Drunk Elephant Virgin Marula Luxury Facial Oil.

Serums

About this product

A lightweight facial oil made from virgin marula oil, designed to nourish and moisturize the skin while supporting the skin barrier.

Full ingredients

Sclerocarya Birrea Seed Oil*, [more]

Guru Score

60%

Mixed

9 experts · Strong agreement

What they liked

Lightweight but intensely moisturizing
Non-comedogenic, won't block pores
Can replace a moisturizer at night

What they flagged

Pricey for a single-ingredient oil
Same oil available at lower cost elsewhere

What the gurus are saying

Marula oil's non-comedogenic nature and omega-rich formula earn consistent praise for balancing dry patches and moisturizing without clogging pores, though gurus split sharply on value. Essential oils in the formula concern dermatologists who flag them as irritants and potential triggers for post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation, while others find the oil itself effective for barrier support and even bacterial control. The core tension is price: multiple experts note that The Ordinary's marula oil delivers identical quality for a fraction of the cost, making this product's premium price hard to justify for a single-ingredient formula.

Synthesized from 9 expert reviews · most recent take September 2026

Best for

Dry skin Sensitive skin

Type

SerumsOil

Formula notes

Fragrance-freeNo drying alcohol

Where to buy

Sephora → Ulta → Amazon → Google →

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Scan it in the shopFree iPhone app. Scores in the aisle.

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 Yay takes Nay takes Mixed takes Hide sponsored

Kelly Driscoll

90k subs

~Yay

"I'm going to be really restrained using about two to three drops. And I'm just going to gently press that into the drier areas of my combination skin, which for me is the U zone, my chin, and my cheeks. I will focus on those areas first, and if I have any little bit left, I might apply it to my T-zone, or I might even skip that completely because I still have quite a bit of oil in the T-zone, but in the fall, I start to go really dry in my U zone. This helps balance everything out."

Dr. Vanita Rattan

1.23M subs

~Nay

"Drunk Elephant Virgin Marula is one of those popular ones that contains essential oils. I know they smell like a five-star spa, but essential oils in leave-on products are sneaky triggers for PIH, post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation. [...] Essential oils are an irritant. They're allergens. And when that happens, inflammation takes place. And when inflammation takes place, hyperpigmentation can take place. Why would you even risk it?"

No BS Beauty

89k subs

~Yay

"No issues with that. It's marula oil. Very expensive marula oil at that."

All 3 takes from No BS Beauty

Empties - August Skincare & Beauty Products I've Finished This Month

"No issues with that. It's marula oil. Very expensive marula oil at that."

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"Little baby drunk elephant oil"

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"I've had this probably one of the longest makeup products I've been using, if not the longest single makeup product I've been using for years. I got it as a sample, I don't remember when it's probably pretty old, but it worked just fine. This stuff was handy, it did give you the cooling off feeling."

Dr. Jenny Liu

323k subs

~Mixed

"Marula oil is rich in Omega-6 and omega-9, so it helps to support the skin barrier. I'm not a fan of oil, but what you can certainly do is you can drop this with the moisturizer or layer on top of your moisturizer. And the other fun thing that people don't know about the way at least a full size from Drunk Elephant, why the products are in the bottle where you push out the product, is you can technically mix and match products."

Nipun Kapur

412k subs

~Yay

"The marala oil by drunk elephant has been duped by ordinary and ordinary initial years back in like 2018"

James Welsh

1.58M subs

~Mixed

"Drunk Elephant's first six products, which included a cleansing bar, a hydrating marula oil and a vitamin C serum, were all fairly popular from the start."

AliceintheRabbitHole

59k subs

~Nay

"I won't deny that the quality of a carrier oil is affected by [...] where it's grown and the nutrition it had while it was being raised, so it does make a difference, and some people do swear by these more expensive oils, but I don't even swear by marula."

Dr. Somji Skin

360k subs

~Yay

"If you've got increased bacteria, marula oil from Drunk Elephant is fantastic."

All 3 takes from Dr. Somji Skin

How to Choose a Moisturiser | Expert Tips for Every Skin Type

"I'm a big fan of this actually because I love oils and marula oil is non-comedogenic so it's not going to block pores. It's quite lightweight but intensely moisturizing and quite luxurious, so you can actually put this on instead of your moisturizer."

Drunk Elephant Complete Skincare Product Guide | Dr. Somji Reviews

"I think it's far too expensive because it's just one ingredient. There's nothing special. Normally you expect a blend of different oils. I'm not too impressed by this product, really, to be honest."

Doctor's Guide to Radiant Skincare: Crafting Your Routine

"If you've got increased bacteria, marula oil from Drunk Elephant is fantastic."

Cassandra Bankson

2.46M subs

~Nay

"Drunk Elephant's marula oil is $68 to $78. Is it any cheaper in quality? Is it worse? No, it's the exact same stuff, just without the fancy packaging and fancy marketing."

All 2 takes from Cassandra Bankson

3 Things Everyone Gets Wrong About The Ordinary

"Drunk Elephant's marula oil is $68 to $78. Is it any cheaper in quality? Is it worse? No, it's the exact same stuff, just without the fancy packaging and fancy marketing."

How To Get “That Girl” Skincare Routine… On A Budget.

"One of their most popular is indeed just straight up marula oil that yes, they charge 68 bucks for. But The Ordinary has literally straight up virgin coldpressed marula oil for 10. And The Ordinary's marula oil is fantastic and coldpressed and you are literally saving yourself six times the amount of money."

What the evidence says.

Independent of what the gurus think, this is what the published research supports about the main active ingredients here.

Frequently asked.

What is Drunk Elephant Virgin Marula Luxury Facial Oil?

A lightweight facial oil made from virgin marula oil, designed to nourish and moisturize the skin while supporting the skin barrier.

Is Drunk Elephant Virgin Marula Luxury Facial Oil worth it?

The gurus are split. 4 of the 9 gurus give it their stamp of approval while 3 would skip it, which lands it in the middle at a Guru Score of 60%.

What is Drunk Elephant Virgin Marula Luxury Facial Oil's Guru Score?

Drunk Elephant Virgin Marula Luxury Facial Oil holds a Guru Score of 60%. That is our read on how warmly the experts talk about it, based on the verdicts of 9 expert reviewers we have collected.