I have a post about body lotions and creams in the making (as requested by Sophie), but the truth is I’m so much better with shower gels than I am with body moisturisers. Despite my dry skin, I often don’t bother with the latter and when I do, I want it to work hard – to smooth and exfoliate the skin, make it firmer and less sad looking – rather than just smell nice. So before I manage to scrape something together on the topic of body creams, here are some shower gels!

Diligent readers surely recall that I’ve done a favourite shower gels post already – this is a summer update only including things I haven’t featured before. I have also made sure I mention reasonably priced favourites, as I realise that not everybody is insane enough to spend 50 euros on something you’ll immediately wash off (or even worse, that will be used up by your family while you thought you were saving it for special occasions. That’s why I never save anything for special occasions.) Because it’s a spring-summer edit, it’s quite fruity and floral, although one of my favourite summer shower gels is in fact the green L’Ombre Dans L’Eau by Diptyque, already featured last time.

1. Korres Jasmine shower gel. Korres is probably the brand I recommend the most when it comes to shower gels, as it’s good quality, has a nice range of scents and doesn’t cost the earth. Jasmine is a must try for white flower lovers and if you are a person who matches her shower gels to her perfumes, this goes well with almost everything that has a floral element.

2. Korres Mango shower gel. My favourite fruity shower gel is Byredo Pulp, but it’s expensive and can be hard to get. Korres Mango is a nice fruity alternative (although no dupe, unfortunately), as is their Guava that I think I enjoy even more. Korres Fig is already pictured, but that was covered last time already, as it’s one of my all-time favourites.

3. Hermes Eau de Rhubarbe Ecarlate shower gel. I’ve said before that many Hermes scents work brilliantly as shower gels and this one might be their best one yet. I get a bit frustrated with it as a perfume, because the rhubarb is gone too quickly. This is not a problem for the shower gel, as you don’t expect the fragrance to linger for hours anyway. The colour of the packaging is gorgeous, too.

4. The Body Shop Moringa shower gel. This is probably the oldest favourite on the list, I would even call it a classic. Creamy, tropical, floral, it’s an excellent summer option and always works for me. I also like the redesgned bottle.

5. The Body Shop Pinita Colada shower gel. If you only buy one new summery shower product this year, this would be my recommendation. Completely unsurprisingly, this smells like Pina Colada and I can’t think of many smells that say HOLIDAY as loud as this. Fun and delicious.

6. Jo Malone Mimosa & Cardamom Body & Hand Wash. This is another delicious one and it’s not pictured because I forgot about it – I use it more as a soap, so it’s not in the same place as the others. It works beautifully in the shower , though, and the scent is surprisingly strong – great for me, as I love this fragrance. I’ve liked all Jo Malone washes I’ve tried and they make excellent gifts.

7. Yves Rocher Purple Lilac shower gel. I still haven’t gotten my hands on Pacifica French Lilac (I plan to order it from the Netherlands at some point), so Yves Rocher’s version is currently my cheap alternative to Frederic Malle’s En Passant shower gel. It’s a very decent product with a gentle lilac scent, worth checking out if you’re a fan of lilacs.

8. Yves Rocher Lavandin Blackberry shower gel. This was my daughter’s pick (she’s 7) from all the YR shower products. I was glad to see she didn’t go for anything vanilla and strawberry – not that there’s anything wrong with either, but they are predictable. It’s a pleasant, relaxing scent and I’m very happy to use it, too.

9. Yves Rocher Cuir Vetiver shampoo and shower gel. This is the only one of the bunch that’s outside of the summery theme – as the name says, it smells of vetiver and leather. It probably smells quite masculine for most people, but as a vetiver lover, I enjoy it a lot. Budget brands almost never do this kind of fragrances and related products, so take a look at the entire range if you like that sort of thing.

10. Mandi Lulur for Rituals shower foam. Rituals is another mid-priced brand together with Korres that has very strong shower product game. I prefer Korres scents, but Rituals excels at interesting textures – they do both shower oils and mousses. This one is a nice tropical floral foam that’s a pleasure to use and possibly no longer available (it was a limited edition). But the sakura one is very nice, too.

11. Frederic Malle Carnal Flower body wash. Last but certainly not least, we have Frederic Malle’s iconic tuberose scent in the shower gel format. For white floral lovers, bath products don’t get much better than this. It’s a gorgeous scent, tuberose with a hint of green and coconut and you smell it more in the air around you than directly on the skin. If you like your packaging extra luxurious, you might be disappointed with Malle in this case, as the bottle looks and feels very utilitarian, but it has its own slightly ironic appeal (taken much farther with Malle’s perfume guns).