Clarins Splendours Shimmer Body Oil ($32.00 for 3.3 fl. oz.) is a body oil with deep gold shimmer. The purpose of this product is three-fold: illuminate while hydrating and scenting the skin. Clarins recommends applying it over “collar bone, arms, and legs.”

After I tried Caudalie Divine Legs, I was angling for something that would give some of the warmth but with less tint, and since this arrived shortly after, it seemed like a good summer product to try next. This type of product is less foreign to me, as it is really just a shimmery body highlighter with no real tint, but I haven’t tried a lot of body oils previously, so there was still some newness (which is always exciting).

It doesn’t tint, so even though it looks golden bronze in the bottle, it’s really just a lot of shimmer on. I think if you have very, very fair skin you might see a hint of golden warmth against the skin. The shimmer doesn’t look chunky, but I was able to see it up close, so it isn’t just a sheen but a real shimmer. It absorbs fairly quickly, and it doesn’t feel sticky or greasy afterwards. I didn’t find it all that hydrating in the short-term, and I didn’t try it continuously for weeks on end, but my skin felt the same after several hours of wearing it as it had before applying it.

The consistency is very water-like, but it is just slightly oily, and it spreads easily across the skin. I wish this had different packaging, because it pours out a ton of product even if you’d just like a dab. It almost always dribbles down the side of the bottle when I’ve used it, and I always get more than I bargained for. I think a pump or smaller opening would be much, much better and easier to manage. It has a soft citrus scent that I couldn’t smell unless I stuck my nose to my skin, which is great if you prefer light scents and less so if you wanted this for its scent.

On me, the shimmer only lasted three or so hours, and then it seemed to just fall away, so it’s definitely a product best suited for special occasions, evenings out, and the like. I thought it worked best on collar bones and decolletage, but on legs, it didn’t have an impact from a normal viewing distance. The light seems to hit my collar bones/decolletage more often, so the shimmer dances more there.

I didn’t like this product overall, just because the effect only lasted a few hours, the scent was barely-there (for a product that lists “scenting” as a goal, it seems it’s an issue), and wasn’t hydrating enough to use alone for all-day hydration. The shimmer definitely rubs off on clothing as well.  Initially, I wore this three days in a row, but my skin needed more hydration (particularly my legs; my arms were satisfied with the hydration the oil alone provided), so I had to use a another lotion beforehand to ensure smooth skin (I’ve been alternating between Kiehl’s Creme de Corps and Bath & Body Works Body Creams for the past couple of months) for the remainder of the week that I tried this. Worth noting, Clarins’ conducted their own study and they had the group use it for four weeks, and the results of the study were such that the majority did find it hydrating.

Clarins Splendours Shimmer Body Oil

Clarins Splendours Shimmer Body Oil

Clarins Splendours Shimmer Body Oil

Clarins Splendours Shimmer Body Oil

Clarins Splendours Shimmer Body Oil

Clarins Splendours Shimmer Body Oil