Marula - The Leakey Collection

Rarely are successful beauty brands founded by humanitarians whose lives are dedicated to introducing sustainable, high-quality products, while creating lifelong entrepreneurial opportunities for rural Kenyans. Perhaps it would be more accurate to say never. Except in the case of our founder Katy Leakey. Katy is one of the pioneers behind Marula – The Leakey Collection, which is not only a force for good in East Africa, where Katy and her husband (and co-founder) Philip live, but an incredibly effective, sustainable and luxurious skincare product that women everywhere are discovering. Read more

Dr. Ashton Kaidi  and wife Michelle attended the "Sunset on the Serengeti" which was held at the Big Canyon Country Club in Newport Beach, CA. to support Cradle to Career(C2C): Kenya, which represents the best of African Child Foundation and Agano with Kenya. It is the commitment to stick with every child under Father Henry’s care who begins as an orphan or is mired in such poverty that hope seems elusive. C2C has a commitment to every child who is driven and committed to a top-level educational experience, and who is determined to complete the circle by giving back to their country and their fellow citizens.  Read more

Being resourceful is something Katy Leakey knows how to be. Living in East Africa, nothing goes to waste. "We are passionate about preserving the earth's precious resources and being good stewards of our planet. By recycling and applying sustainable practices in the creation of our products, we can help ensure that these resources will last well into the future." We we're inspired to think about how we could lower our own impact here at home. We came up with a few easy ways to reduce waste and think forward with an eco-conscious lifestyle.  Read more

By now you know we love to share information about the beauty and skin benefits of Marula with you, and trust us, we do, but there is something else Marula does, beyond the bottle that we think is just as beautiful. You know the old cliché, beauty is only skin deep? Well here at Marula, it’s beyond that. Your support of our products and our business help better the lives of women in East Africa. As a proud member of the Fair Trade Federation, the production of Marula Oil provides rural women an essential sustainable source of income with which they feed, clothe, and educate their families. Sharing Marula with you helps us share a better and brighter future for our sisters working to produce Marula oil. If beauty was only skin deep, it wouldn’t look or feel nearly this good to give back. Thanks for your support from the MarulaBeauty team and from the beautiful families and futures in East Africa.  Read more

October is Fair Trade Month but in our world...it is every day.

When we thought about bringing Marula Oil to the West from East Africa, it wasn't part of our thought process to bring you something ordinary, we wanted to create a beauty oil that delivered something extraordinary!  Paying attention to every detail, we did our homework...we wanted to get this right because so much depended on YOU...falling in love with our formula. Designing the bottle was a labor of love. From the luxurious dark glass bottle that extends the life of our oil to the twist applicator which we purposely selected to deliver the perfect amount of oil for facial application.  Read more

There is a documentary, inspired by the book, "Half The Sky", airing on PBS both Monday, October 1st and Tuesday, October 2nd at 9/8 Central.

This book and documentary are so spot on when it talks about turning oppression into opportunity.  One of the key messages you will hear throughout this film is “the importance of creating work opportunities for women in rural communities.” The Leakey's have dedicated their lives to creating natural products using sustainable methods that provides rural women an essential sustainable source of income with which they feed, clothe, and educate their families. Their work is a testament on how opportunity has an affect that is far reaching.

Dr. Ashton Kaidi, learned about the lives the Leakey's were changing. When they brought the oil to him and told him about what they had witnessed in regards to the healing benefits of the oil, he tested  Marula oil on his breast cancer patients with amazing results. He then joined the Leakey's and together they are committed to bringing beauty to the lives of women around the world. Read more

We love that our Marula oil spreads beauty while sharing beauty. And we especially love it when we find cool and interesting forms of beauty like this particular inspirational Beauty Quote by Audrey Hepburn. Are you on the hunt for finding beauty?

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International Youth Day is August 12th and what better way to acknowledge that day then to talk about how our co-founders, Katy and Philip Leakey, have been at the forefront in their rural communities in East Africa when it comes to making a difference in education. Marula - The Leakey Collection and The Leakey Collection, both strive to bring you beautiful and reliable products with an added social benefit that improves the health, life, and development conditions for our sisters in East Africa.

One of the most exciting ways your purchases contribute is by providing the work opportunities that allow the women to educate more of their children. In the past families usually could only afford to send one child to school, and it was typically a male. Also, as more parents were able to afford to send their children to school, the classrooms became overcrowded.

To combat this, co-founders Philip & Katy Leakey, founded T.R.A.D.E., Trust for Rural African Development and Enterprise, a non-profit dedicated to create sustainable environments in rural Africa. One project through T.R.A.D.E. rejuvenated the education system by building more classrooms and by paying for more teachers in rural areas, which lowered the student teacher ratio from 80/1 to 35/1. Another program dedicated to positive and sustainable community change is the Beads for Learning program that our sisters at The Leakey Collection have created. As we grow and add additional beauty to our product line, East African mothers will be able to send more of their children to school, with a majority of them being girls! Read more

One of our favorite quotes that we love comes from the Oscar 2012 nominated movie "THE HELP". Mae Mobley is the young girl who is constantly criticized by her mother, and Aibileen is the caregiver of young Mae, who tries to counter the effect of this cruelty with a daily ritual of repeating these words: “YOU IS KIND, YOU IS SMART, YOU IS IMPORTANT.” Aibileen’s daily ritual made a positive impact on a small child whose confidence and self-esteem were in constant jeopardy by her mother’s actions. It is a testimony to how words can inspire and make a difference.  Read more

July 4th is a fun affair usually celebrated with family picnics and barbecues, attending a fireworks display that your local town will put on when the sun goes down.  But did you know that July is also National Blueberry Month?   Read more