Nuxe Dry Oil Huile Prodigieuse Oil and Shimmering Dry Oil

In case you haven't heard: oils are in. Forget the days when oil was a four letter word, now oils are key to your skincare regime. Want supple, glowing skin and glossy hair? Well, oils can get you all of that and sometimes with just one product! Nuxe Paris' famous Huile Prodigieuse dry oils are one such wonder product. Designed to be used all over your body, from head to toe, this plant based dry oil has been used by women around the world for over 20 years. Recently, I was fortunate enough to get to try this famous product, alongside its summer sister, the Shimmering Dry Oil.

Started by French entrepreneur Aliza Jabes in the 90's, Nuxe merges the concepts of nature with luxury and science with plant-based ingredients. With over 30 spas, 45 patents and selling in 65 countries, Nuxe has established itself as an authority in innovative skincare. The Huile Prodigieuse oils are their first and perhaps most popular product. Made up of a blend of six plant oils, this dry oil can be used in a variety of ways:

• as a moisturizing treatment for the face
• as a lip balm
• mixed in with foundation for smoother application
• as a body moisturizer
• on hair and scalp as a deep conditioning treatment for softer, shinier hair

The Shimmering Dry Oil can be used in all the same ways as well, but contains the added bonus of of tiny, shimmering particles to impart a healthy glow. As a dry oil, the Huile Prodigieuse won't leave your skin feeling slick as it absorbs readily into skin, leaving it velvety soft.

The Guts

Composed of 97.8% natural ingredients, the Huile Prodigieuse oils contain:

• macadamia nut oil - a powerful anti-aging oil that contains one of the highest concentrations of palmitoleic fatty acid, which helps delay cell aging
• hazel nut oil - assists with cell regeneration and is great for oily/combination skin types as it has astringent properties
• sweet almond oil - moisturizes skin and makes it soft and supple
• camellia oil - high in antioxidants
• St. John's wort - has antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties 

Besides all the aforementioned plant oils, the Huile Prodigieuse oils also smell amazing. Macadamia and sweet almond oils themselves have a rich, luxurious fragrance, but Nuxe has also added to this additional notes to create a sensual mix of floral and earthy scents:

• Top notes: orange blossom, bergamot and mandarin
• Middle notes: rose, gardenia and magnolia
• Base notes: vanilla and coconut milk

Price & Packaging

The Huile Prodigieuse oils are available in different sizes and as a spray or splash bottle. I received the 100 ml spray version of the original Huile Prodigieuse dry oil, which retails for $45 and the 50 ml splash version of the Shimmering Dry Oil, which retails for $39. In my opinion, the value of the spray version is much better than saving just $6 for half the size with the splash bottle. As well, the spray is easier to use, since you can efficiently spray oil into your hands rather than shaking the splash bottle forever to get the same amount. 

If you were to use the Huile Prodigieuse as your main body lotion, you'd probably use this up very quickly and at $45 per bottle, that could be a bit expensive. I would recommend instead using this as a finishing touch or spot treatment for those areas that you want to really pamper or show off.

Effectiveness

As a big fan of the The Body Shop's dry oils, I was looking for big things from Nuxe's version. It's safe to say that Nuxe blows TBS out of the water in terms of luxurious packaging and fragrance. The scent of the Nuxe oils is just so much more multi-faceted and lush compared to the TBS oil; the Nuxe oils smell amazing and could easily even be worn as a very light fragrance. 

Nuxe Huile Prodigieuse Shimmering Dry Oil in indoor light. Left: unblended. Right: blended

I used the Huile Prodigieuse oils on my body, face and hair on separate occasions. My favourite way to use this oil is on my body. 2 full sprays is enough to spread over one leg, leaving it silky smooth. When using oils, you'll notice that they take longer than lotions to absorb at first, but once it had absorbed, the dry oil texture actually left my skin feeling less sticky than my usual lotions. Besides leaving my skin feel soft and hydrated, the oil also gave it a nice subtle sheen, which could be amped up more with the Shimmering version. I love to use the Shimmering oil on my legs and chest to give them a golden glow that feels super sexy and glamourous. Although at first I was hesitant to the use the Shimmering oil as it looked super bronzey, in reality the shimmers are dispersed so finely that the final look is quite subtle.

To use on the face, take one spray and spread between the palms, then press lightly onto face. I like to use this on my face as the last step in my night-time routine, to seal in my serum and creams. You could also use this as an overnight moisturizing mask simply by applying a heavier layer, but be warned that your pillow will get kinda oily this way!

Nuxe Huile Prodigieuse Shimmering Dry Oil in outdoor light

Lastly, I tried applying the oil to the ends of my strands, but I found it tricky to know how much to apply. I seemed to always apply too much and my hair felt more clumpy and oily than silky. I think I'll next try it as a scalp treatment as my scalp has been driving me crazy since dying my hair again recently!