Marcel’s Green Soap Shower Gel Argan & Oudh – Surprisingly Soft

We’ve got a rabbit on the loose! 🐇

Or… wait! It’s just a rabbit modeling for the package. I hope they pay him well. Or maybe his name is Marcel and he’s the boss. Not sure why there’s a finger pointing at him. There’s no way you cannot notice this embodiment of fluffy soft cuteness.

Actually… If I really think about this… The rabbit is perfect here. A reflection of the product itself if you will.

This is the first Marcel’s Green Soap product of any kind that I’ve tried. My experience with soap bars has been that of dry skin and quickly soapied bathtub. That’s why I prefer liquid stuff, but even with that it can be a hit or miss when it comes to skin hydration.

Sniffety sniff sniff!

I honestly expected Marcel’s Green Soap Shower Gel Argan & Oudh to have a strong smell from my past experience with Oudh in perfumes and such, but I could barely smell anything when sniffing it with the cap open.

Ingredients

Marcel’s Green Soap Shower Gel Argan & Oudh is 100% vegan with 97% natural ingredients, and 98% of them are biodegradable. The brand claims it to be free of microplastics, colourants, PEGs, and EDTA.

Honestly, I had to google what PEGs and EDTA mean and I already don’t care to remember. Also, it wasn’t an easy search, especially since ‘peg’ has a whole different meaning in the English language. The conclusion on whether these are actually bad or not is also unclear as I found different opinions on these. Go figure…

I’m not writing a research paper here so I’m not diving deep into this. If you’re curious you can do your own research (pro tip: add a phrase like ‘eco friendly’ to produce the results you want), and whether these are good or bad, they’re not in this product, so… Whatever! It’s just that some brands like to add these XYZ-free claims (without any explanation, not even on their website) that sound more like buzzwords or some weird slang only 10-year-olds on the internet know and don’t mean anything to the average consumer just looking for something to keep themselves clean.

Running the ingredients through a few checkers online, most of them look solid. You can check them out yourself as well:

Aqua, Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Sodium Chloride, Cocoglucoside, Glyceryl Oleate, Sodium Benzoate, Parfum, Guar Hydroxylpropyltrimonium Chloride, Glycol Distearate, Citric Acid, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Tocopherol, Hydrogenated Palm Glycerides Citrate, Hexyl Cinnamal, Limonene, Hydroxycitronellal

However, Marcel’s Green Soap Shower Gel Argan & Oudh contains fragrance, which may not be nice for some people’s skin. It’s potentially unsafe for fungal acne, oily, and sensitive skin. Probably because it’s not sulfate-free.

Smell and Consistency

Let’s get back to my favourite part…

While Marcel’s Green Soap Shower Gel Argan & Oudh seemed to smell like nothing at first, there was definitely a scent when I was actually using it in the shower.

The Oudh is rather subtle, not overpowering. It’s overall very pleasant. I like it! I mean, you smell the Argan for the most part, which is nice. That’s the part where the rabbit on the packaging seems fitting. Like a soft and cuddly hint of Oudh in the midst of Argan. Or something like that.

Marcel’s Green Soap Shower Gel Argan & Oudh is not thick, so it runs easily. Even without having to squeeze the bottle. If you tip it over, it leaks on its own. I’m rather neutral on this feature. Works for me.

Packaging

Since I don’t think I need to explain how to use this one, let’s get right into the packaging!

100% recycled plastic bottle including the cap, but yeah… Still plastic. You can either recycle it again or get a refill, provided those are available for you. I don’t see this option on the online store where I got it from, but you can find those on Marcel’s Green Soap website.

All Marcel’s Green Soap shower gels come in bottles of 300 ml and 500 ml. I got the 300 ml because that was the only one available at the time of purchase anyway.

What I see as a positive in terms of packaging is that the bottle is upright. It won’t start leaking all over when you open the cap. That works when the product has this kind of consistency. I mean… Have you tried those upside-down bottles with a runny liquid gel before? It can get kinda annoying.

Price

The price is fine. Could you find cheaper stuff? Probably. But it’s also nothing super crazy. If you’re not on a super tight budget, you’re good. The price is higher at the local online store I bought this from compared to Marcel’s Green Soap website. Over one euro more. However, based on the shipping costs, it’s cheaper to get it here anyway.

Here’s a quick price rundown that is true in November 2024:

I bought this on sale for €5,53 at Nula shop.
Full price at Nula shop: €6,50
Price at Marcel’s Green Soap website: €4,99

Where It’s Made

The Netherlands.

Summary

🟢 97% natural ingredients.
🟢 98% biodegradable ingredients.
🟢 100% vegan.
🟢 Bottle is from recycled plastic, including the cap. It can recycled again or reused with refills.
🟢 No microplastics, colourants, PEGs, and EDTA.
🟢 Very pleasant scent.
🟢 Feels really nice to use and didn’t dry my skin out.

🔴 Not plastic-free. Great that it’s recycled, but would be ideal not to have plastic here at all.
🔴 Refillable, but refills aren’t available locally for me at least. Maybe you’ll have more luck with that.
🔴 Would also prefer to see 100% natural and biodegradable ingredients, but since nothing harmful seems to be in there, it’s cool.
🔴 Not sulfate-free. May potentially irritate sensitive, oily, and fungal acne prone skin. I personally did not face any of these issues when using the product.

It’s a fantastic alternative to most of the “regular” or, should I say, mainstream shower gels out there. It surprised me with its scent and softness.

Also, as I have discovered while snooping around the brand’s website, Marcel is not actually the rabbit. It’s the name of the founder. Duh! 😂

Would I Buy It Again?

Yes. It’s a great alternative to anything I’ve ever used at the time of writing this review.

#NOTSPONSORED

Disclaimer: I’m not a doctor, a health expert, or some other kind of expert in ecology, medicine, or whatever. I’m just a regular dude (albeit smart and amazing) reviewing stuff based on my personal understanding, research, opinions, worldview, and unique experiences. Therefore, do your own research and consult any professionals if you, for whatever reason, have to before making any decisions. Also, what works for me might just not work for you, and that’s okay. Try it for yourself and you’ll know.