I bought a bottle of Elma and Sana Argan Oil a couple months ago to compare with my more expensive bottle. I wrote a few posts about Argan Oil products (you can find them here and here) in the past and though I am pretty happy with my Josie Maran 100% Pure Argan Oil, I wanted to explore less costly alternatives. A 0.5 fl oz. bottle has lasted me six months so far (and I still have a good bit left!) but I wanted to see if shelling out $14-16 per bottle made sense.
I already knew, from my use of the Josie Maran product, that I enjoyed using argan oil for my face (especially my cheeks and under-eye area). This is not going to be a full-blown review because I do not feel that I have used it long enough to be able to fully speak to the product, but I did want to give you a look at what I’ve gotten and tried recently. I purchased this 2 fl oz bottle of 100% Pure, Organic, Cold-Pressed Elma and Sana Argan Oil from Amazon.com for around $10 (I think it was just under when I purchased; it was on sale). I received it without issue – it was packed securely and safely. Here’s the outer packaging:
Elma and Sana Argan Oil
The bottle containing the product is a thick, deep blue glass – this complies with the frequent suggestion (demand?) that argan oil be stored in a dark bottle to prevent it from breaking down due to direct exposure to light. Like the Josie Maran bottles, it features a squeeze top to fill and dispense from the dropper. The consistency of this oil seems a little thinner than the Josie Maran product. Based on 2-3 nights of usage, it doesn’t seem to disagree with my skin, but I can say there are a few differences such as consistency and scent. Here the Elma and Sana Argan Oil bottle:
A few other things I’ve noticed – the packaging and bottle both state that this product is cruelty free; it has a stylized bunny emblem, but not the Leaping Bunny emblem. Argan Oil is not typically a product that is associated with animal cruelty but I find it curious that they wouldn’t seek Leaping Bunny certification if that was one way Elma & Sana wished to market – the demographic that would be catering to does their homework and would certainly notice. That makes me wonder if they slapped that on there to make people feel warm and fuzzy.
Another thing I noticed was that the label on the back of the bottle isn’t flush with the bottle – mine has some air-bubbles that I have tried to depict here:
Here’s what really drives me up the wall about this, though – the back label is a complete mess. The print on the back is not properly spaced. There are unnecessary double-spaces, there are skipped spaces (words directly proceeding punctuation with no space in-between). The sentences do not make sense, and seem as though they were not written by someone who is fluent in English (kind of an issue if they are marketing this in English-speakers). Below, I have taken pains to reproduce the text with screwed up spacing and failed structure. I cannot make this up:
Our 100% pure organic Cold Pressed Argan Oil is available in many sizes.Perfect for all skin and hair types with multiple benefits and purposes.
For face & body: To restore the natural freshness and glow to skin, reduce the appearance of aging skin signs, use daily on clean skin,This is 100% pure Argan Oil and only takes a few drops gently massaged into the skin, neck and body to achieve outstanding benefits.
For hair: Apply to wet or dry hair as leave -in treatment or use as prewash treatment applying it at least 30 minute before shampooing,massage scalp and brush through hair will give added benefits.
For nails: Apply to nails and cuticles for a longer stronger and healthier nails.
For a product that was, per the outer box, “Packed in the USA,” (which I assume to mean they transferred the product to these bottles, printed the labels, and assembled the final product in the USA) this is surprising and very disappointing. A second look at the outer box, towards the bottom, says, “Face,body & hair.” Er…
From a professional standpoint, this is sloppy and Elma & Sana could use more help with their QA if this is what they’re putting on their products. Sloppiness puts me off immensely, and I must admit that this does not give me a great impression of this company. I will need to continue using Elma and Sana Argan Oil for a bit to give an actual verdict on whether or not it is worth it (and whether or not it is good enough for me to overlook this nonsense), so look forward to that in coming weeks.
Disclosure: This post was not sponsored. Some of the links in this post are affiliate links – this means I may get a very small percentage of the sale if you decide to buy something. I only recommend products I’ve tried and verified as awesome. I am not yet giving this a recommendation.
On a pleasant note, have you entered my L’Oreal Infalliable Never Fail Lacquer Liner 24H giveaway, yet? All you have to do is comment on that post and you’re entered – make sure to do it by June 6, 2014!
Jeez, thank you so much for posting this! It is gonna be so helpful when I get Argan Oil at the grocery store! Super Outstanding!