Is Drunk Elephant Worth It?

This cult-favorite, clean skincare brand comes with a hefty pricetag…

I’ve tried 13 Drunk Elephant products (they have a product for basically every step of your skincare routine) and I’m here to dish my real thoughts!

If you haven’t heard of Drunk Elephant, I’m about to change your life! Just kidding, but not really. Drunk Elephant is a clean skincare brand that places an emphasis on all prodcuts being free of the “Suspicious 6” (Essential Oils, Drying Alcohols, Silicones, Chemical Sunscreens, Fragrances/Dyes, SLS), which in turn, makes every product fit for every skin type! You see, DE believes these ingredients are at the root of almost every skin issue, so when these are taken out of the equation, most people (including myself) see serious skin relief!

FYI: Drunk Elephant got its name from the myth that says the elephants love to eat the fruit that has fallen from Marula trees. Once eaten, fermentation occurs inside their very large tummies and the elephants become drunk!

Spoiler alert: Marula oil can be found in many DE products!

Other Reasons to Love Drunk Elephant:

• pH balancing is important! Each of their products is formulated with your skin’s acid mantle in mind.
• If there’s doubt, it’s out! Meaning whether full research has been done or not, if there’s any contraversy or question around the safety of an ingredient, Drunk Elephant will NOT use it. (Kinda like when Claudia taught us about sulfates!)
• Natural and synthetic ingredients for the win! Just because an ingredient is labeled as “natural” doesn’t mean it’s good for you. DE uses the perfect combination of natural and sythetic ingredients in their formulas that are truly healthy for your skin.
• Less is more! DE formulations are balanced and optimized to work with the physiological processes of the skin to make skincare indulgences (like botox, laster treatments, overuse of harsh exfoliants, etc.) less necessary, less often.
• Fragrance free all the way baby! DE products smell exactly as they are made. Other skincare lines use “natural alternatives” to scent their products. Things like essential oil blends, citrus peel extracts, and limonene, which may sound pretty and innocent, but they are known to cause allergic sensitivities. (A lot of times they’re found in products marketed towards those with sensitive skin…)

Okay, ready to get down to the nitty gritty? Let’s breakdown each of the 13 products I’ve tried…in alphabetical order!

Heads up: I find a lot of these DE products to be “worth it.” But at the end, I’ll break down which ones I would rather have over others or if you have a specific need, what you should splurge on. Okay GO!

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My Thoughts on the Drunk Elephant Beste™ No. 9 Jelly Cleanser

TBH, I was always opposed to using this cleanser because it contains surfactants and emollients that I typically stray away from. Remember, I’m typically a non-foaming cleanser kinda gal! But, when I recently purchased The Littles Set (such a good deal BTW!), I incorporated this cleanser into my nightly routine because my skin was clogged and bogged down.

To my surprise, this cleanser is much more gentle than other foaming cleansers I’ve used in the past! It’s just enough to clean out my pores, but not strip my skin. Plus, it doesn’t have that SLS that we should all stay away from! So, if you’re a foaming cleanser kinda gal, you should definitely give this a try! Plus, at $32, the price isn’t too steep at all (at least compared to most of their products)!

Worth it? Worth it.

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My Thoughts on the Drunk Elephant B-Hydra™ Intensive Hydration Serum

I first tried the B-Hydra serum in the Rise + Glow Duo Pack (also another ah-mazing deal!). This product does an amazing job of giving a balanced dose of moisture! Meaning, whether you have dry, oily, or combo skin, this lightweight serum will give you a boost of hydration without clogging your pores.

If used daily, I notice a huge difference in the hydration levels of my skin. When I’m dry, my skin gets super oily about halfway through the day. That said, if I’m using B-Hydra in the morning, my skin is never over oily and never dry! If you struggle with getting the right dose of hydration for your skin, this serum is worthy of a place in your skincare lineup!

Worth it? Worth it.

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My Thoughts on the Drunk Elephant C-Firma™ Day Serum

Vitamin C is all the rage these days. It seems like there’s a new vitamin C serum everywhere you turn! While I’ve tried a few different ones in my experiments, nothing has ever stood up to the C-Firma™ Day Serum, which is good when you’re spending $80 for it! This serum has 15% L-Ascorbic Acid (vitamin C) in it, which is more than most products out there. Hence, when you have the right amount of the star ingredient in the product, it’s going to work better than it’s poser competitors!

NOTE: C-Firma™ has a reservoir effect, which means it will stay active on skin for up to 72 hours and cannot be washed or rubbed off. Also, C-Firma™ contains pure L-ascorbic acid and is best when fresh, so USE IMMEDIATELY and DON’T STOCK UP!

I use this serum as part of my AM skincare routine and I mix it with the B-Hydra serum. Since it’s a vitamin C serum it does a killer job at brightening my complexion and ridding of dark spots, photo-aging, etc., but it also has ingredients that protect against pollution and free radicals, deeply moisturize and reduce wrinkles. Um, yes please! All I gotta say is, “Friends, this one really works.”

Worth it? Worth it.

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Anyone else just generally frustrated with eye creams? I don’t know what it is, but a majority of the time, I’m just not sure if it’s ever really working. Supposedly, an eye cream is more for preventative use than anything, but still, I’d love for one to just pack a punch and make my eyes look glowy and bright right away! Wishful thinking, I suppose.

Unfortunately, I feel the same way I feel about eye creams in general with this one by Drunk Elephant. While it’s packed with positive ingredients like vitamin C, cucumber, vitamin E, etc., that I’m sure are great when used overtime…I just never really feel like I miss it if I go without it. While I still use it currently every AM and PM, it’s mostly because I always use an eye cream, no matter what! Once I run out, I’ll be onto my next eye cream experiment.

Worth it? Not worth it.

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My Thoughts on the Drunk Elephant Lala Retro™ Whipped Cream

TBH, I’m pretty picky about my moisturizers. They need to be deeply hydrating, while not clogging my pores, but also making my skin look supple and bouncy! If you’re as picky as I am when it comes to moisturizer, Lala Retro may be your new fav.

While I haven’t had Lala Retro in my skincare routine in a while, it definitely hasn’t gone un-missed. I found one moisturizer from Youth to the People that came close in comparison to this one, nothing has compared to the DE Lala Retro just yet. It’s jam-packed six African oils (marula, mongongo, baobab, kalahari melon, ximenia and passion fruit…you can read more about what each of these oils do here.) that surely don’t dissapoint! With antioxidants, vitamin C, defenders, and omegas, this moisturizer is everything I could want and more in a cream!

Worth it? Worth it.

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My Thoughts on the Drunk Elephant Protini™ Polypeptide Moisturizer

What the heck is a polypeptide and why do I need it in my moisturizer? That was the first question I asked! This cream is basically a shot of firming protein and peptides that restores collagen while adding strength and moisture to skin. So boom, there you have it!

I personally use this cream during my AM skincare routine as it works great under makeup and gives me just the right amount of moisture for the day. At the same time, those proteins do a good job of firming up my skin too allow for an easy makeup application! I love this cream…and honestly wish I didn’t due to the price, but alas, here I am loving it and there goes my money.

Worth it? Worth it.

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What’s the difference between Lala Retro and Protini? Think of Lala Retro as your “moisture-boosting, defense to the environmental toxins – hydrator” and Protini as your “let’s firm up my face” kinda cream. Make sense?

PRO TIP: use Protini in the AM and Lala Retro in the PM!

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My Thoughts on the Drunk Elephant Shaba Complex™ Eye Serum

Remember when I was talking about the C-Tango Multivitamin Eye Cream and I was feeling meh about it? Thankfully, this one is truly different! When it comes to eye creams, I can usually tell if one is working more than the other based on how well I can apply my Glossier Stretch Concealer under my eyes and how well it holds up through the day.

Shaba Complex was a positive eye cream experiment for me because it totally improved the way my concealer worked throughout the day! No creasing into those little fine lines because they were plump and hydrated! All that said, is it worth the $60 price tag? At the current state of my budget, nope!

Worth it? Not worth it.

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My Thoughts on the Drunk Elephant Slaai™ Makeup-Melting Butter Cleanser

Have you ever done the white towel test? You know, the test where you wash your face with a standard cleanser, wipe it on a white towel and see how much makeup comes off? If you’ve done it and been disappointed by the results, then I’m about to change your life! You see, in an ideal world, we would all be using a two-step cleansing routine every single day. Step one being an oil cleanse and step two is a water-based cleanse.

The Slaai™ Makeup-Melting Butter Cleanser is the ideal product for step one of your cleansing routine! When applied to dry skin, this silky smooth, buttery cleanser will pick up all the dirt, makeup and grime from the day. Then, when water is added to the mix, it turns into a milky cleanse that wipes it all away! (It’s kinda similar to my fav Cocokind Oil to Milk Cleanser, but this is much more effective at getting rid of makeup.) You will never go back to normal cleansing again after using this butter cleanser!

Also! A huge perk of this product is the little spoon magnetized to the top! And they give you a little tube of exfoliators to mix into the cleanser 1-2x per week. #perks

Worth it? Worth it.

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My Thoughts on the Drunk Elephant T.L.C. Sukari Babyfacial™

The hype around this product is REAL. While it’s one of their pricier products, the amount of awards and rave reviews this mask has received are BEYOND. I purchased this mask before my wedding instead of getting regular facials at the spa. Boy, oh boy am I glad I did!

This power-packed mask gives you all the results of a professional facial for $80 to be used over and over again (I’ve now had my same bottle for 8 MONTHS!), while a true facial would cost $100+ everytime it’s done!

First off, this mask is PACKED with incredible chemical exfoliants (if you want to learn more about AHAs and BHAs, we have a whole post on them!) that do some serious dirty work on your skin. While this mask does have a tingling/burning sensation at first, it goes away in a few minutes. Once rinsed off, it reveals glowy skin! With all those dead skin cells removed there’s nothing left but fresh and bright baby skin cells (get it?). I use it every 2-3 weeks or so to revamp and refresh my skin…and you should too!

Worth it? Worth it.

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My Thoughts on the Drunk Elephant T.L.C. Frambroos™ Glycolic Resurfacing Night Serum

So maybe the Babyfacial seems a little aggressive for you and you can never remember to do a mask – I get it! If you had to opt for something in your daily routine that could do something similar to Babyfacial, you should opt for this serum. I use this serum every night and quite honestly – I think it’s the most game-changing product DE has ever made. Not exaggerating even a little!

In the nature of beauty blogging, I stopped using my DE products regularly in order to experiment with other products. The result? I MISSED DE…BIG TIME! And I missed this glycolic night serum the most. After re-incorporating this into my routine I saw results after one night of using it…ONE NIGHT! My pores were clearing, breakouts were subsiding and life was good again. Now, one month later? I’ve only had one pimple come up. ONLY ONE! I owe it all to my little night serum friend.

Worth it? SO WORTH IT.

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My Thoughts on the Drunk Elephant UmbraSheer™ Physical Daily Defense SPF 30

Last week, we talked about the difference between chemical and physical sunscreens and while there are uses for both of them, generally a physical sunscreen is the healthier version of the two. Of course, Drunk Elephant sticks to their “if there’s doubt, it’s out!” philosphy and created two physical SPF products. One of the two, UmbraSheer offers both UVA and UVB protection while protecting from free radical and oxidative damage!

I love this sunscreen because it is by far the most sheer (non-white-cast-leaving) physical sunscreen I’ve ever used (and I’ve tried a lot). Plus, it goes on so lightly, you can barely feel that it’s there! Another rarity for a physical sunscreen. Also, the protection is great, but of course, just like any physical sunscreen, if you’re going to be sweating, swimming, etc. thorough and multiple applications will be needed throughout the day!

Worth it? Worth it.

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My Thoughts on the Drunk Elephant Umbra Tinte™ Physical Daily Defense SPF 30

Honestly, everything I just said about the UmbraSheer from above, applies here. So ditto that and then add one game-changing fact: it’s tinted! Even though the UmbraSheer doesn’t leave a white cast on your skin, sometimes it can be nice to use a sunscreen that makes you a little glowier, right?! The UmbraTinte does just that.

Now don’t get me wrong, you won’t catch me using this as a makeup replacement, but on days where I’m going makeup-free, it can be nice to have a little extra glow on my bare skin. That said, the UmbraTinte only comes in one shade so it wasn’t intended to be a makeup product. Either way, I love this product on the weekends when I’m not wearing my usual makeup!

Worth it? Worth it.

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My Thoughts on the Drunk Elephant Virgin Marula Luxury Facial Oil

TBH…marula oil is the SH*T. Seriously, if you’ve never experimented with oils before, marula oil is the perfect place to start. I mean heck, marula oil is how Drunk Elephant got it’s name so you know it has to be an important product! Marula oil is high in critical antioxidants, vitamin E, rich in omegas 6 and 9, and more, so it helps to moisturize, rejuvenate and nourish skin while restoring a youthful glow.

My favorite thing about this marula oil is that it’s so light! It’s beyond hydrating and nourishing but never clogs your pores or weighs you down. I use this every night in combination with the glycolic night serum and wowza! What a glow in the morning! For combination skin types – this is your heaven-made facial oil. Honestly, for all skin types, this stuff is ah-mazing.

Worth it? Worth it.

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The Gist of My Drunk Elephant Obsession

As you can tell, I’m a little obsessed with Drunk Elephant. Only 2 out of the 13 products received a “not worth it” for me. ONLY 2!

To save you from spending all of your savings on new products (or if you wanna go for it – you do you girl! Send me some while you’re at it :)), here’s a quick breakdown of the top three I would buy for each skin type, plus comparison by product type:

PRO TIP: If you want to experiment with a big chunk of DE products without breaking the bank, opt for The Littles set. You can try an entire skincare routine for a fraction of the price.

The Hype is REAL

I hope this Drunk Elephant post helped you understand why the hype around this clean brand is so real! Here’s the thing. When it comes to skincare, which is uber important to me, I don’t mind paying more for products that I can fully trust. There’s no questioning if an ingredient is good or bad with them.

Drunk Elephant is like a bestie I can always run home to and always rely on.

Have you experimented at all with DE? Let me know your thoughts below! Next on my list to try is the D-Bronzi™ Anti-Pollution Sunshine Drops!