Index / Drunk Elephant / Marula Oil
Drunk Elephant

Marula Oil.

Drunk Elephant Marula Oil
Serums

About this product

A pure marula oil facial serum designed to moisturize and nourish skin, particularly suited for dry skin types.

Best for

Dry skin
Serums

The Guru Index verdict

65%

Mixed

~Mixed · 65%
4Reviewers
2Approved
1Mixed
1Skip

What the gurus are saying

Gurus agree the product itself works well, particularly for dry skin, but nearly all flag severe price markup as the core issue. The Ordinary sells chemically identical marula oil from the same manufacturer for a fraction of the cost, making Drunk Elephant's $68-78 price point widely seen as unjustifiable. Some reviewers also express frustration with the brand's marketing and customer relations beyond the product itself.
Synthesized from 4 expert reviews

Key actives & flags

Fragrance-freeAlcohol-free

Full ingredients

Sclerocarya Birrea Seed Oil*, [more]

Every take, in full

What the gurus are saying.

Every take we've logged from this product's reviews across YouTube. Click any row to watch the moment they said it.

All takes Approved only Skip only Mixed only Hide sponsored
Approved
"Drunk Elephant Marula Oil sample. No issues with that. It's marula oil. Very expensive marula oil at that."
All 2 takes from No BS Beauty
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"Drunk Elephant Marula Oil sample. No issues with that. It's marula oil. Very expensive marula oil at that."
I'm Back... Finally! Skincare Empties & What's Been Going On
"A little baby Drunk Elephant Marula Oil that I got as a sample in something I don't remember when it's probably pretty old but it worked just fine."
Approved
"The marula oil by Drunk Elephant has been duped by Ordinary, and Ordinary initial years back in like 2018. If you are someone who wants to use marula oil and you don't want to spend like 5,000 bucks on it, you can definitely get the Ordinary marula oil, it is a cold pressed formula and it is fabulous. But marula oil is ideal if you have dry skin. If you're someone with combination skin, acne prone skin, I'm not going to recommend facial oils."
Skip
"Drunk Elephant still sells their $68 to $78 Marula Oil, but The Ordinary gets the exact same stuff from the exact same manufacturer and charges $11.40 for it. Is it any cheaper in quality? Is it worse? No, again it's the exact same stuff, it's just without the fancy packaging, without the fancy marketing."
All 2 takes from Cassandra Bankson
3 Things Everyone Gets Wrong About The Ordinary
"Drunk Elephant still sells their $68 to $78 Marula Oil, but The Ordinary gets the exact same stuff from the exact same manufacturer and charges $11.40 for it. Is it any cheaper in quality? Is it worse? No, again it's the exact same stuff, it's just without the fancy packaging, without the fancy marketing."
Sephora Kids Are Taking Over - Drunk Elephant Dupes & Mental Health For Kids & Tweens
"I have beef with Drunk Elephant. It's not personal beef, I just hate the way that they've attacked their customers online. I also hate the way they can't take criticism and they essentially tell people that you have to use their entire line all together, otherwise it's your fault that you have skin concerns and skin issues. The founder of the Ordinary, the late Brandon Truaxes, actually did as well. He looked at Drunk Elephant's Marula Oil and it's just pure marula oil, and Brandon said I know exactly where that comes from and I know how much it costs as a base price, why are they selling it for $68? Brandon went out and with his company the Ordinary literally packaged the exact same marula oil from the exact same manufacturer into the Ordinary bottle and sells it for $10 in a recyclable bottle. This is the exact same oil literally from the same manufacturer and it works extremely, extremely well. Brandon did this because he was sick of the beauty industry price gouging. I'm sorry, $68 for this marula oil is absolutely price gouging."
~Mixed
"Marula oil I actually like this one from the Ordinary because it's at such a good price point compared to the Drunk Elephant marula oil which is marketed as like a luxury marula but they're exactly the same thing. You can use this in the nighttime you might not want to use it during the daytime but you can if you're going to be wanting glass skin you can use this in your regime at the end instead of the SPF at nighttime and is a great substitute."
All 3 takes from Dr. Somji Skin
Doctor's Guide to Radiant Skincare: Crafting Your Routine
"Marula oil from Drunk Elephant is fantastic if you've got increased bacteria."
How to Slug your Face effectively | Reviewing Korean Skincare beauty Trend | Slugging Skincare
"I think the products are nice but I think it's really quite expensive. It's just one ingredient, the marula oil, but it's a knowing formulation. It's a pretty inexpensive oil so what it's priced at is quite a high price point."
How To Get Glass Skin | GLASS SKINCARE ROUTINE | Achieve Flawless Skin with Dr. Somji & Dr. Solomon
"Marula oil I actually like this one from the Ordinary because it's at such a good price point compared to the Drunk Elephant marula oil which is marketed as like a luxury marula but they're exactly the same thing. You can use this in the nighttime you might not want to use it during the daytime but you can if you're going to be wanting glass skin you can use this in your regime at the end instead of the SPF at nighttime and is a great substitute."
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