My skin hit peak winter pathetic last week — dull, flaky, and clinging to moisture like a miser. I needed a reset that didn’t leave me looking like a crocodile purse.
So I slathered on June Jacobs’ Pumpkin Enzyme Mask, the 4 oz tube ($68) promising to dissolve the dead-skin buildup that cold air creates faster than a bad habit.
It’s a creamy, orange-tinted gel that smells like pumpkin pie filling — not the artificial candle kind, but the real spiced puree. The brand claims it resurfaces and brightens without disrupting your moisture barrier, which is a bold promise for a chemical exfoliant.
Pumpkin Enzymes
These break down the glue holding dead cells to your face — gentle enough for weekly use but strong enough to fix that flaky chin patch.
Lactic Acid
An AHA that pulls double duty — exfoliates *and* pulls in moisture, so your skin doesn’t scream after rinsing.
Shea Butter
The safety net. Most enzyme masks forget this step; this one doesn’t, which is why dry skin types can actually tolerate it.
Photo: Mockup Free / Unsplash
It’s not just pumpkin — that’s the marketing. The real workhorses are fruit enzymes (papaya, pineapple) paired with a low-dose lactic acid, which is the smartest combo for winter. They exfoliate at different speeds, so you get a glow without the sting.
- Pumpkin Extract: Enzyme-rich, boosts cell turnover without heat
- Lactic Acid: Exfoliates AND hydrates — double agent
- Shea Butter: Rebuilds the lipid barrier post-exfoliation
- Vitamin C (Ascorbyl Palmitate): Brightens without the irritation of pure L-ascorbic acid
Photo: engin akyurt / Unsplash
It glides on like a thin custard — no gritty bits, no burn. There’s a faint warming sensation for the first 60 seconds, which freaked me out, but it’s just the enzymes reacting with your skin’s pH, not a chemical burn.
By week two, my forehead texture was gone. The pores around my nose looked smaller — not smaller, just *less visible* because there’s no dead skin filling them. The one shocker: my usual winter redness actually calmed down after rinsing, which I did not expect from a mask that’s actively eating away at your face.
Photo: Camille Brodard / Unsplash
After three weeks of weekly use, my foundation sits better, the flaking around my nose is gone, and my skin actually reflects light instead of just absorbing it. It didn’t fix my dry cheeks overnight — that’s a moisturizer’s job — but it made everything I put on top absorb twice as fast.
It’s the winter reset your skin has been begging for — but it’s a treatment, not a moisturizer. Pair it with a heavy cream after and you’re golden.