Photo courtesy of Eve and Adam Photography/The Licensing Project

Maybe it’s a slooow, fluttery massage that revs your engines. Maybe it’s the power of giving someone else one. Or it could be scent—a faintly smoky essence that softly lingers or one that’s heady and blossoming, depending on the day and your headspace—that plunges you straight into the moment. The beauty of body oil is that however you use it, the immediate benefits are mental, physical, and always sensual.

On top of the skin-silkifying, firming, smoothing, nourishing results, body oils are a gorgeous accoutrement for better, vibier, more present, sexier sex. Whether or not they’re infused with essential oils like ylang-ylang, lavender, and clary sage, which are said to have aphrodisiac effects, body oils leave your body gleaming and moisturized, and simply the act of applying one can be both a confidence boost and a turn-on. And most body oils are clean—made without water, they don’t need the preservatives that many conventional body creams and serums do. Instead, they’re typically pure concentrations of nourishing botanicals that smell and feel luxurious naturally. What’s sexier than that?

The right body oil can be a foreplay game changer when smoothed on by a partner. Or massage it over your own limbs to shift gears and kick off a solo night with a clitoris-stimulating vibrator. Either way, it can help you slip into the best version of your skin, with natural ingredients to enhance your mood and desire.

1. 1

   Best for Glow

   Scent: Ginger, violet, and vetiver

   For: Gleamy, nourished skin

   Loaded with the highest-quality botanicals—sea buckthorn, raspberry seed, pomegranate—this decadent blend smooths into the sexiest supple glow and invigorates the senses. Whether you’re warming it between your palms and smoothing it over your own body in the morning to take on the day or working it over a partner’s, it smells just gorgeous.

   
   

   goop Beauty
   GOOPGLOW Afterglow Body Oil
   goop, $48/$43 with subscription

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2. 2

   Best for Subtly Sexy Fragrance

   Scent: West Indian blossoms

   For: Perfume lovers

   The scent is so intoxicating—it smells like an entire bouquet of tropical flowers—that this skin-softening mix of sweet almond, shea nut, and coconut oils easily doubles as fragrance. For date nights out, dab a touch at your wrists and neck. For date nights in…the bedroom is your oyster.

   
   

   Balmyard Beauty
   Romantic Call Body Oil
   goop, $82

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3. 3

   Best for Sensitive Skin

   Scent: Unscented

   For: Skin that needs pure nourishment

   Ultranourishing argan and olive oils, vitamin E, squalane, and the patented TFC8 complex developed by esteemed German scientist Dr. Augustinus Bader flood skin with moisture, support the skin’s barrier, and replenish, leaving skin velvety to the touch.

   
   

   Augustinus Bader
   The Body Oil
   goop, $100

   SHOP NOW

   READ ALSO

   How To Improve Skin Elasticity Naturally

   What We Bought & Loved this Month

4. 4

   Best for Spirit Soothing

   Scent: Vetiver and sandalwood

   For: A heavenly fragrance

   Spiked with geranium, chamomile, and skin-calming jojoba oil, this oil’s scent is one of the prettiest we’ve ever smelled, and the nourishing ingredients leave skin in amazing shape. Beyond an incredible full-body massage, it facilitates a euphoric foot rub (the foot is one of the most sensitive areas of the body due to the concentration of nerve endings). Or pour a few drops into a steamy bath for the ultimate unwind.

   
   

   UMA
   Pure Calm
   goop, $85

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5. 5

   Best for Light Texture

   Scent: Lavender, rose, and neroli

   For: Quick absorption

   This flowery body serum hydrates and refreshes skin with aloe vera and, as the name promises, multiple floral extracts. It sinks right into skin as you massage it in, and it also works as a hair serum for boosting shine and tempering frizz.

   
   

   Sangre de Fruta
   Mille Fleurs Body Serum
   goop, $118

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6. 6

   Best for Warming up

   Scent: Jasmine and lavender

   For: Flickering candlelight vibes

   Spark it up and this candle emits a soft cloud of mood-setting jasmine and lavender as it burns. The bonus: The jojoba-infused wax melts into a skin-replenishing sensual massage oil that’s miraculously always the perfect temperature (the candle has an extremely low melting point).

   
   

   Neom Organics
   Real Luxury Intensive Skin Treatment Candle
   goop, $46

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7. 7

   Best for Total Escapism

   Scent: Bitter orange and neroli

   For: A summery flourish

   The generous rollerball makes it easy (and so chic) to smooth this citrusy-floral blend over shoulders, pulse points, feet, lower stomach…wherever your synapses crave it. There’s nothing like it on a grey day to transport you to a warm Italian orange grove.

   
   

   BEHNAZ
   Summer Skin Oil
   goop, $45

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8. 8

   Best for Pure Atmosphere

   Scent: Smoky and sexy

   For: Firming and replenishing skin

   Made with skin-pampering botanicals sourced responsibly from the Amazon—including smoky breu branco, a resin sacred among Indigenous tribes—this skin-coddling blend has the silkiest texture.

   
   

   Costa Brazil
   Oleo Para O Corpo Kaya Jungle Firming Oil
   goop, $98

   SHOP NOW

How do we test clean beauty products at goop? First they have to pass our standards for clean (goop has some of the toughest standards in the industry). Only then do they make it to our editors’ showers, bathroom counters, and makeup bags, where they are rigorously hand-tested (and road-tested, if we happen to be going on a trip). The goop beauty department is made up of women of varied ages, races, and tastes—if we really love something, we’re pretty confident you’re going to love it, too.