Marcel’s Green Soap Hand Soap Orange & Jasmine Review

I don’t know why, but Marcel’s Green Soap Hand Soap Orange & Jasmine seemed way too scented for me when I first started using it. In fact, I was totally put off by it. However, I got the 500 ml bottle, so there was ways to go with that one.

This vegan hand soap would probably be better if it smelled like that chipmunk’s fur that you can see on the packaging, but anymoose…

Marcel’s Green Soap Hand Soap Orange & Jasmine is the first hand soap I tried by this brand, and despite its scent that I wasn’t a fan of, it’s definitely not the last. After trying it for a while, I was pleasantly surprised.

Ingredients

This eco-friendly hand soap is 100% vegan, has a microplastic-free formula, and is made with 97% biodegradable ingredients, as stated on the Marcel’s Green Soap Hand Soap Orange & Jasmine packaging and the brand’s website.

Here’s the full ingredient list:

Aqua, Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Sodium Chloride, Glycerin, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Sodium Benzoate, Parfum, Benzyl Salicylate, Citral, Citronellol, Hexyl Cinnamal, Limonene, Linalool

I suppose it’s worth mentioning that the glycerin is plant-based and has extra in there apparently. For softness. More about that softness a bit further along.

Also, according to the ingredient checkers, this is quite perfumey. Explains my initial reaction to the smell and its strength. Not sulfate-free either but free from colourants and alcohol.

Smell and Consistency

The way Marcel’s Green Soap Hand Soap Orange & Jasmine smells was a big ‘NO’ at first sniff for me. For some reason, the scent seemed way too strong. Maybe it’s because the shower gels by the same brand such as Marcel’s Green Soap Shower Gel Argan & Oudh and Marcel’s Green Soap Shower Gel Mimosa & Blackcurrant were rather softly scented. Compared to those, this was an overkill!

After using this vegan hand soap for a while, I actually got used to the smell and it wasn’t so unpleasant anymore. The scent didn’t seem as strong and I didn’t feel like using it up ASAP. However, I’m still not a big fan of it. I feel that it would be better to have just one scent in there. It kind of ruins what otherwise is a great vegan hand soap.

Marcel’s Green Soap Hand Soap Orange & Jasmine is thicker than the shower gels. Not as runny. Pretty standard for a liquid soap, I guess. No colour either.

Packaging

Recycled plastic, just like pretty much all the packaging from Marcel’s Green Soap. The packaging can be recycled again or refilled. No refills available at the store I got it from.

Marcel’s Green Soap Hand Soap Orange & Jasmine is available in 250 ml and 500 ml bottles. I saw that the brand also has a glass bottle with a pump, but haven’t seen that at the local store I get my eco-friendly products from.

The plastic bottle it comes in has a pump which works fine. It didn’t get stuck or anything like that when using this vegan hand soap.

Price

I find that Marcel’s Green Soap Hand Soap Orange & Jasmine is priced well. Sure, you can always find cheaper stuff out there, but sometimes it’s worth paying more.

These prices are true in January 2025 for a 500 ml bottle:

I got this from Nula Shop and it’s priced at €7,30 (likely it was on sale when I got it, but don’t remember how much that was).
Price at Marcel’s Green Soap website: €5,99

Quite the difference there, but if I were to order this directly from the brand, the shipping alone would be more than the soap itself for my particular location. No free shipping for bigger orders either, unless you live in the Netherlands. Nula Shop does offer free shipping for orders over €50, so that’s quite useful for when I want to try out more stuff and restock the eco-friendly products I like to use.

Where It’s Made

The Netherlands.

Summary

🟢 100% vegan.
🟢 97% biodegradable ingredients.
🟢 No colourants or alcohol.
🟢 My skin seemed to become well-hydrated and soft after I switched to this hand soap from some other random mainstream brand.
🟢 Bottle is from recycled plastic, including the cap. It can be recycled again or reused with refills.

🔴 I am personally not a fan of the smell. I don’t like it and it seemed too strong at first, but got better after using it for a while, but still… Did I mention that I did NOT like the smell?
🔴 It’s not sulfate-free and may irritate sensitive skin due to all perfuming. I personally had no issues with that, other than the scent itself.
🔴 Packaging is not plastic-free.
🔴 Maybe they could go up to 100% in biodegradable ingredients since it’s just 3% shy of 100%.

Honestly, it’s a great vegan hand soap, but I just really don’t like the smell. I did notice that my hooves (hands) stopped being so dry and cracky after switching to this soap. Plus, I used some other stuff by Marcel’s Green Soap in the shower, which probably helped with that too.

Would I Buy It Again?

Based on the smell alone… NO! But if I had to choose this and some random store soap, I would definitely go for this one. I will try some other scents or maybe the soap bars to see whether I prefer those over this one.

#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.