You may have heard: Taco Bell is getting into the beauty business.
Because nothing says clear skin like Cheesy Gordita Crunch and Beefy 5-Layer Burrito.
The fast-food chain announced last week that it would be introducing “Mountain Dew Baja Blast Under Eye Patches” later this year. (Yes, really.) The news came at Taco Bell’s Live Más Live gala March 10, during which the company introduced more than 20 new menu items — though the under-eye patches are the only non-edibles being rolled out.
“For the Baja Blast die-hard, infused with caffeine and a refreshing boost of citrus,” Taco Bell said in a news release, “these patches energize skin and deliver cooling hydration.”
Taco Bell didn’t give a release date or share any more information about the ingredients in its soon-to-debut eye patches. So we were, well, hungry for information.
For starters: why under-eye patches?!
“It’s an opportunity to extend the brand beyond the category,” says University of Michigan marketing professor Marcus Collins, author of “For the Culture: The Power Behind What We Buy, What We Do, and Who We Want to Be.” “It’s about engaging in the things that are culturally relevant for a given group of people. Taco Bell has always seen themselves as skewing young — their brand ambassador is Doja Cat — and what’s important in the zeitgeist is a lot of health and wellness, beauty.”
Hydrating under-eye patches typically address puffiness, dark circles and wrinkles. The eye mask improves delivery of the active ingredients to the skin, says double board-certified dermatologist Elizabeth Bahar Houshmand. Common ingredients include hyaluronic acid to help with hydration, peptides for skin plumping, retinals for fine lines and vitamin C for brightening the under-eye area.
“It’s an unexpected crossover,” Bahar Houshmand says of Taco Bell’s imminent skincare product, “but we’re seeing more pop cultural and lifestyle brands entering the beauty space. From a dermatologist’s perspective, the key question for me is always: formulation [meaning ingredients], skincare efficacy and evidence-based clinical testing.”
Some of Bahar Houshmand’s favorite under-eye patches, on both the low and high end of the spectrum?
COSRX’s Peptide Collagen Hydrogel Eye Patch ($23): “I use them myself. They’re great, even for patients with more sensitive skin. I put them in the fridge and they have a nice cooling effect. It’s great for travel.”
SkinMedica’s Instant Bright Eye Mask ($50 for a pack of six): “It’s a splurge, but works nicely for dark circles and puffiness. It has golden root extract, which is great for environmental stressors; it’s a potent antioxidant and is good for hydration.”
If you instead go for Taco Bell’s under-eye masks, just drink plenty of water with your Taco Bell Nachos BellGrande, which is high in fat and has more than 1,100 mg of skin-dehydrating sodium.
“When people ask me about under-eye bags and puffiness, one of the first things I tell them is to decrease the amount of sodium in their dietary intake,” says L.A.-based dermatologist Ivy Lee. “Healthy skin is also a result of healthy and balanced diets.”
This story originally appeared on LA Times
