A lotion this fragrant is fun, but I like to know what else is out there before I commit. These six are the scented and treatment creams I would set beside it, and each one behaves differently once it is on your arm.

Josie Maran's In Bed body butter is a whipped argan oil jar, refillable, with a whipped vanilla milk and cashmere musk scent, and it is the closest cousin to the sweeter eos scents. Fenty Beauty's Butta Drop is a whipped oil cream with tropical oils and shea butter, and it smells like a holiday you did not have to pack for. Rare Beauty's Find Comfort is a hydrating body lotion made with niacinamide, and it is the easiest to layer under a perfume.

On the science-minded side, Nécessaire's Body Lotion pairs peptides with niacinamide and suits anyone who wants a firmer-feeling finish. Kiehl's Ultra Body Mega Moisture is a squalane cream, richer and better for a very dry winter shin. It is a plain, dependable cream, which is a relief after two vanilla ones. Glow Recipe's Watermelon Glow Pink Dream is an AHA body cream, pink and fruity, aimed at a glowy finish.

A small test that helps: put two different creams on opposite forearms, and check them again after an hour. The one that still feels comfortable and not tacky is your pick. Scent matters, but skin feel decides if the bottle ever gets finished. I have a half-used pump of something gorgeous on my shelf that proves it.

Sometimes a lotion is not enough, and that is where butters and oils come in. I treat them as the second layer, pressed over lotion on the spots that dry out first: shins, elbows, the tops of the feet.

Josie Maran's Original 100% Pure Organic Moisturizing Argan Oil is the plain one, a single-ingredient-style oil you can use on ends, cuticles and dry patches. amika's smoothing whipped body butter is fluffy, easy to spread, and the one I reach for when I am in a hurry. Youth To The People's Superberry Dream Body Butter adds niacinamide, hyaluronic acid and antioxidants to a rich cream, and it suits nights when I want my skin to be soft by morning.

Kate McLeod's Body Stone is a solid cocoa butter lotion bar that you glide over skin like a bar of soap, warm and neat, which makes it a good bag companion. Sol de Janeiro's Glowmotions and Tom Ford's Soleil Blanc are the shimmering oils. Glowmotions is bright and playful, while Soleil Blanc, with amber and bergamot, is the one for a dress that shows shoulders.

What I would skip: layering three heavily scented products on the same patch of skin. The fragrances fight, the skin gets tacky, and none of them shine. Pick one loud scent and let the rest be quiet. Also skip shimmer oils on clothes you want to keep clean, and give them a minute to settle before you dress. A thin layer looks like glow, a thick one looks like a mistake.

My routine is short. Lotion first, on damp skin, then one butter or oil only where you need it. Keep the scents in the same family, since vanilla and pistachio sit together happily while pomegranate and a heavy amber oil do not.

If you are choosing your first bottle, sniff it before you buy if you can, and think about where you will use it. Morning lotion should sink in fast. Night lotion can be richer, because nobody is watching. Give a new one a week or two before you decide, and if your skin stings or itches, stop and see a doctor. Body care should feel like a small pleasure, and it works best when you actually use it every day. Keep the bottle where you will see it, next to the shower or by the bed, because the best formula in the cabinet does nothing at all. A product you can reach in ten seconds beats one you have to remember. If you want to keep browsing, I also put together CeraVe Intensive Moisturizing Lotion and the Body Shelf Around It and Shopping for a Dermatologist-Recommended Lip Balm, One Label at a Time.