These Venice Beach Beauty Potions Are Finally Catching on in Australia

Moon Juice, the Los Angeles-based juice-bar-turned-skincare-range that Gwyneth Paltrow herself endorsed, is finally making headway into the Australian market.

Back in 2011, Amanda Chantal Bacon (who despite her name, has been vegetarian since she was a child) started a juice bar, mixing fresh juices and mylks with ayurvedic ingredients to create health drinks, snacks and “dusts” (combinations of dried, powdered ingredients that promise various benefits) that swiftly developed a cult following.

After being diagnosed with an autoimmune condition as a child, Bacon found that a complete overhaul of her diet and a focus on Eastern wellness practices served her far better than Western medicine had.

A chef by trade, she worked in restaurants around the US, and it was while working in a restaurant in LA that she took the leap and decided to open her own shop. She chose Venice Beach as the location for her first shopfront (there are now three across LA), and it quickly became a success in the health-conscious city.

The brand caught the attention of the rest of the world in 2015 when Paltrow’s lifestyle website Goop shared a recipe for Sex Bark, a chocolate dessert that features Moon Juice’s libido supplement Sex Dust as a key ingredient. The following year, Gwyneth mentioned Sex Dust again, as one of the ingredients of her $200-morning smoothie. The internet went nuts and Moon Juice, with its cute packaging, wellness promises and Goop endorsement, became an international phenomenon.

Later that year, Moon Juice gained even more notoriety when Elle.com published a "Day On a Plate" article with Bacon that went viral thanks to its incomprehensible lists of ingredients: “I had a warm, morning chi drink on my way to the school drop off… It contains more than 25 grams of plant protein, thanks to vanilla mushroom protein and stone ground almond butter, and also has the super endocrine, brain, immunity, and libido-boosting powers of Brain Dust, cordyceps, reishi, maca, and Shilajit resin. I throw ho shou wu and pearl in as part of my beauty regime. I chase it with three quinton shots for mineralization and two lipospheric vitamin B-complex packets for energy."

Know what that means? Me neither... hence why so many find the pre-mixed potions far more preferable to hunting down a laundry list of difficult-to-find ingredients.

What is Moon Dust?

Moon Dusts are built around adaptogens—herbs traditionally used in Ayurvedic and Chinese medicine—and they claim to help with a variety of needs: Libido, concentration, skin health and sleep. The ingredients in Sex Dust, in case you’re wondering, are “a stimulating adaptogenic blend of Shatavari, Shilajit, Epimedium, Schisandra, Cacao & Maca that targets stress to support healthy hormonal balance – igniting creative energy, in & out of the bedroom.”

The Moon Dust range also includes Beauty Dust, Brain Dust, Power Dust, Spirit Dust and Dream Dust, among others, and fans say they are both delicious and effective.

Unfortunately for Australians with a penchant for magic powders, the full Moon Juice range still isn’t available Down Under, though some products are available through Amazon and Shopstyle.

Moon Juice Skincare

While it's difficult to get your hands on Moon Dust in Australia, we can still get in on the brand's beauty products. As of this year, Mecca is stocking the complete range of Moon Juice skincare.

Developed in 2018, after Bacon turned 30 and started noticing some changes to her skin, Moon Juice for your skin uses the same adaptogenic herbs as the rest of the line, like ashwagandha, Schisandra and reishi.

The skincare line includes a cleanser, exfoliator, hydrator and moisturiser, as well as collagen and beauty supplements (which aren’t available at Mecca) and a yoni oil (for hydrating and improving elasticity of your downstairs area).

The Milk Cleanse Gentle Wash is formulated to match skin pH so it doesn’t upset your biome, with coconut ferment to lather and moisturise, and adaptogenic reishi, silver ear mushroom and vitamin E to help hydrate and purify.

moon juice, Milk Cleanse Gentle Wash ($49)

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Acid Potion Resurfacing Exfoliator includes a 25% AHA + BHA acid complex to help resurface the skin and minimise fine lines, as well as adaptogenic reishi, niacinamide and tocotrienols to hydrate and calm skin.

Moon juice, Acid Potion Resurfacing Exfoliator ($64)

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Plump Jelly Hydrating Serum plumps thirsty skin and reduces fine lines with hyaluronic acid and PGA peptide to hydrate skin. Beet amino acid delivers water to your cells, while silver ear mushroom locks in moisture.

moon juice, Plump Jelly Hydrating Serum ($88)

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Cosmic Cream Collagen Protecting Moisturizer has potent ingredients ashwagandha, Schisandra, silver ear mushroom and hyaluronic acid, to increase elasticity and firmness, while locking in moisture.