I spend hours on self care TikTok, watching people share, for example, their shower essentials, how they’re layering fragrances and their ideal bedtime routines. Body care brand Cyklar pops up time and time again, specifically for its minimal, luxurious packaging and ultra-viral Vanilla Verve scent.
But what makes Cyklar different from other body care brands, and does it actually live up to the hype? NBC Selected editors tested out the brand’s most popular products for two months to see if it’s worth adding to your cart. Below are our honest thoughts, including what surprised us, what we’d change and whether we’d actually recommend it.
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Our honest review of Cyklar
Cyklar’s body cream is easily one of its most viral products, and we tried the brand’s most popular scents: Bergamot Bond, Naked Neroli, Sacred Santal, Rose Bud and Vanilla Verve. “I’m not much of a body lotion person, but if I have to use one, I prefer this one. It smells amazing but isn’t so potent that it feels like the scent is clogging my nostrils,” says NBC Selected associate social media editor Caitlin Cusack. The lotion is lightweight yet still quite hydrating. However, our editors agree this wouldn’t work for those who have extremely dry skin since it’s on the lighter side, especially during the colder months.
Though the packaging looks chic and luxurious, it’s not much different from any other body lotion you have on your bathroom counter. “I appreciate the ingredients but I don’t think this lotion is anything to write home about. It doesn’t feel rich or elevated to me,” says Brown. “The consistency is on the lighter side and I feel like the package implies I’m going to get something different from what I expect, just based on looking at it.”
This is a great product to use with another, more hydrating lotion, especially if you love smelling good all day. “It actually lasts longer than my perfume,” says NBC Selected editorial operations associate Jem Alabi. “That being said, this isn’t the most moisturizing. It’s a great option for the summer but I would use something thicker and less fragranced in the winter.”
Perhaps the product that has come up the most on my For Your page (and likely yours too), this in-shower body oil makes your skin feel soft and smooth after your shower. You apply it after your typical shower routine while your skin is still wet and towel dry normally afterward. Truthfully, I didn’t know how to feel about it at first: Because it’s an oil balm, it felt slick and heavy when I applied it on my wet skin, almost like a film all over my body.
“This may have my all-time favorite Hanni Splash Salve beat,” says NBC Selected senior editor Nikki Brown. “It really comes down to the application: It’s uncomplicated, and I simply rub it all over my damp skin and let it dry down. As long as you give the bottle a little shake beforehand, the product comes out evenly and goes smooth across the skin.” It dries down quickly, which lets you layer a lotion on top, too. But in Brown’s experience, it’s moisturizing enough to wear alone, especially if you’re in a rush or running late to work.
As a beauty editor, I’ve tried hundreds of body washes, so it takes a lot to impress me. Cyklar’s Sensorial Body Wash actually blew me away. I have very dry skin, so some body washes tend to leave my skin feeling tight and stripped. This one feels like a large glass of water for my skin: It’s extremely lightweight, has a glorious gel-like texture and leaves my skin soft, smooth and hydrated. All of the scents, especially the vanilla and rose bud scents, stay on my skin all day long, too (however, they’re more on the subtle side, which I actually prefer).
“I’m really picky with body washes: I like foaming formulas and can’t stand anything that leaves a residue on my skin. Luckily, this body wash ticks all my boxes,” says NBC Selected associate SEO reporter Ashley Morris. “The gel foams up easily once I add water, and the scent stays on my skin even after I’ve washed it off.” The pump packaging is also a huge plus because it’s easy to use with one hand and doesn’t leave a messy residue on the top. “It makes it so much easier to apply to my washcloth as opposed to a tube lid,” says Morris.
Alabi specifically likes the Sacred Santal scent, which has notes of bergamot, cardamom, wood and vanilla. “It’s mature, sweet and perfectly balanced. I actually got compliments from my friends about how good I smelled and I wasn’t wearing any perfume,” she says.
“I’ve tested over a dozen body oils, and this product is definitely in my top three,” says Cusack. It has a lightweight consistency that’s easy to blend in, plus a little goes a very long way. “It’s not sticky at all and doesn’t transfer to my clothes, even immediately after applying,” says Cusack. It also has vitamin C, which helps reduce hyperpigmentation and redness, and helps your skin produce more collagen, according to dermatologists we previously spoke to.
“My favorite part is the scent I tried; I’m a vanilla girl, and this is one of the strongest vanilla-scented products I’ve ever tried — it’s the type of scent that will have people chasing you on the street to ask what you’re wearing.” (However, keep in mind the scent doesn’t last for more than a few hours.)
I had used several milky toners on my face, so I was very intrigued to use one on my body, too. It’s not as hydrating as a lotion, which makes it a great option for the summer months when I don’t need as much hydration. However, I love using this before layering my favorite body lotion on top because it adds a boost of hydration that my dry skin usually needs. It’s fragrance-free, which makes it great for sensitive skin (though that’s another reason I use my favorite scented body lotion on top). The essence is extremely lightweight, so my skin drinks it right up and doesn’t leave a sticky or heavy residue.
You can also use this semi-hydrating essence in place of a body lotion, according to Cusack. “I’m not a fan of smearing body lotion on because I have sensitive, acne-prone skin, and this product is a great alternative,” she says. It has a light, milky consistency that her skin absorbs quickly, so it doesn’t need any time to dry. “I used it after every shower for an entire week, and my skin felt softer, more hydrated and I even noticed less redness,” says Cusack.
This ended up being NBC Selected reporter Zoe Malin’s favorite product she tried from Cyklar’s body care line. “I don’t normally use body scrubs, but this one convinced me that I should,” she says. “It turns my shower into a spa-like experience and feels like a genuine self care moment. I only need a little scrub to cover my body, and as I rub it in, the sandy texture quickly turns into an almost buttery feel.”
Both Malin’s and my experience are the same after using it: After rinsing the scrub off, our skin is hydrated, soft, smooth and moisturized. “I kept touching my skin after I used it for the first time because I couldn’t believe how soft and smooth it was,” says Malin. Even though it’s exfoliating, it doesn’t irritate our sensitive skin at all. Plus, the tub packaging looks elevated and luxurious, so I love displaying it in my shower. The Sacred Santal scent is an NBC Selected editor-favorite, too.
We’re constantly trying new exfoliating products to target texture and acne on our face and body, so we were pleasantly surprised when this one stood out across most of the products we’ve tested. “This is now my go-to product for my keratosis pilaris,” says Alabi. “It has a super fine mist, it isn’t greasy and rubs into my skin seamlessly. All other products I’ve used for my KP have been very drying, abrasive or I can only use in the shower, so this spray takes the crown.”
Though the spray is meant to target rough texture or uneven skin tone, it can still be helpful for other concerns like acne and redness. “I get acne patches on my back after long runs that cause me to wear a super sweaty sports bra for hours. I’ve been applying this spray to my back and shoulders after showering post-long run and I think it’s helping with minor breakouts on my body,” says Malin. “It dries pretty quickly, so I don’t worry about the spray getting on clothes, and it’s not too harsh for my sensitive skin at all.”
Our editors specifically love the spray bottle, which makes it easier to target any areas of your body when you’re applying it on yourself compared to a cream or serum, says Malin. It’s fragrance-free, too, which is key for people who may be prone to acne or irritation.
Since the gel dries clear, it’s a great option if you hate seeing deodorant residue on your clothes. It also has mandelic acid, an alpha hydroxy acid that smooths texture and brightens skin. However, it’s not an antiperspirant, which means you’ll still sweat and likely have some odor to go along with it. After using it for a few days in the summer heat, there’s only so much the classic vanilla scent can cover up. And for a $20 deodorant, I’d rather put my money elsewhere.
“As someone who leans more towards the sweatier side, deodorants are a strict subject in my eyes. Although I wouldn’t wear this formula for a heavy-duty workout, I do love that the scent is strong enough to make it seem as though I’m wearing perfume,” says Morris. “It’s a great everyday formula, both for the office and around the house, and I like that the gel dries down quickly once I apply it.”
“I’m skeptical of most exfoliating body washes, however this one instantly intrigued me with its grainy texture. I definitely feel the beads on my skin, but they aren’t abrasive, which made it a better body scrub than straight exfoliant to me,” says Morris. While her skin felt smoother overall, Morris says she had to use quite a bit of product to achieve the foaming texture (which she looks for in a body wash).
I’m a fan of the lactic acid in the formula since it helps reduce texture on my skin, which I tend to get on my legs and on the back of my arms. However, neither Morris nor I noticed a huge difference in the brightness of our skin. I also found the smell entirely off-putting; it smells vaguely like chemicals, and it definitely lingers after my shower.
As their name suggests, each of these soaps has a rope at the end to avoid dropping it in the shower. The concept is basic, but it’s smart and effective, says Brown. “Soap is obviously slippery, so I love that this makes it way less likely to happen,” she says. Cyklar’s soap has an exfoliating blend of alpha hydroxy acids, volcanic pumice and polyhydroxy acids, so skin feels soft and smooth after you use it. “It has just enough microexfoliants to clean my skin without it feeling like sandpaper or worse, causing irritation. I can use this without a washcloth and still feel clean,” says Brown.
Unlike Brown, who loves bar soap because she’s able to use it more mindfully than a body wash, Malin isn’t usually a bar soap person. “I was prepared to hate this, but I honestly didn’t,” says Malin. “It turned into a milky lather as I rubbed the bar against damp skin, and it noticeably exfoliates, but it’s not rough or irritating against my sensitive skin at all.” She hangs the bar up in her shower from the rope, so it dries between uses and doesn’t get gross and goopy. “I actually liked hanging it up better than putting it in the brand’s soap box, but I did think it was helpful when the bar was totally dry.”
The biggest downside is that these soaps tend to leave colored residue on showers and tubs, making it much messier than a typical bar soap. For example, Malin, who tested the Cedar Supreme Soap, has orange marks on her shower walls after using it, and Brown, who tried the Lover’s Leather Soap, noticed black spots all over the shower. “That drives me nuts — I don’t want to have to clean my shower every time I use this soap, but I kind of have to,” says Malin.
The brand’s Self-Tanning Milky Essence has a similar, lightweight texture to the original essence, but leaves a bronzed finish instead. “I’m a pale girl, so I’m always looking for a good self-tanner, even in the summer. This is the first tanning essence I’ve tried and was pleasantly surprised by how much I liked it,” says Cusack, “Because of the thin, milky consistency, it blended into my skin quickly and didn’t leave any residue.” Cusack was impressed with the overall look of the tan, which took about six hours to develop and made her skin look glowy and bronzed. “I even got a few compliments on how good my tan looked,” she says. However, it still has the strong self-tanner smell, which Cusack says lingered for about a day.
“I’ve had the vanilla version of this hand cream for over a month now, and I never leave the house without at least one of them in my bag,” says Morris. It has a thicker, creamy texture that keeps hands hydrated (even on chillier days), and it absorbs quickly, so you don’t have an uncomfortable, heavy feel on your hands afterward. Plus, it has urea, which softens and hydrates skin. Our only issue is that the tube is too big to fit in some of our smaller purses and bags, which is where we usually store our hand creams.
As a big fan of smelling good at all times, I carry small travel-sized fragrances and perfume oils wherever I go. When I first received this perfume oil set from the brand, I was impressed by how gorgeous the packaging was. It comes in a briefcase-style gift box that opens to reveal eight scents: Sacred Santal, Vanilla Verve, Sex Musk, Flora Veil, Modern Patchouli, Lover’s Leather, Cedar Supreme and Bergamot Bond (many of which, unfortunately, aren’t yet available as scents in most of their body care collection). Each perfume oil fits comfortably in any purse or bag I own, and since a little goes a long way, they last a very long time. In fact, I’ve had these oils for over a year, and I’m only halfway done with most of them.
When it comes to a specific roll-on scent, Vanilla Verve is a favorite among our editors. “The brand sent me a sample of this a while ago. It’s the perfect balance of vanilla mixed with a powerful woody smell that I love,” says NBC Selected commerce editor Cory Fernandez. “I enjoy vanilla scents, but not when they’re sugary; this one is perfectly neutral. Also, since it’s a roll-on, a little goes a long way and the scent is strong in the best way.”
What can improve
Though we think Cyklar is, in fact, worth the hype for most of its products, there are a few downsides to keep in mind:
- Products are pricey: Most of Cyklar’s body care products, including its body lotion, body wash and essences, cost upwards of $30, which is typically a lot for everyday basics. Some products, namely the Nutrient-Rich Body Cream and the Lactic Acid Foaming Body Polish, aren’t worth the price tag simply because they don’t quite deliver on their promises or have cheaper, better alternatives.
- Polarizing scents: Scents are extremely subjective, so not every fragrance is going to satisfy every person. Cyklar is known for having woody and earthy scents like bergamot and santal, which aren’t what many people lean toward when it comes to everyday body care. However, the scent options have been growing and continue to grow, which gives pickier people a chance to find one that works for them.
- Not for very dry skin: Cyklar has several products aimed at hydrating and nourishing skin, but our editors agree that most simply don’t hit the mark for people with very dry skin. Most of the products are light and semi-hydrating, which is great for the hotter, summer months, but don’t quite cut it for the winter.
How we tested Cyklar body care
Six editors tested over a dozen of Cyklar’s body care products for three months. The products were across categories, including body lotions, hand creams, body washes, self-tanners and more, with each editor keeping their individual skin care concerns in mind, including dryness, acne and texture.
When testing, we used each product based on the brand’s instructions and kept the following factors in mind:
- Texture and application: How does the product feel on skin? Is it easy to apply? Does it feel gentle or harsh while applying it?
- Effectiveness: What is the product’s intended purpose and did it deliver on its promise? Did we note any negative side effects, like breakouts, irritation or redness?
- Scent: Does it have a noticeable fragrance? If so, was it strong or subtle? How long did it last, and did it fade quickly?
- Skin concerns: Did it help improve skin concerns like texture and breakouts? Is it suitable for sensitive skin?
- Packaging: Does it come in a pump, tube or jar? Is it easy to use/dispense? Is the packaging travel-friendly?
- Value: Is the product size and feel worth the money? Would you repurchase it?
Who is Cyklar for?
If you’re a fan of luxurious packaging and fancy scents for your body care, Cyklar is definitely a brand worth considering. It looks fantastic on a bathroom counter or shower, and the scents for the creams and body washes generally last for several hours, according to our editors. The products also have ingredients that are backed by dermatologists we’ve spoken to in the past, including ceramides, ectoin, glycerin and vitamin C.
If you have very dry skin, you might want to consider layering these products with more hydrating creams, lotions and oils in the winter (or skipping out altogether based on the price). You also might want to steer clear of most of the brand’s creams if you’re sensitive to fragrance since there are limited fragrance-free options (though they do exist for some products, like the Glycolic Acid Exfoliating Body Spray and Ceramide Milky Essence).
If you’re looking for a more hydrating (and cheaper) alternative to Cyklar’s viral body cream, consider the Cerave Moisturizing Face & Body Cream ($15.99), Gold Bond Healing Sensitive Daily Body & Face Lotion ($9.99) and La Roche-Posay Lipikar AP+MAX Triple Repair Moisturizing Body Cream ($22.99). If you’re looking for one that’s more affordable and smells equally amazing, try the Eos Shea Better Body Lotion in Vanilla Cashmere ($10.99), which is my personal favorite.
Why trust NBC Selected?
I’m a commerce editor at NBC Selected who has covered beauty, skin care, hair care and wellness for more than six years. I’ve also tested hundreds of skin and body care products to find the best ones worth buying. For this article, five editors and I tested Cyklar’s popular body care products and rounded up our honest thoughts about each one.
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