Barry M Tahitian Body Oil

I’ve been using this product since the week it came out, and have been on-off using it over the summer alongside the nice golden tan I managed to get after a week in Lanzarote. If you’re anything like me, you want your tan to stay as long as possible, and this bronzing body oil is definitely a contender for subtle enhancements to your tan.

First a little about the body oil itself, with a segment taken from the Barry M website:

“With pure Coconut Oil and the tropical fragrance of Tahitian Gardenia, In the Glow body oil will soothe, hydrate and add a subtle sunkissed glow to all skin tones.” 

Now, I began using this product when I was pasty white in June – it was the start of summer and it was only just starting to warm up so it had been some time since my skin had seen sunlight. I was drawn to this product because I was going away to the coast for three days, and it was forecast thirty degrees, so it was time to pull out the summer dresses! Admittedly, I was a little disappointed with this product to start with. I soon realised that this product didn’t so much give you a bronzed look, but instead gives a slight glow in the sun as its tinted bronze with small golden glitter sparkles. Basically, I feel like without a natural tan this product failed to enhance my skin tone, so I cast it aside.

Fast-forwarding a couple of months, I’d returned from my holiday with my bronzed look and decided to try out this product again. I was pleasantly surprised by the difference having a base tan made! The bronzing effect of this body oil was suddenly much more noticeable, and despite the fact I went on holiday a month ago, when I wear this product, it looks like I only returned yesterday. I love wearing this product whilst the sun is out too, because when the rays catch your skin, you can see the subtle glitter sparkle (I purposely took the photo below in the sun, just so you can see the beautiful sparkle!).

I saw many comments enthusiastically stating how this product is great value for money as a little goes a long way, and personally I’d have to disagree with this. I understand that you don’t need to apply much to your skin, but by the time you’ve worked this over your arms, chest and leg area multiple times, the bottle does slowly start to empty. At £7.99 per bottle it is a much cheaper alternative to similar products on the market, but I found the longevity wasn’t there for me and sometimes I’d find myself reapplying this on a summer’s evening.

 

Before application of body oil.

Body oil has been applied to the middle section of my wrist.

One positive I would like to make note of is that it lives up to the claim of hydrating your skin, and the smell is gorgeous. Unfortunately I suffer from dry and sensitive skin so I’m a little hesitate to try new products, but as an oil I found it wasn’t reactive with my skin, and nor was it overly greasy once you let it dry it properly. I would advise not wearing white whilst wearing this body oil because unless you pranced around for thirty minutes waiting for the oil to dry in, you did see some transfer onto clothing (I did manage to wash it out!).

Overall, I think this is a good little summer product. As mentioned, I’m not entirely sure this works as effectively on pale skin tones, but it looks lovely in the sun with the subtle glitter, and its so easy to use.