A body wash is an incredibly basic purchase. Unlike a pretty blush or a gnarly highlighter, it’s a necessity, which zaps some of the joy out of the buy. But a boring body wash just wouldn’t do for Dutch bath and body company Rituals, so the company injected a dose of fun into the ho-hum soap when creating its frothy, mousselike Yogi Flow gel. But Rituals’ best wash comes in the form of an oil, which is as fun is as it is cleansing.
Ritual’s Sakura Shower Oil is a mixture of soy, castor, and sunflower oils that turn into a milky lather when splashed with water. If you typically shower with a puff or loofah, forget about pairing it with the oil — the body wash will soak into the sponge and fail to lather. It’s much better to just use your hands. Other than that, you can shower with the oil as you would with any other wash. What’s more, it’s free of soap, so your skin won’t be stripped of moisture. And because the body wash is mostly oil, your skin feels softer than before you set foot in the shower.
There are four different shower oils offered by Rituals, but Sakura is my favorite. Cherry extract in each batch reminds me of the smell of spring — not to mention, making it feel like a high-end upgrade of Jergen’s cult lotion. The one drawback to the oil is that the shower can turn slippery rather quickly. But if you ask me, a few minutes of fancy footwork in the bathroom is worth it. Because the payback in the end is skin that feels soft and amazingly smooth.
Sakura Shower Oil, $15 at Barneys.
