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Let’s face it: lathering up with your favorite smelling body wash in the shower can be one of the few moments that you have to yourself to be fully present and to take in your surroundings during your busy day.
Now, we all know that a body wash should do exactly that; it should wash us. That means it should feature helpful ingredients that can clean our skin without causing irritation. But, don’t we also want something that lets us leave the house with confidence about our scent? Or maybe we just want something that gives us a nice pleasant treat to enjoy for ourselves as we drift off to sleep?
Whatever your reasoning may be, we compiled a list of the best smelling body washes for women in 2024. This comprehensive list includes a range of products that utilize all different ingredients and scent profiles, so you should certainly be able to find something that nourishes your skin while piquing the interest of your olfactory sense.
Read on to see our picks!
Blu Atlas Coconut Apricot Body Wash
While Blu Atlas offers this super pleasant lather that’s loaded with green tea, sugarcane, and aloe vera for moisture retention in a classic scent, you ladies will thank us for recommending the coconut apricot option. With a delicious and natural smelling profile that is not by any means overwhelming, you’ll have a hard time not using more of it in the shower just to enjoy it.
The coconut derived emollients inside the bottle rinse away the things you don’t want, while keeping your skin feeling calm and ready to take on the day. After a wash with this, you feel clean, but fortunately not dry, flakey, or any of the other things you want to avoid. And as is often the case with Blu Atlas’s products, it’s made with 96% natural ingredients.
Rosie Jane Leila Lou Everyday Body Wash
with white tea extract for elastin and collagen promotion, pine bark extract for circulation, and cocoa extract for hydration, this pick definitely provides all that we are looking for in terms of taking care of our skin. And with a fruity floral scent to boot? Yea, we love that. One reviewer calls it heavenly scented without drying the skin out. Count. Us. In.
Beauty Pie Soul Providers
If you’re looking for a great-smelling body wash that will kickstart your senses and invigorate you for the rest of the day, Soul Providers from Beauty Pie is definitely worth a sniff. The scent of this one is a mix of sweet orange, cold-pressed lemon, citron, lemongrass, grapefruit, pine, black pepper, cypress, cardamom, and clove leaf.
On the body wash end, Soul Providers features aloe vera to moisturize, and instead of harsh sulfates, it has coconut suds for a creamy lather. Two other key ingredients are Indian gooseberry extract from the amla fruit, which is an antioxidant high in vitamin C, and holy basil extract from the tulsi plant, which cleanses and nourishes the skin.
This body cleanser is also vegan and cruelty-free, and features only clean ingredients backed by safe science. The bottle is also recyclable and made from recycled materials.
Pacifica Beauty Island Vanilla
If vanilla is your scent of choice, then Pacifica Beauty has the body wash to tingle those nostrils in the best way possible. It, in fact, features two different types of vanilla, Tahitian and bourbon, for a delightful scent with the classic tones of vanilla mixed with something fruity and slightly floral.
Outside of its fantastic scent, this body wash is also infused with hyaluronic acid, antioxidants, plant extracts, lavender, and white tea. Together, these ingredients will nourish and hydrate your skin for optimum health, all while making you smell absolutely fantastic. All of Pacifica Beauty’s products, including Island Vanilla, are vegan and cruelty-free, and created without parabens, phthalates, sulfates, or mineral oil.
Chanel Paris – Biarritz
Naturally, when you picture high-end scents and perfumes, Chanel is a name that most likely pops into your mind. If you weren’t aware, Chanel also makes a few different shower gels, and perhaps the best of the lot is Paris – Biarritz, which is meant to bring the pure air of the Basque coast—a region so dear to the company’s founder, Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel—to your shower.
The scent of this body wash is mandarin mixed with lily of the valley. It’s like taking a dip into the sea off the Basque coast itself.
Blueland Body Wash Starter Set
A great one for the environmentally conscious shopper, this body wash from Blueland comes in powdered form with a reusable bottle. Just fill the bottle with the powder, add water, shake, wait ten minutes for the combination to activate, and bam, you have yourself some fine body wash. Then, when you’re all out, just buy a refill and repeat the process.
Blueland sells three different scents, and though Waterlily Dew is our favorite, there are also Coconut Milk and Sandalwood Sage. In addition, being such a clean brand, it’s no shock that Blueland’s products use only clean ingredients—only plant and planet-friendly sources are in this formula. These products are also gentle, perfect for those with sensitive skin. And, thanks to the reusable bottle and compostable paper refills, Blueland products are also zero-waste.
Youth To The People Superfood + Niacinamide Body Cleanser
Lather up in this cleanser from Youth To The People and luxuriate in niacinamide, as well as kale and green tea extracts for some divine antioxidant protection. As for the smell, reviewers describe it as fresh, with one reviewer even pining for Youth To The People to make an accompanying perfume to match the smell.
Isle of Paradise Body
This option is loaded with lactic acid for smoother looking skin, polyglutamic acid for hydration, and salicylic acid to clear out clogged pores, so consider it as a do it all kind of wash. The smell is a combo of orange, jasmine, patchouli, and almond. Now that all sounds great, but how does it actually smell when combined? Well, reviewers really note that it smells sublime.
Maison Margiela Paris Replica Lazy Sunday Morning
This pick from Maison Margiela succeeds at being able to provide a gentle clean and a hyper pleasant aroma to couple with it. Boasting florals like iris and lily, it is designed to evoke the scent of newly washed sheets. So be sure to reach for it if you want a lightweight but definitely pleasant scent that will turn heads.
Tree to Tub Moisturizing Soapberry Body Wash
Tree to Tub’s Moisturizing Soapberry Body Wash in Citrus Splash is great if you love the sweet scent of a freshly cut orange. And let’s be honest, who can say that they don’t? This cleanser is also great for virtually all skin types, even sensitive skin, thanks to a pH-balanced and free of sulfates, parabens, and harsh chemicals ingredient list. It’s also hypoallergenic, so no matter what type of skin you might have, this body wash will most likely be perfectly suited for it.
Nécessaire The Body Wash Eucalyptus
When it comes to body wash, it can be hard to beat the pleasant freshness that a eucalyptus option affords. But beyond the delicious smell of this pick, it’s the ingredients that we also go crazy for. Relying on niacinamide, vitamins C-E, and omegas 6-9, you can trust that this wash will keep that skin of yours in tip top shape.
As for the scent, this pick provides delish eucalyptus to help soothe and relax you, so even if you just use it at night for yourself, it’s worth every penny!
Tatcha Forest Awakening Hinoki Body Wash
Tatcha’s Forest Awakening’s special blend of essential oils will leave you not only smelling like a forest but also provide you with a calm mind and lifted mood (hopefully!). We also love the company’s endeavor to replant trees in California after the 2014 wildfires. Forest Awakening also received the Clean at Sephora seal of approval, meaning there are no ingredients in the formula that are believed to be the least bit hazardous to your health.
Ouai Body Cleanser St. Barts
Doesn’t the name just immediately draw you in? This pick works to make you feel like you’re on vacation while also offering you some excellent ingredients like jojoba seed and rosehip oils for top tier hydration. As for the smell? Imagine this combo: dragonfruit, orange blossom, tuberose, and baltic amber. Sounds good? The reviewers agree with you.
Drunk Elephant Kamili Cream Body Cleanser
Now this is a bit of an interesting entry on our list, because it has a particularly pleasant scent during usage but it doesn’t linger. But we love that, because it’s a great option for people that don’t want anything to stick around but who also want to enjoy an almond scented treat just for themselves in the shower.
With a skin friendly 5.0 pH, this pick is geared toward all skin types (yes, even you with the sensitive skin), and it features passion fruit oil to moisturize, and a multi amino acid blend to further strengthen and moisturize the skin.
OGX Smoothing + Coconut Coffee Scrub & Wash
Next on our list is a body wash with a fabulous scent that’s perfect for the coffee lovers out there (we know there are at least a few of you!). The coconut-infused coffee scent will give you just the kickstart you need in the morning, invigorating you and leaving a delightful scent lingering on your skin.
On the cleaning end, this exfoliating scrub will leave your skin feeling soft and supple, giving it all the hydration it needs for a healthy glow. This body wash is also free of parabens and sulfate-based surfactants, making it an ideal choice even for sensitive skin.
Salt & Stone Santal & Vetiver
An antioxidant loaded body wash that hydrates and smells divine? Yes, please! Salt & Stone combines notes ranging from Australian sandalwood and amber up top with middle notes of cedar and orris, all supported by a base of vetiver, violet leaves, and crystal. Do you know many body washes that offer you a full scent breakdown as if they were a cologne like this?
Beyond scent, it boasts regeneration for the skin courtesy of seaweed extracts and spirulina, as niacinamide strengthens the skin’s barrier. Meanwhile, hyaluronic acid works for moisture retention, while blueberry extract and vitamin C for aging protection.
Flamingo Estate Rosemary & Clary Sage Body Wash
This is an interesting body wash because it is made entirely from oils, including olive and babassu, all while sea salt helps to thicken it. It also relies on rosemary, sage, lavender, and eucalyptus, which reviewers note smells amazing and fresh. As an added bonus, it also comes in a recyclable aluminum container, which we love.
Kosas Kosasport
With AHAs and fruit enzymes that work to unclog your pores and assist with keeping texture smooth,, this is a powerhouse. Glycolic, lactic, and mandelic acid blended together in tandem with papaya and pineapple enzymes work for gentle exfoliation to eliminate flakey and dirty skin.
Now, the scent. How does this sound? Top notes of jasmine, mid notes of orange and rose flower, and a base of vanilla, sandalwood and vetiver. Sounds divine to us, and we’re not alone; one reviewer who had previously given up on scented options due to skin irritation explained that this was just the solution.
Monday Body Wash
This affordable pick doesn’t skimp on quality, boasting a 4.5 star rating on Amazon at the time of writing this, with close to 600 reviews. The smell is a floral gardenia scent, and it can be used daily thanks to ingredients like hyaluronic acid, shea butter, coconut oil, and grapefruit extract.
Monday describes it as smelling like a spring day, and consumers find that scent to be just wonderful.
Moroccanoil Shower Gel Body Wash
If you’re familiar with the brand’s hair products, then you know just how delicious and enticing the scent profiles are from Moroccanoil. This gel body wash is geared toward hydration, and it features argan-oil for some antioxidant loaded elasticity improvement. Meanwhile the smell is a mixture of spicy amber, musk, and florals. Yum.
Aesop Geranium Leaf Body Cleanser
Our next entry in this list of best-smelling body washes for women is a bit on the pricey side, but it’s definitely worth the investment if you discover that you’re a fan of this aromatic option. Aesop’s Geranium Leaf Body Cleanser will leave you smelling of fresh citrus fruit, a succulent combination of geranium leaf and the rinds of both the mandarin and bergamot fruits.
This vegan body wash is also cruelty-free (two things that so commonly go hand-in-hand for obvious reasons) and free of parabens. Aesop as a brand is also dedicated to the quality of its products, using only the best plant- and laboratory-based ingredients, with a proven track record of safety and efficacy.
Neutrogena Rainbath
A cult favorite among body wash aficionados, Rainbath from Neutrogena provides a thick, creamy lather and a fragrant scent that’s a unique blend of spices, fruits, and herbs— all well worth taking a whiff. This deeply cleansing bath and shower gel will not only leave your skin feeling entirely clean, but it’s also great at washing away bacteria. And you’ll feel no residue left in its wake.
Tone Brazilian Glam
Tone’s Brazilian Glam’s exotic, island-inspired scent features the tropical Maracujá fruit at center stage. With it, you’ll receive quite the kickstart to your morning—or end your day with a party.
Unsurprisingly, this Brazilian-themed body wash also features oil from the Brazil nut to aid in hydration. Perhaps the only downside is the presence of sulfates, so if you have sensitive skin, you might want to be careful with this one. Otherwise, it smells great and cleans excellently.
What makes a good body wash?
While the idea of a “good” body wash is abstract because it will really vary depending on the person and their skin’s specific demands, there are definitely some suggestions that can be made to help people find a great body wash for them.
For starters, if you have particularly sensitive skin, you should be mindful to avoid, or at the very least be wary of, things like fragrances, as these can cause reactions. Even helpful ingredients like AHAs can be potentially irritating for people with sensitive skin.
You should consider washes that not only clean, but provide hydration through ingredients like hyaluronic acid, vitamin E, shea butter, coconut oil, or any other number of ingredients. However, if you are prone to oily skin, you may want to opt for something with salicylic acid.
Is body wash better than bar soap?
Both bar soap and body wash have the same potential, and one isn’t necessarily better than the other. However, there are some pros and cons to consider for both products.
For starters, bar soap can sometimes accumulate more bacteria depending on how it’s stored. Body wash has the benefit of being contained in a bottle, which helps to keep it free from any contaminants or growth. However, body wash tends to have more ingredients to help the liquid keep for longer, which is a great reason to check your ingredient lists to make sure none of your known irritants are included.
How often should a woman wash her body?
This will be an individual factor that comes down to your own body’s tolerance, as well as your own personal preference. Certain sensitive washes can be used daily, just be sure to make sure that it isn’t stripping your skin and leaving you feeling dry. In other words, let your skin provide the answers for you. If you feel that washing daily is leaving your skin irritated, maybe consider washing every other day.
However, if you are self conscious of the way your skin smells and you can handle a wash every day, you can consider that as well.
Is it good to use body wash every day?
A nice body wash smells good, has plenty of nourishing ingredients that help your skin, and above all else, it’s enjoyable to just lather yourself up with. So, yes, it’s good to use a body wash every day, or at least every shower, but it’s not a necessity.
Sometimes, you can just choose to only use water. Of course, pay attention to your skin, as that will tell the true story. If the wash you’re using results in dry and uncomfortable skin, it really isn’t “good” to wash with it every day.
Is it better to shower in the morning or at night?
This is most definitely a personal preference. But there are some factors to consider. At night, we tend to sweat a bit, so a shower in the morning can fully clean off that bedtime buildup.
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But if you’re someone who works out in the evening or who can’t stand the idea of getting into your clean sheets with all of the day’s buildup on your skin, then a nighttime shower can really be non-negotiable.
