Mongongo oil is pressed from the nut of the mongongo, or manketti, tree of the Kalahari woodlands, and we use it for two reasons: its dry, silky touch and the way it keeps fresh. It is in four of our formulas: The Royal Kalahari Face Serum, The Royal Kalahari Under Eye and Lip Serum Roller Oil, and both versions of our Imperial Jade Body Oil. In each one it plays the same part, adding softness and slip without a greasy finish.
Why we chose mongongo
The feel
Mongongo is a light to medium oil that absorbs fairly quickly and leaves a soft, conditioned finish. Most of its fatty acids are polyunsaturated, led by linoleic acid, which gives it a different touch from the heavier, mostly saturated butters such as shea and coconut. On skin it reads as slip that settles, not slick that sits.
The way it keeps
Oils rich in linoleic acid are usually fragile; left open on a warm shelf, they are the ones that start to smell stale. Mongongo is the exception. It carries a high level of gamma-tocopherol, a form of vitamin E, and is known for resisting oxidation. For a formula that is opened and closed twice a day for months, that matters as much as how it feels on day one.
Its neighbor in the Kalahari
Our hero ingredient is Kalahari melon seed oil, cold-pressed from a wild melon that grows in the Kalahari of southern Africa. Mongongo grows in the same region and pairs naturally with it: the melon seed oil is featherlight and dry to the touch, and mongongo adds a little more cushion and a silky finish. Together they form the base of our Royal Kalahari family.
In The Royal Kalahari Face Serum
The Royal Kalahari Face Serum is the formula our brand is known for, winner of People's Star Beauty Award for Best Facial Care Product. It is a cold-pressed blend of botanical oils led by Kalahari melon seed oil. Baobab and camellia seed oils cushion and soften dry skin, passion fruit seed oil helps skin look brighter and more even, and tamanu comforts skin that looks dry or stressed. Mongongo, monoi de Tahiti, vitamin C and vitamin E complete it.
Mongongo's job here is texture and staying power: it helps the serum glide and leaves skin soft without a greasy feel. Warm four to six drops between your fingertips and press them into face and neck, morning and night. It has no added fragrance, and we make it by hand in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, in batches of 50 to 100.
In The Royal Kalahari Under Eye and Lip Serum Roller Oil
The Royal Kalahari Under Eye and Lip Serum Roller Oil uses the same family of oils, scaled for the thinnest skin on the face. Kalahari melon, baobab, mongongo, passion fruit, camellia, grapeseed and tamanu are joined by castor oil for a soft, glossy cushion and monoi de Tahiti for a faint floral warmth. The steel roller ball massages as it deposits, so a line under each eye and one pass over the lips takes a few seconds. Under the eyes, skin looks brighter, smoother and softly hydrated; on lips it leaves a soft gloss.
In Imperial Jade Body Oil
On the body, mongongo's dry, silky touch is what lets an all-oil formula sink in without leaving a tacky film. Imperial Jade Body Oil is a short list of plant oils: mongongo, Kalahari melon seed, marula, grapeseed and argan, finished with vitamin E. It comes in Hawaiian Black Lava, Moroccan Fig and Bergamot, or Violet and Bergamot.
The Rosewood and Litsea Cubeba Imperial Jade Body Oil is built a little differently, on grape seed and apricot kernel oils with marula, argan and pomegranate seed, and mongongo again for its silky finish. Its scent is smooth rosewood with a bright, lemony lift from litsea cubeba. Use either one straight after the shower, while skin is still damp, so the oil helps hold in the water already there.
One oil from morning to night
Because mongongo runs through all four, it is easy to carry through a whole day. In the morning, press in the face serum, then roll the under-eye oil along each lower lid and over your lips, and finish with sunscreen. After an evening shower, smooth Imperial Jade over damp shoulders, shins and elbows. Before bed, the face serum again. In the dry months, when the heating comes on and skin feels tight after every shower, this is the routine we lean on ourselves.
The Kalahari Icon Duo pairs the face serum and the roller, if you want to start with the face. Every oil in these formulas is listed in our Ingredient Library.
Questions about mongongo in our formulas
Which Marianella products contain mongongo oil?
Four: The Royal Kalahari Face Serum, The Royal Kalahari Under Eye and Lip Serum Roller Oil, Imperial Jade Body Oil, and the Rosewood and Litsea Cubeba Imperial Jade Body Oil.
Why put the same oil in a face serum and a body oil?
Because it does the same job in both: it adds a soft, silky finish without greasiness and keeps well over months of use. The other oils around it change with the part of the body each formula is made for.
Is the Royal Kalahari Face Serum mostly mongongo oil?
No. The serum is led by Kalahari melon seed oil. Mongongo is one of several supporting oils, with baobab, camellia, passion fruit seed, tamanu and monoi de Tahiti.
Does mongongo oil add a scent?
Very little. Unrefined mongongo has a faint nutty smell that disappears in a finished blend. The Royal Kalahari serum has no added fragrance; Imperial Jade gets its scent from our own perfumery.
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