The Botanical Face Treatments That Truly Transform Skin
When we first started working with Anima Mundi at Superskin, what immediately convinced us was the density of the formulas. He Shou Wu, gynostemma, mangosteen, wild horsetail, helichrysum, rose otto: every ingredient points back to a precise medicinal tradition. Central America, Chinese medicine, Ayurvedic herbalism. And above all, not a single filler ingredient in sight.
Founder Adriana Ayales grew up in Costa Rica in a family of herbalists. She spent 13 years studying with shamans and master herbalists before opening her apothecary in Brooklyn. This isn’t a marketing angle. You feel it in the textures, in the efficacy, and in the way the skin responds over time.
Here’s how to integrate Anima Mundi facial skincare into a real routine — product by product, step by step.
What makes Anima Mundi different: whole plants, not standardized extracts
Most “natural” brands work with standardized extracts: isolate one active compound, concentrate it, stabilize it chemically. It works, but it separates the plant from what gives it coherence — its co-factors, associated minerals, and enzymes.
Anima Mundi works differently. The plants arrive whole at the Brooklyn laboratory, harvested at the peak of their medicinal potency. Extractions are made using osmosis-purified water, vegetable glycerin, and organic cane alcohol — solvents that preserve the plant’s entire active spectrum. The result is dense, saturated textures that smell like something because they actually contain something.
On the skin, this translates into cumulative efficacy. By the second week, you notice your skin behaving differently in the morning. The following month, your complexion looks more even. It’s not magic — it’s plant biochemistry working over time.
The Anima Mundi face routine, step by step
A note on application order before we begin: in this routine, the oil is applied before the cream, which may seem counterintuitive. Usually, skincare is layered from the lightest texture to the richest, with cream applied before oil.
Here, it’s intentional. Anima Mundi’s Collagen Booster Face Oil is not a finishing oil designed to occlude the skin — it’s an active treatment. It contains adaptogens and botanical actives that need to reach the deeper layers of the epidermis to act on collagen receptors. Applied directly onto clean, toned skin, it penetrates where it needs to go. The Immortelle Cream then seals everything in and delivers its own spectrum of surface-level actives. If you reversed the order, the cream would create a barrier that slows the oil’s penetration.
Step 1: Rose Water as toner and first treatment step
Anima Mundi’s Rose Water is a true floral hydrosol, distilled from organic rose petals. It acts simultaneously as a toner, a skin-prep step, and a gentle makeup remover for sensitive skin.
How to use it: after cleansing, pour a few drops onto a cotton pad or mist directly onto the face. Pat gently without rubbing. Do not rinse. This step balances the skin’s pH after cleansing and helps the following actives penetrate more effectively.
Usage tips:
- Mist over makeup at the end of the day to instantly refresh and revive the complexion.
- Use it instead of water when mixing the Rose Face Mask: the soothing effect is noticeably enhanced.
- A few sprays on your pillow at night: rose has calming properties on the nervous system that are well documented in aromatherapy.
- For sunburn or redness, apply chilled directly from the refrigerator.
Who it’s for: all skin types, including highly reactive skin. Particularly effective for redness-prone or rosacea-prone complexions.
Step 2: The Collagen Booster Oil as an active serum
This is the hero product of the Anima Mundi skincare range. Rather than simply delivering surface hydration, this oil targets the skin’s collagen receptors to stimulate its own collagen production. He Shou Wu and gynostemma for tissue regeneration, calendula and comfrey for cellular repair, mangosteen and rose for antioxidant protection — all suspended in a fast-absorbing base of jojoba, rosehip, and chia oils.
How to use it: 4 to 6 drops warmed between the palms for a few seconds. Apply onto slightly damp skin after Rose Water, using upward movements over the face and neck. Morning and evening.
Usage tips:
- Pair it with a gua sha at night: 5 minutes on oiled skin decongests tissues, enhances active absorption, and boosts microcirculation. This is the sequence we personally use at Superskin — and the one that changes skin texture the most over time.
- For very dry skin, add one drop of moringa oil to your usual amount of Collagen Booster Oil before applying.
- If you wear SPF in the morning, apply the oil beforehand: sunscreen filters need a neutral skin surface to adhere properly.
Who it’s for: all skin types, including oily skin. Jojoba oil regulates sebum production rather than increasing it. Highly reactive skin: start with evening use only.
Step 3: The Immortelle Cream to seal and regenerate
Italian helichrysum is nicknamed the “eternal flower” because it never wilts after being picked. Its diketones — rare regenerative compounds unique to this plant — stimulate cell renewal and natural collagen production without any true synthetic equivalent.
The formula combines this helichrysum with aloe vera, jojoba, mango butter, He Shou Wu, nettle, mangosteen, gynostemma, calendula, horsetail, and tea tree oil. It hydrates, regenerates, and purifies simultaneously. Lightweight texture, fast absorption, perfect under makeup.
How to use it: apply a small amount after the oil, dotting onto the forehead, cheeks, chin, and neck. Pat gently into the skin without pulling.
Usage tips:
- As an intensive treatment, use it around the eye area as well. Helichrysum is one of the rare botanical actives associated with visibly reducing dark circles by improving microcirculation.
- At night, apply it to the neck and décolleté. Horsetail and nettle support tissue elasticity — and it’s an area we almost always neglect for too long.
- In winter, add half a drop of moringa oil to the cream in the palm of your hand before applying to boost hydration without changing the texture.
Who it’s for: primarily dry to combination skin. In summer or on very oily skin, the oil alone is often enough without layering the cream on top.
Step 4: Jojoba Oil and Moringa Oil, the customizable treatments
These two pure organic cold-pressed oils do not replace the Collagen Booster Oil, but can be integrated throughout the routine depending on your skin’s needs at the moment.
Jojoba oil is technically a liquid wax whose composition closely resembles human sebum. It regulates sebum production, absorbs without leaving residue, and does not oxidize easily.
Tips for jojoba oil:
- As the first step of a double cleanse at night on dry makeup: massage onto dry skin for 30 seconds before adding water to emulsify. It dissolves foundation and waterproof mascara without disrupting the skin barrier.
- Use pure around the eye area morning and night. 1 to 2 drops gently patted in with fingertips: it absorbs instantly and doesn’t migrate into the eyes.
- As a quick hair mask on lengths and ends before shampooing, 20 minutes under a warm towel. Jojoba’s sebum-like structure repairs ends without weighing hair down.
- Mix a few drops into your foundation in winter for a more luminous, skin-like finish.
- Moringa oil contains zeatin, a rare plant cytokinin that directly stimulates cellular regeneration. Fine texture, subtle nutty scent, very fast absorption.
Tips for moringa oil:
- Use as a pure evening serum in a 4-week treatment cycle: results on skin clarity and radiance are particularly noticeable on dull or tired complexions.
- Apply directly onto mild dark spots morning and night using fingertips: zeatin accelerates the renewal of pigmented surface cells.
- As a repairing treatment on dry or chapped lips, half a drop is enough.
- Massage a few drops onto cuticles and weakened nails in the evening.
- As a finishing touch on styled hair: smooth one drop through the lengths to tame frizz without heaviness.
Step 5: The Rose Face Mask, 1 to 2 times per week
A powdered mask you prepare yourself. No preservatives, no added water, and actives at full potency that activate only at the moment of use. Rose powder for astringent and anti-redness effects, hydrating hibiscus, blemish-targeting mangosteen, balancing white kaolin clay, and soothing aloe vera.
How to use it: mix one tablespoon of powder with two teaspoons of liquid into a smooth paste. Apply onto clean skin, leave for 10 to 15 minutes, then rinse with lukewarm water using gentle circular motions.
Usage tips:
- Replace water with Anima Mundi Rose Water to amplify the soothing effect and make the mask fully coherent with the rest of the routine.
- Use raw honey instead of water for very dry or damaged skin: honey is humectant and mildly antibacterial, enhancing the mask’s repairing effects.
- Use it at night just before applying the Collagen Booster Oil. On freshly exfoliated and purified skin, the oil’s actives penetrate significantly better after a clay mask. It’s the most effective sequence we’ve tested.
Who it’s for: all skin types. White kaolin clay is the gentlest cosmetic clay, and even sensitive or reactive skin tolerates it well.
The Anima Mundi routine, summarized
Morning:
- Rose Water: mist or pat onto clean skin, do not rinse
- Collagen Booster Oil: 4 to 6 drops onto slightly damp skin using upward movements
- Immortelle Cream: a small amount as the finishing step depending on your skin type
- SPF (mandatory, even in winter)
Read our article on why you should wear sunscreen every day.
Evening:
- Double cleanse with jojoba oil if wearing makeup, followed by your regular cleanser
- Rose Water to rebalance skin pH
- Collagen Booster Oil, ideally with a gua sha
- Immortelle Cream as the finishing step
1 to 2 times per week:
- Rose Face Mask before applying the oil.
- To go further, pair this topical routine with the Collagen Booster Powder or the Anima Mundi Collagen Booster Elixir internally. Skin synthesizes its own collagen more efficiently when it simultaneously receives the precursors it needs: silica from horsetail, calcium from nettle, and He Shou Wu.