Beauty On The Run With The Beauty Buff: Body Oils

As I seem to mention frequently, I'm plagued with dry skin. It's to the point that I feel insanely  uncomfortable if my skin is in contact with water and I don't moisturize it soon after. Yeah, it's pretty bad. I always say I can't leave the house if I haven't lathered my skin with moisturizer-head to toe. If someone wanted to torture me, they'd take away all my hand creams and body lotions in one fell swoop. Bam! I'm writhing on the floor in agony! Ok, that may be a tad dramatic, but no more than a tad. The biggest problem is that the lotioning process takes up a significant chunk of time in the morning. Time better spent making scrambled eggs on toast or whipping up a three course meal for lunch. Well, maybe not, but time I desperately need! Unfortunately, there's a lot of skin to cover and getting each elbow, knee and crevice takes up precious morning minutes. I envy those who can pop out of the shower and jump right into clothes. I really do.

There's no way to avoid this necessary ordeal but I have discovered a way to speed it up. I've discovered body oils and sprays and the lotioning process has become much quicker. Yipee!

Instead of drying myself off completely after my shower and then moisturizing, I've been lightly patting my skin dry and immediately spritizing or applying on one of my favorite new moisture-grabbing tools. I have two new favorites: Suki Delicate Hydrating Oil ($24.95, Whole Foods-Whole Body) and Votre Vu's On Holiday Huiler Pour Le Corps ($49, online).

Important beauty tip: When your skin is completely dry it doesn't retain moisture as well. Damp skin helps lock in moisture and water into your surface cells. I'm not surprised by this since it's recommended to drink water when you want to revive a dull, patchy looking complexion. The more water your body retains the more glowing your skin will look. Damp skin also maximizes your moisturizers benefits so it will last significantly longer than if you applied it to dry skin. 

I've noticed that body oils and sprays are easier to spread on and a little goes a much longer way. You can dab some on and it spreads much more easily than regular moisturizer. The combination of the body oil and dampened skin is fantastic. I've cut my moisturizing time in half! Rather than laboriously lathering, I've been spreading and spritizing. The oils seems to seep into my pores and spread on their own! I literally feel like I use half the amount of liquid but get double the amount of moisture per square inch.

Suki's Delicate Hydrating Oil is a great vegan, natural treatment that uses organic rose oil, chamomile extract and apricot kernel oil to help relieve irritation, dehydration and reduce inflammation. It's a great moisturizing oil for sensitive skin and can also be used as a massage oil. Oooh La La!

Votre Vu's On Holiday Huiler Pour Le Corps is a spray oil that spread super easy and smells great. The spray is made up of grape seed oil, sweet almond oil, apricot kernel oil and jojoba oil. The spray feature helps reach hard-to reach areas-like your back and the concoction lathers brilliantly!

Another wallet-friendly alternative to these oils (although I prefer them) is baby oil! It's cheap, easy to use and totally effective.

Whatever you decide, invest in a moisturizing body oil ASAP!