Opulus makes retinol somehow simple via adorable little pods

If you thought all skincare came in the form of pre-made creams or serums, you thought wrong. And if you thought the only way you could adjust your skincare's temperature was to cool it down in a chic-but-space-stealing mini fridge, you thought even more wrong. 

The Opulus skincare system takes both of these assumptions and turns them on their heads. Rather than buying a moisturizer or night cream from a drug store, which typically comes in a classic bottle or pot, Opulus packages its unique formulas into small pods called Opoules. To use them, you put an Opoule into the Activator, which melts it down into a perfectly portioned, freshly activated, and optimally heated up dosage. 

"We've created a new format for cosmetics," said Dr. Robb Ackridge, inventor and co-founder of Opulus, "Think of a chocolate truffle with an outer hard shell and an inner center with a different cream or mixture to allow you to have a different experience. And that's what each of these Opuoles are based on the ingredients we put in the outer coat and inner core, where you can have an array of different products. Everything from face masks to creams to lotions, we can adjust that."

Depending on your skin goals, the Opoules hold different ingredients to achieve different aims. Currently, you can use Opulus with its in-system weekly hydration treatments, exfoliation treatments, AHA treatments, as well as nightly retinol treatments. 

Though all of the available treatments have different benefits, Opulus's retinol products have an additional appeal: They're organized into a prescribed regimen of active retinol treatment days and restorative hydration days. For those looking to get into the retinol game but who might be apprehensive at the potent ingredients and the need to self-schedule, Opulus's gradually increasing retinol amounts and scheduled routine takes all of the guesswork out. 

Easy peasy! Credit: Opulus

On top of the unique Opoule form and helpful retinol routines, Opulus's tech makes sure that your freshly melted skincare is delivered at 107 degrees Fahrenheit. According to Opulus's development team, this temperature makes for the best possible absorption into the skin, making your skincare supposedly more effective than ever. 

In this episode of Beauty, Hacked, host Jennimai Nguyen puts all of Opulus's big claims to the test over a 30-day testing period. After a month of using the Regimen 1 Retinol+ Starter System, she had tons of thoughts on what it was like to incorporate retinol into her routine for the first time in such a high-tech manner. Plus, she had insight into whether the perfectly measured 107 degrees Fahrenheit really made a difference in product absorption. Tune in here to hear her verdict, and see for yourself if the Opulus is worth the $395 price tag.