base plus carrier oils | Algae and plant oil blend | Safflower and castor base |
| Key ingredients | Rosehip, evening primrose, geranium, sweet almond, vitamin E | Shea, argan, almond, jojoba, vitamin E | Undaria algae, passionflower, rice bran | Kukui, cacay, karanja, squalane |
| Absorption | Fast, non-greasy | Fast, slight film | Fast, non-greasy | Fast, non-greasy |
| Scent | Soft natural floral, fades after a few hours | Warm vanilla and cacao, lasts all day Best |
Light citrus-cypress | Range of scents, synthetic |
| Value | Best |
|||
| Overall | #1 overall pick Best |
Best scent | Best luxury glow | Best value |
Swipe the table to compare. Individual results vary.
Best for: dry, rough & mature-looking skin
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Besque® Magic Body Oil
- Seven-oil formula
- Cold-pressed oils
- Fast absorbing
- Non-greasy
- Great for dry, rough and mature-looking skin
The reason it wins is what is not in it. There is no cheap base oil making up the bulk of the bottle, so every one of the seven oils is there for a reason: evening primrose and geranium for the look of firmness, rosehip for plumpness, sweet almond for deep hydration, vitamin E to guard against environmental stress.
On skin it behaves like a much lighter oil than it reads on paper. It sinks into damp skin in under a minute with no slick residue, so you can dress straight after. The scent is a soft natural floral that fades within a few hours. Pleasant, but not the reason you would buy it.
Best for: dry, rough, crepey-looking or mature-looking skin. Not ideal if: your main goal is extremely strong fragrance.
GODA Silk Body Oil
GODA does one thing better than anything else here: it smells excellent. The warm vanilla, lavender and cacao blend lasts all day and genuinely works in place of perfume, and the half-lotion, half-oil texture glides on beautifully.
It ranked below Besque because the shea butter base is doing most of the work. Beyond vitamin E there is not much in the way of active oils, so it is more of a scented moisturizer than a treatment oil, and the small bottle makes it the priciest per ounce of the four.
Best for: anyone who wants their body oil to double as fragrance. Skip if: you care more about the formula than the scent.
OSEA Malibu Undaria Algae Body Oil
OSEA is the most luxurious of the four and the glow is immediate. Hand-harvested Undaria algae with passionflower and rice bran oils softens skin on contact, it absorbs cleanly, and the light citrus-cypress scent is one of the best-loved in the category.
It ranked below Besque on breadth. The blend is lovely but narrow, with no humectants to draw moisture in, so the effect is a beautiful same-day finish rather than something that builds. It is also among the priciest per ounce.
Best for: instant glow and clean-beauty positioning. Skip if: you want a fuller multi-oil formula.
Saltair Nourishing Body Oil
Saltair is the easiest one to recommend on price. The safflower and castor base is lifted with kukui, cacay, karanja and squalane, it sinks in fast with no greasiness, and the scent range is genuinely fun. Nothing else here comes close per ounce.
It ranked below Besque because the interesting ingredients are supporting players rather than the bulk of the formula, and fragrance sits high on the ingredient list. It is a very good everyday moisturizing oil at a very good price. That is the whole proposition.
Best for: soft skin after a shower without spending much. Skip if: you want more than moisture from it.
Which one should you buy?
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