Marula Oil, From Drunk Elephant's Face Oil to Body Wash and Lipstick

Marula Oil, From Drunk Elephant's Face Oil to Body Wash and Lipstick

Marula oil comes from a fruit tree native to southern Africa, and it is light enough for the face and rich enough for hands, hair and lips. Here are the marula face oils and cleansers, the body and hair care made with it, and the makeup that uses it for slip.

Drunk Elephant is named after marula oil, or really after a story about it. Tiffany Masterson, then a housewife in Houston, was looking for a name and drew on marula oil, one of the ingredients she wanted in her moisturizers. She told CNBC she googled it and found a video of animals in South Africa eating fermented marula fruit off the ground and stumbling around. The name comes from the popular myth that elephants get drunk on the fruit, and she liked that it let her stay behind the scenes. She launched the brand in 2013 with six products.

Marula itself is a fruit tree native to southern Africa, with more of its range in West and East Africa and Madagascar, and elephants really are among its biggest fans. The oil is used to moisturize skin, and the San people of southern Africa also eat it. Drunk Elephant Virgin Marula Luxury Face Oil is the brand's facial oil, rich in antioxidants and omegas 6 and 9. A-Gloei pairs marula with retinol, and Mello Marula is a low-lather cream cleanser with 1.0% colloidal oatmeal. Slaai Makeup-Melting Butter Cleanser and the JuJu Exfoliating Bar round out the cleansing side.

The Ordinary 100% Cold-Pressed Virgin Marula Oil is the single-ingredient version, with oleic and linoleic acids. Pietro Simone The Fierce Oil blends marula with moringa and Kalahari oils, and Angela Caglia Neroli Cleansing Oil uses featherweight moringa and marula to dissolve makeup and sunscreen.

How much to use: two or three drops, pressed into damp skin as the last step at night.

Big numbers collage titled MARULA OIL, six products numbered one to six with each product set beside its number: Drunk Elephant, The Ordinary, Pietro Simone Skincare, Nécessaire, Augustinus Bader and Monika Blunder
Marula Oil

Marula for body, hands and hair

Nécessaire was created by Nick Axelrod, a co-founder of Into the Gloss, and Randi Christiansen, a longtime Estée Lauder alum, and its whole idea is to treat the body with the same care as the face. That is why marula shows up across the line. The Body Wash in Olibanum has a soft gel-oil texture, The Body Lotion blends marula, cacay and meadowfoam oils in a fragrance-free cream that sinks in fast, and The Hand Cream adds vitamins, squalane and a peptide for hands that get washed all day.

Drunk Elephant Therabu Buttered Reparative Hand Cream is the richer hand option, made to give up to 24 hours of moisture. In hair, marula works as a softener. Augustinus Bader The Rich Conditioner is built on the brand's TFC8 complex and was developed with dry, damaged and colored hair in mind. Pureology Nanoworks Gold Hydrating Shampoo and the matching Strengthening Hydrating Conditioner are sulfate-free and made for very dry, color-treated hair. Oribe Supershine Hydrating Conditioner is the lightweight choice for shine.

A shower habit I like: use the body wash, then smooth the lotion on while skin is still damp so the oils have water to hold in.

What I would skip: a rich conditioner on fine roots. Keep the Augustinus Bader or Pureology conditioner on the lengths and ends only.

Makeup made with marula for slip

In makeup, marula is there for slip and comfort, and you notice it most in formulas that sit on lips and eyes all day. Monika Blunder is a celebrity makeup artist from Austria whose clients include Jessica Alba and Gemma Chan, and she launched her own label in Los Angeles in 2020. Her Kissen Lush Lipstick Crayon in Florence is chunky and velvety, with marula, arnica and other oils for a buttery sheen. Westman Atelier Lip Suede Palette in Les Nudes is a palette of vegan lip shades for mixing your own nude.

Jillian Dempsey Khôl Eyeliner comes here in Black and Rich Brown. It is waterproof with a precise point and a smudge tip, and organic jojoba oil, shea butter and marula oil keep it soft along the lash line.

Back at Drunk Elephant, O-Bloos Rosi Blush Drops is an omega-rich serum that adds a rosy flush. Kamo Triple-Peptide Multi-Use Serum Foundation has 18 percent amino-acid-coated pigments and a four percent peptide complex, and I picked two shades far apart, Fair 1C and Rich 25C, to show the range. Vegamour HYDR-8 Weightless Repair Hair Oil finishes fine or thin hair without silicones.

A mixing tip: one drop of O-Bloos in your moisturizer gives a sheer flush, and two drops start to read as blush.

What I would skip: layering a face oil over Kamo. The foundation already has plenty of slip, and extra oil will make it move.

Using marula oil without overdoing it

Marula oil feels light for an oil, which is why it works on the face as well as the body. Two or three drops are enough for a whole face, pressed into damp skin at night or mixed into moisturizer in the morning. On the body, use it or a marula lotion right after a shower, and on hair, warm one drop between your palms and smooth it over the ends. If you are prone to breakouts, patch test along your jaw for a few nights first. Keep the bottle closed and out of the sun so the oil stays fresh.