I Tried The Goop-Approved Edible Moon Juice Dusts For A Week

I confess I'm a little obsessed with beauty trends. I follow hundreds of beauty and wellness bloggers on Instagram and Twitter who influence the things I put on my face and into my body. I've tried everything from terrifying rubber K-beauty masks that promise to make your skin supple to pretty-looking personalized vitamins, all so I could be one with the cool girl blogger pack. I also live in Los Angeles, arguably one of the trendiest cities in the world. Basically everyone here is a cool blogger.

One brand that continually pops up on all my newsfeeds is Moon Juice. Moon Juice is a longtime favorite of wellness superstar, actress, cook-book author, and all around blonde goddess Gwyneth Paltrow. Gwyneth made waves when she shared the recipe for Moon Juice's "Sex Dust Bark" — basically a luxe $60 chocolatey dessert designed to stimulate lovers' libidos — through her lifestyle website-slash-brand Goop. But she made headlines when she revealed that she enjoyed the dust so much that she stirs it into her $200 breakfast smoothie!

This hit home for me for multiple reasons. One, I love desserts! I will always eat chocolate when it is present — and if it has some sort of magic sex dust in it that will benefit me and my potential lovers, sign me up! Two, I might as well be spending $200 on my smoothies due to all the bee pollen and spirulina I add when they offer it to me at Whole Foods, so I am basically Gwyneth Jr.

It doesn't help that the company was founded by a Paltrow-peer and ultra-coolgirl named Amanda Chantal Bacon. And by doesn't help, I mean it entices me 100 times more. I had read her interview with Elle regarding what she eats every day and found the backlash over the fact that she enjoys things like "cordyceps, reishi, maca, and shilajit resin" ridiculous. Do people not realize how cool that is? Well, no, because the average person probably can't even pronounce half of those words. It's definitely not a McDonald's No. 2 with sweet and sour sauce (please feel free to send one of those babies to my office), but why would the founder of a wellness juice shop that sells herbal powders, tonics, nut butters, and dehydrated superfoods eat like any of the rest of us?

Plus according to their website, "Moon Juice represents a holistic lifestyle that goes far beyond juices, milks, and snacks. It's a healing force, an etheric potion, a cosmic beacon for those seeking out beauty, wellness and longevity." It's a cosmic beacon! You think Amanda Chantal Bacon, avid kundalini yoga student and inventor of a million low-glycemic recipes, even cares what you think? She doesn't! She is too busy getting the models and celebrities who Instagram her refreshing juices and sweet-looking sachets to join her on this astral plane of spiritual and physical wellness and beauty.

Being a woman who dabbles in wellness trends and spaghetti carbonara, I decided to try a week of Gwyneth-approved Moon Juice dusts. The little jars looked sweet and unassuming on their website, where they sell for $38 each, and are perfect for lining up along my kitchen counter. I was hoping that by starting this journey, I would finish with a few cute Instagram stories and a noticeable improvement in both my internal health and my outward appearance.

I was able to sample four of the six options. Choosing was definitely a process, but I was able to narrow it down to products that promised to address things about myself that I wanted to improve or enhance. So I went with Beauty Dust, Brain Dust, Spirit Dust, and Dream Dust, because I would like to be a more beautiful, brainy, spirited, and well-rested individual. (I am already very sexy and felt that consuming Sex Dust might make me overwhelmingly so. You're welcome, world.)

Day 1
You may recall from my previous journalistic endeavors that I am a big liquids person. That's why I put a generous teaspoon of Beauty Dust into my morning coffee and green juice. Why not boost all of my sources of hydration with a little beauty enhancement?

The Moon Juice website describes the Beauty Dust as, "An adaptogenic blend of transformative superherbs and pearl that help combat the effects of stress to expand your beauty, luster, and glow from within."

The mixture is supposed to help the body preserve collagen protein and enhance elasticity, and it supposedly contains ingredients that protect the cells from free radical damage and help the body cope with stress. Not 100 percent what I was expecting, but beauty doesn't always mean Bambi-like eyelashes and clear skin — sometimes it means internal wellness! And I think that's equally as beautiful.

The Beauty Dust powder was pink and a little gritty, but dissolved totally into my drinks. I could not taste it in my green juice, but my coffee definitely had a tiny tang (that I enjoyed). I did not add it to my bottle of water, as I felt that it might be too strong. After all, it's not Emergen-C, which is meant to flavor your drinks with a vitamin C blast — this is Beauty Dust. As I sat at my desk I hoped I was becoming lovelier by the minute.

As I am attempting to limit myself to one cup of coffee a day, my next dust experience did not occur until bed time, when I chose to sample Dream Dust.

According to the label, "Dream Dust is an adaptogenic blend of tranquil superherbs and Chamomile Flower that help combat the effects of stress to soothe your tension for deep, nocturnal rest." It contains ingredients that reduce stress to promote restful sleep, alleviate the effects of stress and tension, and helps promote better sleep. Sign me the heck up, I am sold. I love sleeping.

I made a cup of stress-relief lavender tea and stirred in a teaspoon of Dream Dust and a little bit of honey. I actually really love how the Dream Dust made my tea a little milky and frothy. It had no taste, which I preferred.

Either I was insanely tired that night (I am limiting my coffee intake) or this stuff works. I fell asleep faster than usual and stayed in a deep and restful slumber. I didn't even wake up groggy — which is unusual for me. Could it be a fluke? I knew I had to try it again.

Day 2
I scooped Brain Dust into my coffee this morning. The website lists Brain Dust as, "An adaptogenic [my new favorite word!] blend of enlightening superherbs and supermushrooms that help combat the effects of stress to align you with the cosmic flow for great achievement." It is supposed to enhance focus and mental stamina, promote mental clarity and concentration, promote a positive mind and mood, and alleviate stress.

Not only is the word supermushroom superappealing to me, but so is enhanced focus and mental stamina. As a writer and an editor I need all the focus and mental stamina that I can get. This powder looked so soft I almost put my finger in it to see if it felt like flour — but then I remembered that germs exist and admired it inside the jar instead. It had no taste, which is great! Did I notice any change in my focus? Not really, but I noted that I did not feel as anxious and that I was in a pretty good mood. Perhaps clarity would come with time.

This morning I also experimented with dust in my food. I added a teaspoon of Beauty Dust into my cereal! On the website it says you can put the dust into coffee, tea, milk, water, smoothies, cereals or almond butter. I had a bowl of Cinnamon Toast Crunch (it is the taste you can see) with vaguely pink almond milk. The cereal masked the tangy taste and honestly the color of the milk was kind of cool. My journey to inner (and outer, honestly) beauty was still in play!

That night I used Dream Dust in my ginger tea and knocked the heck out. So far this is my absolute favorite dust. I don't think it's a placebo effect, because while I was tired, I wasn't that tired, and it helped me have a more restful sleep. I am very sold on Dream Dust.

Day 3
I used Brain Dust in my first cup of coffee and Beauty Dust in my second cup of coffee today. Yes, I had two cups of coffee today despite my earlier attempts to limit myself. Either I am wired on caffeine or this Brain Dust is working a little bit. I am not jittery, and I am getting a ton of work done. I have yet to notice any effects from the Beauty Dust, but perhaps my friends do. I snap them a selfie of my face, enjoying some coffee. No one responds. Thanks, guys.

Day 4
I have some news. I am a Spirit Dust convert. Last night, I attended a party and consumed various delicious fruity cocktails. This morning I have awoken fully damaged. I have a headache, my stomach feels sour, I feel like I want to eat but I also feel like the mere scent of a bagel will promote me to vomit. Coffee! Coffee is the cure. I recall there being a latte recipe on the Moon Juice website that I can make with a dust. I have yet to try the Spirit Dust, but I am painfully aware that my spirit is currently suffering, so I should definitely give it a swing.

I make the latte. It is wonderfully easy. I combine 6 ounces of almond milk, 6 ounces of cold brew, and 1 teaspoon of Spirit Dust. The Spirit Dust has no taste. Bless. Normally, coffee after a night of drinking stabilizes me enough to sit on the couch and watch TV while slowly eating toast. But after downing this latte I feel shockingly better.

The jar of Spirit Dust says, "Spirit Dust is an adaptogenic blend of uplifting superherbs and supermushrooms that help combat the effects of stress to expand peaceful awareness and align you with bliss." It is meant to enhance feelings of emotional well-being, promote a positive mind and a sense of relaxation, and increase resistance to stress, tension, and irritability. What it really did was cure my hangover quickly and painlessly. I even made a second latte with the dust, and felt pretty much back to normal. Like I said, I'm a Spirit Dust covert.

Day 5
Today I made yesterday's latte but with Beauty Dust. I still have not given up on being beautiful! However, I am now insanely curious about the other two dusts that I did not select, Sex Dust and Power Dust. According to their website, "Sex Dust is an adaptogenic blend of lusty superherbs and Shatavari that help combat the effects of stress to ignite your creative energy, in and out of the bedroom." And Power Dust is "an adaptogenic blend of elite superherbs and supermushrooms that help combat the effects of stress to fuel your physical and entrepreneurial feats."

I know a lot of the cool Insta bloggers I follow always take pictures of their sachets of Sex Dust, but I am a PG blogger and will leave something that ignites my creative bedroom energy to other domains. Power Dust also kind of sounds like Brain Dust, which may or may not be providing me with focus.

I drink hot water with lemon and Dream Dust before bed. I fall asleep blissfully. I am truly shocked that this stuff is not just straight-up crushed melatonin (it isn't — I double-checked). It is however, 10 calories a serving! I thought my beloved Dream Dust would be calorie-less, much like my dreams! Do all of the dusts have calories? After some minor frantic checking, I find that all of the dusts contain 10 calories per serving. Whatever.

Day 6
Back at work with a coffee full of Brain Dust! Feeling focused and alert.

After dinner I decided that I would try some Spirit Dust while I'm feeling healthy as a horse, just to see. I sprinkle it on a bowl of non-dairy Ben & Jerry's 7 Layer Bar. I feel great! But then again I am eating ice cream.

Day 7
Today concludes my Moon Juice journey. I do not feel any more (or less!) beautiful or brainy, but I do feel well rested, and now I know a fantastic hangover cure. I enjoy a Starbucks coffee with a teaspoon of Brain Dust and take time to reflect. I am not 100 percent sure if it is working but it definitely can't hurt. Overall I would say this experience has been positive. Did I achieve Gwyneth status? Probably not. But I did enjoy the little ritual of putting something I believe is going to be beneficial to my well-being into my food and drink. I think it helped me set a positive intention throughout my day. Maybe that was the magic of the Beauty Dust after all: My thoughts have become pretty.

*Food samples for review were provided by their producers at no cost to the writer.*

Lily Rose is The Daily Meal's West Coast Editor. She is currently on the hunt for a tasty vegan cream cheese. You can follow her food adventures on Twitter and catch up with all of her content on The Daily Meal here.