You’ll never find Tiffany Masterson, the founder of Drunk Elephant, looking for the latest ingredient craze on TikTok. Instead, she trusts her instinct—and a lot of research—to create the latest launches. “I don't want something because it's trendy; it doesn't work that way,” Masterson says. “Usually they come from my gut and from just using the line myself. If I've got to buy from another brand, it's usually time to make it myself. That's the way I decide what to make. It goes hand in hand with what the consumers are thinking and wanting around the same time. I might be a little bit early on it, because I'm studying ingredients every day.”

Drunk Elephant’s newest product, Bouncy Brightfacial, puts the ingredient spotlight on azelaic acid. Formulated with 10% azelaic acid, the leave-on mask, dropping on December 16, is rounded out with 1% salicylic acid and loads of antioxidants to brighten the complexion, plus minimize redness, acne scars, hyperpigmentation and uneven skin tone. Plant oils like marula, chia, fermented green tea and pumpkin seed provide hydration. There are also ceramides, niacinamide, tocotrienols and fatty acids to strengthen the skin barrier. Lecithin

Before and after photos of Drunk Elephant Bouncy Brightfacial

So how did Masterson land on making azelaic acid the star of Bouncy Brightfacial? “I went crazy the day I was choosing the ingredients for this product; it was really around azelaic acid and wanting to have that in the line,” she says. “I wanted to feature it because it's a really interesting ingredient, and we're all about acids. There are brightening ingredients that are supportive. There’s also salicylic acid for exfoliation, so it helps with pores, redness, calming skin, acne marks, clarity. People ask for that all the time; they have varying degrees of those issues. Bouncy Brightfacial can be mixed in with any of the other products; they all play well together. It can be used as a topical overnight mask and does not need to be removed.”

Since it’s such a multitasker, Bouncy Brightfacial can be used by a range of ages and skin types, from the teen battling acne to a mature person struggling with age spots or hyperpigmentation. “Its triple brightening complex on its own would be a great product,” Masterson says. Bouncy Brightfacial is the third mask facial in the Drunk Elephant line, following cult favorite T.L.C. Sukari Babyfacial AHA + BHA Mask and F-Bomb Electrolyte Waterfacial Mask.

The trio of Drunk Elephant masks: F-Bomb Electrolyte Waterfacial Mask, Bouncy Brightfacial and ... [+] T.L.C. Sukari Babyfacial AHA + BHA Mask

Designed to be used AM or PM, Bouncy Brightfacial is meant to be the last step in your skincare routine. It only takes two weeks to see a difference after using Bouncy Brightfacial, though full results will kick in at six weeks. “It can be used nightly or once a week; it totally depends on your needs,” Masterson says. “The goal was something for brightening. This you can use as a nightly mask and leave it on. It's very user friendly. It's not a tricky product; it's not something that I need to hold your hand and say leave it on for 20 minutes and take it off. We have several products, like T.L.C. Sukari Babyfacial AHA + BHA Mask, that need extra education around them, which is not the case with this. It's not irritating. It's not it's not intimidating at all. It's very easy to mix in and use it when you want it and I you see the results pretty quickly. It's effective.”

To find inspiration for new ingredients, Masterson goes deep with the research. That could mean visiting her go-to websites about health and wellness or simply googling the latest superfoods. “When you look at some of these vegetables or weird extracts or whatever, that's how I chose chickpea flour, which is one of my favorite things to eat in the world,” she says. “I wanted something that had a consistency of clay for T.L.C. Sukari Babyfacial AHA + BHA Mask, but that wasn't clay and had that kind of nice [texture] that you could spread.”

As for azelaic acid, Masterson was intrigued by the fact that it was a different acid that they hadn't tackled yet. “We like to bust myths; we like to use things in different ways,” Masterson says. “When I choose an ingredient, I really study what can be supportive of that ingredient, what can make it better, what amplifies it and then figure out how it plays with the others.”

DMSO Drunk Elephant products can have long ingredient decks—and Masterson sees that as a good thing. “There's a myth that the longer they are, the worse they are for you,” she says. “Not true at all. If one antioxidant is good, five [can be] better if they work synergistically. The more the merrier. Sometimes these combinations end up being so exciting.”