Should You Be Drinking Your Face Mask? Well, I Did.
Over the past few years, the rise of holistic beauty is merging our pantries and bathroom cabinets as masks and creams are incorporating ingredients like matcha and manuka honey. But are these so-called clean beauty products actually clean enough to eat? Turns out, multi-use supplements are a growing part of the 22-billion-dollar clean beauty industry.
No, I’m not talking about the shaving cream that’s also a dandruff shampoo that’s also a body wash. Rather, these four products (three face masks and a powder) can be used on your face or spooned into seltzer depending on how you're feeling that day. It's an appealingly efficient idea—but how do these products actually taste? I decided to find out.
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Photo by Chelsie Craig1/4Golde Lucuma Bright Instant Exfoliating Mask
The mask: Golde started out as a wellness latte mix company, so I felt mostly safe starting my questionable taste test with their supplement-grade masks. Lucuma is commonly used as an alternative to refined sugar, and the dusky orange powder smelled like a fruit fly aphrodisiac: a heady mix of apricot fruit leather and Stevia. The chalky mask dried within minutes, and while I only noticed a bit of redness after washing it off, my hormonal skin looked calmer in the morning.
The taste: If an upstate health food co-op made their own Emergen-C packets, they’d probably taste like this. Mixed with water, the orange tonic has tartness from sea buckthorn (a Scandinavian berry high in skin-friendly fatty acids and Vitamin C), plus a mellow, butterscotch-like sweetness from lucuma. Honestly, it’s not bad. I finished the whole glass.
I’m keeping it: In my pantry to mix with yogurt and frozen mango for smoothies.
Buy it: Golde Lucuma Bright Mask, $34.
Photo by Chelsie Craig2/4Golde Clean Greens Anti-Pollution Face Mask:
The mask: I’ve been excited to try this “anti-pollution” mask since I removed my A/C window unit and spotting gray gunk inside. The city gloop looked like putrid bong water, and while I haven’t spent the past year dangling from a Lower East Side apartment building, the MTA can’t be having a positive affect on my skin either. Mixed with water, the mask becomes a thick mossy paste that smells like nori and sticks beneath my fingernails and, somehow, my earlobes. It’s all worth it, because my skin is smooth and bright in the morning. I’m already planning to make this mask a Sunday night staple.
The taste: I’ve sipped chlorella-spiked water before, so I brace myself for the musty mix of chlorophyll and spirulina. It’s there, but powdered mango juice adds a hint of unexpected—and very welcome—acidic sweetness. It’s inoffensive but not as craveable as a real green juice.
I’m keeping it: Behind the bathroom mirror for weekly masks. And I have a hunch it could be mixed with seltzer and lemon as an experimental hangover cure too.
Photo by Chelsie Craig3/4Four Sigmatic Mushroom Face Mask & Tonic
The mask: Four Sigmatic has been dominating the functional mushroom game for years, so I was curious to try their foray into skincare. By far, this was the messiest mask to mix. Removal was even worse. This is it, I thought, scrubbing my face in the shower. My secret worst fear of accidentally staining my face with a beauty product actually happened. But after a lot of scrubbing, I emerged with softer skin and rattled nerves.
Taste: I usually stick to iced drinks in August as a form of self-preservation, but Four Sigmatic’s packaging suggests hot water, and I want to be a good sport. As soon as I begin to mix together the intimidatingly inky liquid, I’m hit with the smell of gingerbread. It’s a blend of cacao, cinnamon, and reishi, which effectively masks any earthiness from the mushrooms and warms my throat. Reishi and chaga are thought to promote alertness, and I do feel a nice boost of energy despite skipping my morning coffee.
I’m keeping it: In the pantry, next to the mugs and far away from my skin.
Photo by Chelsie Craig4/4Moon Juice Pearl Powder
The mask: At first, I assumed “pearl” was a nickname. Consuming pearls sounded too opulent, even for Amanda Chantal Bacon. I was wrong: It’s pure pearl extract, sourced from “sustainable” freshwater farms and packing 340 mg of calcium per serving. Pearl powder has been used both as ingestible medicine and topical skincare in traditional Chinese medicine for centuries, so I go ahead and mix some into my moisturizer. After a week of use, my skin does seem to have a more even tone, but I’m not a fan of the chalky texture on my cheeks.
The taste: Moon Juicers are fond of mixing the powders into smoothies, which masks the taste entirely. Straight up, however, the pearl powder tasted like rancid ghee. The intense sour-sweet flavor turned my stomach and lingered in my throat. There’s no way I could drink this straight.
I’m keeping it: in my tote bag to give to a friend. The effects of pearl powder are well-documented, but I have enough powders crowding my shelves. After all, my original goal was to pare down my routine.
Buy it: Moon Juice Pearl Powder, $48.
