First thing’s first: Grab a humectant rich cream or body serum. See, humectants draw moisture from the environment into your skin and give you that fresh, honey skin look. You could use ingredients like hyaluronic acid, aloe vera, glycerin, or even actual honey. 

But the next and equally important piece is to seal in all that moisture with a good occlusive. If you don’t lock in those humectants, they can actually pull moisture from the dermis instead of the atmosphere, drying your skin further. 

We’re partial to body oil for this moisture-locking step, since it glazes the skin and gives it that healthy, “wet-looking” shine. After all, hairstylists recommend using oil to slick back the hair and make it look “wet,” as opposed to using actual water (which, you know, dries). It’s the same logic here with honey skin: A generous coat of oil makes the skin appear plump and juicy all day long.

You might even want to select a dry oil, as it will absorb into the skin quickly without leaving behind a sticky residue. So your skin will appear glazed with honey yet won’t have that thick, honey-like viscosity. Win-win. 

If you really want to elevate the shine, you can even mix your body oil with a pump or two of liquid highlighter (ideally a non-glittery formula) before massaging it into your skin. It’s a red carpet body care trick makeup artists swear by to help certain features catch the light; it might technically read more “body gloss” than “honey skin,” but there really are no rules when it comes to these metaphors. The possibilities are endless—and so are the clever names, it seems.