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—MEET THE POWER PLANTS THAT GO BEYOND THE SKIN'S SURFACE. BY ABBY MONTANEZ When I was handed my first jar of Beauty Dust, I'll admit, I couldn't quite figure out what it was. What did "edible radiance" mean and how could it combat stress from within? It sounded like what I'd consider to be a modern day potion of sorts, but in reality, it's a powder that people like Gwyneth Paltrow stir into their morning matcha tea. is comes from adaptogenic beauty brand, Moon Juice, whose line of magic "dusts" can enhance almost any aspect of your life from brain and spirit to dream, sex and power. Plant remedies have been around for thousands of years, but leave it to the millennial era to bring them into the mainstream and world of Instagram. To- day, you're most likely to see adaptogen lattes on the Internet or rainbow-colored adaptogenic coconut butter spread onto toast. At Moon Juice, they have reci- pes for collagen coffee, chia pudding, pastry dough and more with healing properties that deliver on everything from increased libido, glowing skin and improved immunity. Adaptogens have become the beauty industry's next big craze because, to put it simply, they are a blend of "super- herbs" and extracts that Moon Juice says expand your body's capacity to handle mental, physical and emotional stress. As the name suggests, what qualifies an ingredient as an adaptogen is that they have the unique ability to help your body "adapt" over time to lifestyle factors. Knowing myself, I'm not about to start incorporating words like chaga, maca, astragalus or ashwagandha into my daily vocabulary but something as simple as Beauty Dust seemed doable. Don't fret if looks of confusion oen follow suit—the goal for brands like Moon Juice is to make these elixirs and powders more approachable. e idea behind adaptogens is that they slowly and gently balance your body from the inside out. e easiest way to understand their inner workings, I've learned, is to envision a thermostat and how it can both bring down the tempera- ture of a room that is too hot and warm up a room that's too cold. You won't sense a sudden change in temperature either way but rather, it will gradually adjust itself and your body will adapt. V U E N J . C O M 42

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