I Tried the Latest Beauty Craze, and Wait — It Has Nothing to Do With Applying Products

By Carrie Carrollo

Trends may come and go, but as a beauty editor, my willingness to try them will never fade. Offering myself up as a beauty guinea pig is practically built into the job description.

On that front, I can confidently tell you that colorful nail art and festival glitter are what all of the cool kids are wearing these days. But on a more holistic note, one of the moment's buzziest beauty trends is one you may not see coming — and it doesn't involve applying a single product to your face, hair, or body. Allow me to introduce you to the world of ingestible beauty.

You may be familiar with the vitamins that promise to "strengthen hair, skin, and nails," but this trend takes things one — or several — steps further. It's focused on enhancing your entire body from the inside out. Formulas are crafted to aid with both tangible improvements (think clear, radiant skin) and things you can't see, like a good night's sleep. Best of all, brands like Nature's Bounty® are making the craze insanely accessible with a brand new line of Beauty Gels you can find nationwide at Ulta and local drugstores.

To see what ingestible beauty is all about, I've been taking three of the brand's formulas daily for the past few weeks. Now I'm reporting back with my findings. Keep reading to get the full lowdown and discover each product's many purposes and benefits.

You know what they say about beauty sleep: it's essential to waking up looking well-rested and radiant. But for me, both a night owl and a morning person, that doesn't come so easy. Whether I'm scrolling through social media, talking to someone on the phone, or tidying up my apartment, there are a million things that keep me awake at night. By the time I climb into bed, my mind is usually so overloaded with something to think or worry about that falling asleep often becomes difficult. That's where the GoodnightLovely Beauty Gels come in.

I was first intrigued by these gels when I noticed melatonin on their ingredient list. In case you're unfamiliar, it's a hormone known for helping regulate your natural sleep cycle. Though my friends have taken and recommended melatonin in the past, I never ended up trying it. But combined with the other ingredients in these gels, I'm glad I waited for this perfect blend. Beyond helping me fall asleep, these have hyaluronic acid to keep skin hydrated overnight. So now when I wake up, my skin looks as good as I feel.

For the past few years, my relationship with my skin has constantly been in flux. Though it's what I'd call "good" overall — even-toned, mostly clear, free of deep pores — it's reactive to the weather, stress, and all things hormonal. If and when I break out, it's most commonly on the lower half of my face and comes in the form of pimples I have to force myself not to prematurely pop. Luckily, I met the ClearComplexion Beauty Gels at just the right time.

Zinc and manganese are the dynamic mineral duo behind these skin-clearing supplements. For those dealing with non-cystic acne (the kind that sits on the surface rather than deep in your skin), zinc helps clarify your complexion. And for an added boost of beauty benefits, manganese is included to give your body much-needed antioxidant support. When I first started taking these supplements, I was dealing with an influx of whiteheads and stray pimples. Over the next few weeks, however, my skin became noticeably clearer — and no new unwelcome guests have arrived since. Combined with the weather warming up, my skin is the happiest it's been in a while. And with my birthday right around the corner, I'll gladly take that.

As much as I love my holy grail cream highlighter, getting my skin to glow on its own has been a major goal. I've cycled through quite a few beauty products to crack the code. Although I've discovered some good formulas along the way, when I heard about ingestible beauty, I had a feeling that might be the approach I needed to try. The GlowOn Beauty Gels proved my theory to be correct.

Designed to illuminate, help with fine lines, and fight against free radicals, this formula provides a trifecta of complexion benefits. Wheat seed-extracted Ceramosides® are the first notable ingredient on the list, which reduce the appearance of fine lines and leave you with smooth, glowing skin. To prevent free-radical damage, the antioxidant resveratrol is also included in the formula. While I can't see the effects of that specific ingredient (yet!), knowing it's there gives me major peace of mind. And when it comes to the benefits I can see, I feel like I've achieved my glowy skin goal. All it took was approaching my routine from the inside out.

*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.