Last updated on 18th September 2024 by Sarah Sarsby
I’ve wanted to get a shimmer body oil for the longest time, but the price points for these products have always seemed ridiculous. Like, come on, it’s just a shimmering oil, how are you going to charge me in excess of £40?
But, I kept seeing pictures on Pinterest for homemade shimmering body oil recipes using baby oil and a highlighter or eyeshadow to get the same effect for a much more affordable price.
I never usually go for homemade beauty recipes, but I thought a DIY shimmer body oil would be simple, cheap and effective, so I decided to give it a go.
A cute dupe?
There are plenty of shimmer body oils on the market at the moment, which aim to give you a beautiful summer glow while you’re on holiday. These shimmer body oils are highly pigmented and make your skin glisten in the sun. I’m pretty pale, so adding a bit more of a golden glow is welcome!
The DIY shimmer body oil recipe incorporates a baby oil with a shimmering product, such as a highlighter or eyeshadow, to create the same effect.
I opted for Johnson’s Baby Oil and a shimmering gold eyeshadow that I never really use for the homemade recipe.
A lot of the shimmer body oils on the market are bronze, but because I have fair skin, I thought this might be too dark for me. Plus, I prefer gold as a colour.
How mine turned out
I added about half of the gold eyeshadow into the baby oil to create my own shimmer body oil.
Here’s how it looks in the bottle:
So pretty, right? It reminds me of ICONIC London’s Prep-Set-Glow.
I was so excited to put it on my skin to have the glow up of the year (literally).
However, here’s how it actually worked on my skin:
Yeah, there’s some glow and I do look a bit more golden, but it was nothing like how I was expecting. I wanted to shimmer and glisten, but instead, I got a very slight glow.
Maybe I should’ve used a highlighter, or a darker gold eyeshadow, or just put more of the product into the baby oil, but this DIY shimmer body oil did not work for me.
Is it worth it?
In my opinion, absolutely not. The pigmentation was hardly there and the effect was so slight that I don’t think it’s worth the hassle.
I also don’t think purchasing one of the higher end shimmer body oils is worth it either because they all seem unjustifiably priced for what they are. I’m not somebody who always go for budget products either as I’ve been known to spend a lot on makeup and skincare.
In fairness, though, I have seen other YouTubers and DIY body shimmer oil recipes online that have worked beautifully on other people. So maybe it just didn’t work for me or I didn’t do it correctly.
*Update* I gave the DIY body shimmer oil to my mixed-race friend, and it looks fab on her golden-brown skin! Maybe I just don’t suit this particular shimmer oil?
Sarah Sarsby is the owner of A Woman's Confidence. With over 6 years' experience of writing in the fields of beauty and lifestyle, Sarah is passionate about all things content, makeup, skincare, wellness, and lifestyle. She has oily skin, is obsessed with lip gloss, and loves cookie dough.
This is a great experiment and review you have done! It’s a shame it didn’t turn out how you wanted it because this is a cool idea.
Body shimmer is really in at the moment and I love it with a tan!
Thank you for sharing!
Alyssa xx
I feel like I probably did something wrong lol, but it just did not shw up on mu skin how I wanted it too! I know, I love shimmery products haha xx
I was hoping it worked because this is a product I would love to try!
Me too! I think it probably would’ve worked better with a highlighter on reflection, so perhaps that would’ve made this DIY attempt better
I love this DIY idea. You’re so right, shimmering body oils can be expensive and I’m not sure I could justify the cost. I can tell your DIY oil left a bit of shimmer on your arm, I think it looked pretty nice but I can understand wanting more pigmentation. Ill definitely look this up on YouTube, I want to do a DIY shimmer oil too now!
Awesome post!
Like £40 is kinda crazy for something so simple, right? It suited my friend a lot more than me, I don’t know if I should’ve just gone for a different eyeshadow colour or a highlighter instead. It wasn’t awful, I just wanted some more haha. Yes, you definitely should! x
It looked so lovely in the bottle, it’s a shame that it didn’t translate onto your skin. Maybe on darker skin or with a tan it would show up more. Thanks for trying and sharing for us all!
I know, I’m so gutted it didn’t work out for me lol. Yes, I think that might be the case
Hi… try using much less oil ( no more than 4oz) or aloe Vera gel oil and add much more pigment. Try like a loose highlighter or shimmer mica powder (nyx pigment is cheap) . You also could try a different shade, something more pink like champagne or rose gold xx