Oil platform: 5 hair, face and body oils tested

For face, hair and body, oils are having “a moment”. Our willing human guinea pigs put them to the test

Melvita Rose Nectar Milky Cleansing Oil

£19.50 for 200ml, www.uk.melvita.com

Pricey but worth it, this rosehip oil cleanser is a pleasing change from the usual creamy eye-stingers. Milky when mixed with water, it slides away all your make-up, including stubborn mascara, then washes off completely without becoming a greasy slick. Skin is left so soft and moist there’s no need for moisturiser, and with its great floral scent, you’ll come up smelling of roses.

JANET CHRISTIE

Beatitude Skin Salvation

£36 for 30ml, www.beatitudeproducts.com

This facial oil contains all kinds of odd-sounding ingredients including daikon radish, black cumin seed and squalene, plus rosehip oil – one of my favourite skin improvers. Either I am having a good month or this is actually the holy grail of treatments. With a slightly herbal scent this blend feels incredibly indulgent to apply at bedtime, and in the morning my complexion feels plump and youthful and so far blemish-free. The icing on the cake? This all-natural product is made in Scotland.

MERCY BREHENY

Antipodes Heavenly Body Oil

£25 for 100ml, www.antipodesnature.com

Super-herby and silky textured, this light body oil’s organic ingredients include jasmine petal, lavender, ylang-ylang and avocado oil so it’s certainly heavenly, and it lingered on my skin without feeling greasy. My only criticism is that extracting the oil using the glass dropper felt rather fiddly.

ALICE WYLLIE

Super Facialist by Una Brennan Rose Hydrate Miracle Makeover Facial Oil

£14.99 for 30ml, www.boots.com

Described as a pre-cleanse treatment, this facial oil contains all the best food for the face including avocado, carrot and raspberry oils, plus essential oils of geranium, lavender, rose and patchouli. It smells divine. You’re advised to apply a generous amount to face, décolletage and neck with circular movements to dissolve impurities. The thick oil feels luxurious and effectively removes make-up, and you’re giving skin a massage at the same time. All good. Then we’re told to use a warm flannel to wipe it off, followed by cleansing. It seems a waste to remove the potent mix so soon. I’d rather leave something like this on overnight.

CLAIRE HAY

Macadamia Healing Oil Hair Treatment

£12.95 for 30ml, www.macadamiahair.com; Harvey Nichols (0131-524 8388)

Although this leave-in hair treatment does contain macadamia and argan oils, the main ingredient appears to be silicone. To be honest it feels much like any other hair serum, but you do get a lot of product for your buck and it looks pretty on your bathroom shelf. One pump rubbed into the ends of my hair did the job of smoothing down split ends, although I did find my blow dry didn’t last quite as long as it usually does – becoming a tad lank after the second day.

JANE GILL