Product Review: Scentuals Pure Moroccan Argan Oil (Certified Organic and 100% Natural) - Is the cheaper Argan oil sold by drug store the same as Josie Maran's Argan Oil?

I love Joise Maran's Argan Oil but the price is quite steep compared to other argan oils available in the market.  I bought a 50 ml (1.7 oz)  Josie Maran Argan Oil costs C$58+ Tax @ Sephora while I bought a 30 ml bottle of Scentuals Pure Moroccan Argan Oil costs C$12.99 + Tax @ Price Smart.

Considering that both are 100% pure argan oil, the Scentuals Pure Moroccan Argan Oil sounds like a true winner. It is half the price! I was pretty pleased with myself. 

I was quite keen to try it out. Below are the differences between Josie Maran's (JM) Argan Oil and Scentuals (S) Pure Argan Oil:

1. Bottle design 

JM's bottle is definitely better. It has a dropper which makes it easier to extract a few drops of argan oil compared to S's bottle which I have to pour out. It is harder to control the amount that I need. I definitely end up wasting more argan oil with this bottle design. It can be pretty frustrating to get the first few drops out initially. I usually end up getting more argan oil than I need. 

A simple solution is to just buy a bottle with a dropper (which will be less than C$5) and pour the S's oil into the new bottle. Still a considerable savings!

2. Smell

Since both are 100% argan oil, I expect both to have similar smell but NO! JM has no smell but S Argan Oil has a pretty strong synthetic oil smell. It really makes me wonder if they are the same thing. As you can imagine, I cannot bring myself to put the S Argan oil on my face at all! It is that bad for me. I am not sure if the bottle I bought was a lemon but I have no intention of buying another one to try. 

3. Texture

The smell may affect my subsequent judgement but I felt that texture of the two oil are slightly different too. JM argan oil seems to have more body and S argan oil seems little more flat. It may be due to the bottle design. S argan oil certainly feels more watery than JM's.

4. Effectiveness

I did not use S's argan oil on my face since I didn't like smell. I used both argan oil on my hand. Both provided instant hydration. JM argan oil feels hydrated and light. It does not leave any sticky feeling after a minute. However, S argan oil still feels hydrated but heavy. my hand still feels sticky after 5 mins. 

Verdict

Despite the cheaper price, I will definitely buy the JM Argan oil. Even though both are essentially the same argan oil, they do not feel, smell the same. Although both are hydrating, the user experience is so much more pleasant with JM Argan oil. Let me know if you find any other cheaper argan oil than JM Argan oil and gives the same luxurious user experience.