I don’t really consider myself much of a sweets person. I hate most candy, usually say “no” to dessert, and would honestly prefer a birthday block of cheese to a cupcake. However, if there’s one sweet treat I do find myself craving on the regular (and salivating over when I’m PMSing), it’s chocolate.
I’m a constant offender of sneaking into the secret Twix- and Milky Way-filled office drawer on stressful days, and can’t leave a grocery store without ogling the display of $12 gourmet chocolate bars first. Have you ever accidentally fallen asleep with multiple open chocolate bars in your bed after a night of drinking? I have—and it’s not pretty. (It was college. Maybe? Don’t judge me.)
That said, I’ve always looked at chocolate as a treat, something I should avoid eating too much of and follow up with a face mask if I do indulge in it. I never once thought I could eat chocolate that would not break out my skin and actually benefit my it. That is until Sakara Life launched their new Beauty Chocolates, a chocolate supplement said to improve the overall look of your skin in just a few weeks.
I was definitely a little skeptical at first. How was one delicious morsel of raw cacao and coconut sugar a day going to give me better skin? At the time, my skin was looking alright, but definitely not good. I had just beat a bout of eczema that flares up on my cheeks every few years or so, and my skin was still feeling a bit rough and dry in the aftermath (no matter how much squalane I dumped on my face before bed). On top of that, a stress- and PMS-induced facial Mount Everest was growing on my chin, which I inevitably would attempt to pop and then pick at, and, eh, you know the rest.
I was intrigued. I got my jar of tiny chocolate pyramids and let the experiment begin.
To be honest, I would trust anything that Sakara Life founders, Whitney Tingle and Danielle DuBoise, tell me to put in my mouth. They are healthy, plant-based eating geniuses and stand by the principal of beauty from the inside out. I started off taking one, sometimes two, a day for a little less than a month. At first, I didn’t notice much of a change, but once I hit the beginning of my third week, there were definite improvements.
First, though: How do the chocolates work, you ask? Well, obviously, these aren't regular chocolates. In addition to the raw dark cacao nibs, raw cacao butter, and coconut sugar, each morsel contains 70mg of plant-based, collagen-boosting phytoceramides that are derived from wheat (calm down—they’re still gluten-free). Ceramides, the natural lipids found in cell barriers, are what help skin retain moisture. The phytoceramides found in the Beauty Chocolates help restore this cell barrier, thus doing a ton of wonderful things for your skin, like improve moisture and elasticity, reduce wrinkles, and enhance the overall appearance of your complexion.
What this means is that, three weeks after starting my chocolate regimen, I skipped out on my foundation this morning because I simply didn’t need it. My skin looks, feels, and is hydrated, and seems to be soaking up skin-care products better than normal. My skin is also a bit softer, suppler, and glowier. My chin offender has vanished. While I don’t have any wrinkles to worry about reducing (yet), I just feel like I look better. Even my boyfriend—who was not aware of what the strange chocolates I was eating after my apple cider vinegar shot every morning—told me, “Wow, babe! Your face feels nice.” I’ll take it.
And as far as my sweet tooth is concerned? It's happily satisfied.
You can snag your own one-month supply of Beauty Chocolates for $45, here.
