Skincare Hacks: Instant Moisture for Any Routine

Adding Drunk Elephant’s Virgin Marula Luxury Facial Oil to Everything

I recently talked about adding beauty oils into my skincare routine, and that’s a pet project I’m still working on. As I already decided to test out Drunk Elephant’s E-Rase Milki Micellar Water—which I wrote about the other week—I went ahead and picked up the Drunk Elephant Virgin Marula Luxury Facial Oil as well.

When you add oil to your routine, it helps your skin retain moisture while adding a more radiant appearance. Depending on the type of oil, added vitamins, minerals, and complexes also help strengthen, repair, and protect the face in a variety of ways.

Primarily, this oil is made with 100% unrefined Sclerocarya Birrea—or Marula—Kernel Oil. This virgin oil is full of antioxidants and omegas 6 and 9 to nourish and hydrate the skin while creating a more youthful look.

Drunk Elephant makes all of its products without essential oils, drying alcohols, silicones, chemical sunscreens, fragrance/dyes, or sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS), but the Virgin Marula Luxury Facial Oil is vegan and cruelty-free as well.

Using a raw, cold-press extraction and filtration process, the oil is pure and concentrated, as well as quickly absorbable. This process also preserves barrier-supporting, skin-nourishing fatty acids, and delicate antioxidant polyphenols— such as tocopherol (vitamin E), tocotrienols, phenolic compounds, and flavonoids—which defend against pollution and free radicals.

There are a lot of ways you can use this oil, and a lot of places it can work its magic. Massaging two or three drops to your face, neck, chest, hands, and the backs of your arms, for example, adds moisture without ever feeling greasy. It makes the skin look more balanced and healthier with a gorgeous glow.

You can also add one or two drops under your eyes for an anti-aging effect by smoothing fine lines. It can even be used on your cuticles to help hydrate and heal them.

As well as applying this oil directly to the skin, you can mix it into other skincare steps. It works even with sensitive skin, so it mixes well is virtually any moisturizer or SPF face cream.

Specifically, Drunk Elephant loves what they called “Skincare Smoothies,” which are suggestions on how to combine different skincare products. For example, the Glow-Getter Smoothie features ½ pump of the A-Passioni Retinol Cream, 1 pump of the B-Hydra Hydration Serum, and one or two drops of the oil for “Balanced, Hydrated, Younger-Looking Skin.” The C for Yourself Smoothie is 1 pump of the C-Firma Fresh Day Serum, 1 pump of the Protini Polypeptide Cream, and one or two drops of the oil for “Brighter, Firmer, Healthy-Looking Skin,” or switch out the C-Firma Fresh Day Serum with the T.L.C. Framboos Glycolic Night Serum for the nighttime Beauty Call Smoothie for “Smoother, Firmer, More Radiant Skin.”

Overall, there’s a lot to like about this oil. The texture is so fine it’s almost like a dry oil, and I love the anti-aging properties. It leaves my skin soft and hydrated without any greasy sheen or extra shine.

I would recommend Drunk Elephant’s Virgin Marula Luxury Facial Oil for anyone with normal or combination skin—and even some lightly oily complexions—but especially any dry skin type. If you’re hesitant about using oil in your skincare routine, introduce it slowly with one of Drunk Elephant’s skincare smoothies.