I’m inventing a new historical abbreviation that the entire population, especially the beauty community, needs to become acquainted with: BTT aka “before TikTok.” Do you even remember life before TikTok?! I really don’t. While the beloved social media site has quickly become the go-to platform for, well, kind of everything, it’s been especially pivotal for all things beauty. Practically overnight, previously under-the-radar brands can skyrocket to stardom, you can discover the most ridiculous-sounding beauty hacks that are somehow totally copacetic, and you can hear and see no-BS reviews on all sorts of products, treatments, and anything else pertaining to beauty. It’s fun as long as you remember to come up for air every few hours or so.
Of course, Sol de Janeiro’s best-selling Brazilian Bum Bum Body Cream ($48) was iconic in its own right BTT, but the brand and its slew of wonderfully scented, super-effective products have gained popularity and buzz at warp speed since accruing more and more attention on sites like TikTok. In fact, phrases like “best sol de janeiro products” and “sol de janeiro review” have reached fever-pitch search numbers on Google. So here I am, happy to oblige and give the people what they want! While I’ve been slathering on the Brazilian-inspired line of gourmand-centric products since the brand’s inception back in 2015, I realize some people might want some helpful direction in terms of which products to try first. Below are 17 of my all-time favorite Sol de Janeiro products, ranked and sorted by category. Yes, even though the brand started out as strictly bodycare, it has branched out into haircare and fragrance and constantly blesses us with new launches. Keep scrolling!
This is it—the most iconic beauty product within the Sol de Janeiro line and one of the most iconic beauty products of all time. Whenever someone I know tells me they don’t own or regularly use this multitasking body cream, I quite literally look at them like they’re crazy. Even my dad uses it on his scaly arms and legs, as my parents live in the Arizona desert. Truly, I haven’t met someone who doesn’t fall head over heels for this mix of caffeine-rich guarana (for tightening and firming) and a Brazilian blend of skin-loving ingredients for a touch of gleam-inducing moisture. Not to mention, the signature blend of vanilla, salted caramel, and pistachio will go down in history as one of the most instantly recognizable scents. If you already love Bum Bum, this is your sign to restock, and if you’re still a Bum Bum virgin, this is your sign to finally take the plunge. Trust me—regret is impossible. Customer review: “It obviously smells great, but I also love that it’s a thick cream that soaks into skin so well. This might just be me, but I really don’t like feeling my skin and having that feeling of a thin layer of greasy lotion on me. With this stuff it just feels like my skin, only more quenched than usual.”
I love whipping this vitamin C–drenched body cream out whenever my skin is looking dull and lifeless. Nothing else in my arsenal revives my skin quite like it. People go wild for the scent, which features the perfect ration of fruit and floral (black amber plum, vanilla woods, and jasmine), and it helps to subtly retexture the skin with fruit-derived AHAs and vitamin C for a brighter, smoother, healthier-looking outcome. I forget what it’s like to wear shorts and bikinis without it. Customer review: “This is the best body cream I’ve ever purchased!! I’m completing my biochemistry honours I can assure this is one of the most chemically active treatments in Sephora for razor bumps!! It has bioavailable AHA that isn’t too strong or overpowering and doesn’t leave my legs too greasy or too dry. It soothes fresh stretch marks and is fantastic for the price. Very concentrated formula so a little goes a very long way.”
If you’re looking for a luxe body cream that targets loss of firmness and elasticity, this plant-based, collagen-rich number will more than satisfy you. It smells beautiful and more flowery than the original Bum Bum Cream (think Brazilian jasmine and pink dragonfruit), and additional infusions of cacay oil and squalane encourage gentle but noticeable cell turnover, so your skin looks and feels smoother, firmer, and plumper. Customer review: “Best scent ever! Such an amazing fruity floral scent. I put it on my body before bed and I smell amazing still in the morning.”
Everyone knows proper exfoliation is paramount if you really want to get the most bang for your buck with any other product you’re layering on your skin, be it lotions, butters, oils, self-tanners… You get the picture. I normally don’t like scrubs, but this is one I routinely recommend and get great results from. It’s softer and less harshly granular than most scrubs out there, and it strategically incorporates skin-friendly players like crushed cupuaçu seeds, sugar crystals, pressed coconut oil, and guaraná, so you’re getting maximum dead cell–removing and firming perks without looking like you’ve been attacked by a rabid cat when you get out of the shower. Customer review: “I don’t think I need to describe how good this smells cause I think by now everyone knows how incredible it is. As far as it being a scrub, it’s one of the best I’ve used. Gets off all the dead skin on my body, leaves me feeling soft and moisturized but it’s also not too harsh.”
I’m picky when it comes to hand creams, and currently, there are only four that I regularly use, recommend, and really love. This is one of them! It has the signature Cheirosa ’62 scent, so every time you re-up, it’s like taking a fleeting mini vacation, and a trio of hyper-moisturizing additions like cupuaçu butter, Brazil nut selenium, and squalane keep easy-to-chap hands in check. If you’re in need of new hand cream or even if you’re not, it doesn’t get much better than Sol de Janeiro’s take. Believe me—I’ve tested near 100. Customer review: “I absolutely love the bum bum cream so I took a chance on this hand cream. I’m glad I did. It smells really good like the bum bum cream. It’s a good moisturizer. I did not find it watery at all as some others have stated. This hand cream is now one of my favorites.”
I’m not a huge body-oil person, but this firming and de-bloating one is so great that it grants an exception. I know I sound like a broken record, but obviously, a huge part of the reason I love it is that no other body oil smells better (IMO, at least). It’s surprisingly nongreasy, it helps skin look taut and firm, and it will illuminate the eff out of your skin. Customer review: “No other body oil can compare to the quality of this. Upon applying one squirt of product I rubbed it in and it soaked into my skin leaving this beautiful gourmand scent. You won’t find anything cheaper that has this good of quality ingredients or scent so don’t bother. This is the holy grail body oil.”
I love any beauty product with a cheeky tease in the name, especially if it’s a beauty product that feels decadent and creamy and is heavy on the lather in the shower. This is one of my favorite shower gels of all time, and it’s always, always, always in my rotation. First and foremost, the blend of cupuaçu butter, coconut oil, and açaí oil is so deeply hydrating you can almost forgo your Bum Bum Cream once you towel off, and the smart cream-gel formula is so decadent you can even use it as a shaving cream. If you want your shower or bath experience to be steeped in the brand’s trademark pistachio-caramel scent, adding this to your shopping cart is a no-brainer. Customer review: “Leaves my body smelling amazing and feeling soft! Love to pair with their body scrub as well.”
I feel like the fact that so many natural, aluminum- and baking soda–free deodorants don’t work for me is 100% a me thing and not a them thing. So while I wish I could say this deodorant 110% did the trick for me, I can’t quite get there on good conscious. Plus, as much as I love the famous Bum Bum scent, I don’t know if I really need it mingling with my natural BO and pouring out of my armpits, ya know? That said, if you tend to have luck with natural deodorant formulations and like something scented, I think you’ll dig it. It had additional perks like citric acid ester, which is a naturally derived alternative that helps block body odor–causing enzymes from forming while neutralizing the bacteria-causing odor, and papaya enzyme adds a dose of exfoliation and ingrown-hair prevention. Try it! I’d be interested to hear your thoughts. Customer review: “Works like any good deodorant should work. I sweat a lot, and this does the job, on top of smelling phenomenal!”
Sadly, my face basically erupts into one giant red zit at just the sight of coconut oil, so any type of facial skincare product with the stuff (yep, even lip balm) is a hard, hard no for me. (Do you ever feel like you’re getting lots of inexplicable pimples around your mouth? If you’re acne prone or sensitive to comedogenic ingredients, check your lip balm!) However, I so wish my skin wasn’t so finicky because I love everything else about this dewy lip butter. It will transform dry, chapped lips into buttery velvet, and it will also make your pout smell irresistible—like caramel—and who the hell doesn’t want that?! Customer review: “Smells so good. I will re-order a million times. Super hydrating and wonderful.”
Truth be told, I’d buy this stunning, elevated version of the brand’s iconic scent for the vanity-stealing packaging alone. I mean, what’s better than having a mini disco ball—which is inspired by the golden sun in Rio—on your dresser that also makes you smell illegally delicious? I wear this perfume all year round, but it’s especially perfect for summer, as you’ll recognize it as the beloved and iconic fragrance the brand’s Brazilian Bum Bum Cream is known for. With notes of salted caramel, pistachio, jasmine, and vanilla, it’s ecstasy for anyone who loves warm, enveloping scents that are on the sweeter side. Customer review: “I’m not even a gourmand fragrance lover normally, but this fragrance is to die for. Summery, beachy, amazing. Can’t get enough. “
I debated even including this one since it’s the same fragrance as the above. But here, Cheirosa ’62 is packed into a somewhat lighter and perhaps, for some, more wearable version that can be effortlessly sprayed on your hair, body, bikini and/or lingerie. (Do it—trust me!) Customer review: “I have been buying this product consistently for 3 years now and I always get complimented about how I smell. People around me will come over just to smell and it lasts all day long.”
Meet the newest member of Sol de Janeiro’s fragrance family, which takes a noticeably different direction than the brand’s other ultra-saccharine scents. My fragrance-loving co-worker said it smells very similar to Maison Francis Kurkdjian’s Baccarat Rouge 540, and to be completely honest, she was bang on. It’s a sophisticated fruity-floral sitch thanks to Brazilian jasmine, pink dragonfruit, and sheer vanilla. I’ve been loving it and recommending it to everyone. Customer review: “This fragrance mist is beautiful and lingers all day. I bought the cream and was blown away. Excellent product.”
If you love the original Cheirosa ’62 (aka the Bum Bum Cream scent), I’d bet a million dollars that you’ll love this iteration from Sol de Janeiro, which is on the sweeter side thanks to vanilla and warm musks but balanced with a little bit of fruit and floral via black amber plum, crème de cassis, jasmine, and Brazilian orchid. This is another fail-safe option I always rely on when I want to smell good and have 10 seconds to decide what I’m spraying. Customer review: “Love this scent! My favorite of all the scents offered by this brand. Prepare to smell amazing.”
Truth be told, I was pretty skeptical of this leave-in because I’ve only loved and religiously used about two leave-ins in my entire life and time as a beauty editor. Since a few of the brand’s other hair products are too heavy and intense for my fine hair, I was worried the mix of luxe ingredients, such as babaçu oil, Brazil nut oil, and cupuaçu butter, would weigh down my strands and make them feel too oily or greasy. But this hasn’t been the case at all. This milky detangling elixir is marketed toward all hair types and textures (even fine), and it does a brilliant job of lending moisture, heat protection, and detangling powers in one fell yummy-smelling swoop. I can’t get enough of this new launch and am pleasantly surprised by how excited I am to add it to my very exclusive haircare lineup. Customer review: “I have a lot of wavy thin hair and my shorter layers get frizzy – this leave-in is seriously amazing. I put it on damp hair and It feels so silky in once my hair dries. Never has it made my hair greasy.”
Guys, believe me. I want to love this hair oil, and if the brand came out with a clear alternative that wasn’t golden, I would love this hair oil! It smells like a dream, it can be used on damp hair as a heat protectant or on dry hair to up your gloss quotient, and last but not least, it will significantly curb and prevent frizz for up to 72 hours. That said, as someone who lightens my hair, dark amber or golden hair oils actually stain it in the long run, and this product’s mix of ultra-rich oils is just a little too intense for my fine hair type. That said, if you have darker strands and/or a thicker hair type, go for it—I don’t think you’ll have any regrets. Customer review: “I can definitely feel a difference in the softness of my hair and the frizziness after applying this to my hair and smells amazing.”
It’s really no surprise that this thick and buttery hair mask from Sol de Janeiro isn’t my favorite—it’s simply not really meant for my hair type. It’s particularly strategic for medium to thick hair (mine is fine and bleached), and it features a deluxe mix of ingredients like cupuaçu butter, murumuru butter, tucumã butter, and Sol Seal Technology to moisturize and mend thirsty hair to the nth degree. But if you love the brand’s iconic Bum Bum Cream scent and have a thicker mane, I’d wager you’ll love this. Customer review: “I am officially hooked! I love the smell and how soft this makes my hair feel!”
This article was originally published at an earlier date and has been updated.
