You are what you eat—at least that’s what your mother always told you. But it’s also a new idea at the root of the hottest trend in skin care, nutricosmetics. With BORBA’s Skin Balance Waters (available at sephora.com), the promise of supple skin and improved elasticity comes via vitamins and plant extracts in the water. The line includes other sleekly packaged promises like the “skin treatment infused” jelly beans and gummi bears that flush toxins and improve skin clarity. They’re an easy way to boost our antioxidants and essential fatty acids, both of which protect skin against UV damage and maintain collagen levels.

“But for oral supplementation to be effective,” cautions Dr. Alan Logan, nutrition editor of the International Journal of Naturopathic Medicine and an instructor at Harvard Medical School’s Department of Continuing Education, “levels of these ingredients need to be much higher than what you would typically apply topically.” Logan likes Origins, the botanical cosmetics line that teamed with Dr. Andrew Weil, a world-renowned authority on health. Dr. Weil’s skin care line includes two ingestible supplements: Plantidote Mega-Mushroom Supplement (with anti-inflammatory ingredients like mushroom extract, ginger, turmeric, basil and flax seed oil) and Nite-trition Restful Sleep Supplement (which helps restore skin’s vitality overnight with melatonin, lavender, ginseng and chamomile). Seems the answer to youthful, healthy skin no longer lies at the bottom of a $200 jar of cream. —Rebecca Philps