The Souq Moroccan Argan Oil

Extracted from kernels of Argan trees, argan oil has come a long way from its exotic origins of Essaouira, Morocco to beauty retail points round the world. When before this oil was hush-hush to only wealthy jetsetters from the West, now it is a commercialized multi-purpose beauty elixir: Moisturizer, anti-ager, skin softener, hair restructurer, frizz-fighter, scar-fader, nail treatment, you name it. It was last December when I ran out of Naruko’s Narcissus Night Gelly when my delighted paws received The Souq Moroccan Argan Oil (in perfect timing) as a Christmas present (thank you 大姐 and 三姐). 

It came in a crimson box with Middle Eastern-type golden trimmings printed (Arabian nights…Arabian days…song came to mind). 

Product description.

The product is concentrated argan oil imported from Morocco by locally-based The Souq International. The website guarantees it is certified organic by Ecocert.

It comes in a 30ml glass bottle with a glass dropper applicator. 

The dropper makes it easy to control the amount of product released. I found out that for the face, one to two drops is already enough.  

The oil is transparent pale yellow and has a mild scent similar to mineral oil. It dries to a velvety finish – not sticky or oily at all. 

It was reassuring to know that argan oil receives generally positive reviews online. It also helped that the bottle states that it is safe for all skin types and is also hypoallergenic and paraben-free. I thought I struck gold with these pieces of information and was looking forward to beautiful skin. The first time I used this was as an evening moisturizer. The oil glided easily as I spread it all over my face. However, it did not absorb or sink into my skin. I felt the oil just “sat” on the epidermis. It also didn't manifest any nourishing effects. The next morning my skin was rougher than usual, which worried me a bit for I usually get soft and supple skin from nighttime oils and moisturizers.

Since it was a result from just one application, I persisting with my newfound skin care product. In the course of using it nightly for a week, I developed new spots and saw no smoother skin. My skin looked dull and became rough to touch. Generally, it didn’t provide moisture or any form of treatment to my skin. Skin care is really subjective; I’ve also read many glowing reviews of argan oil from people with sensitive skin. It is really too bad that my extra-fussy skin didn’t welcome this oil, or rather they just didn’t blend well together. 

The great thing about a multi-purpose product is, it can be used elsewhere. I’ve tried smoothing this argan oil on stray strands and it worked just fine. A little went a long way, since too much made my hair look oily.