psst!...Unlock the secret of Pomegranate

You'd have to have been asleep at the wheel to have missed the newsflash about pomegranate. And if you were, then surely running into Minute Maid's Promegranate Blueberry juice at the grocery store should've raised an eyebrow. Yes, super-fruits--ie, pomegranate, acai, blueberry, durian--continue to be the rage for inner and outer beauty. And many of them have something in common, aside from being potent antioxidants: they're not made in the USA. At least initially--many super-fruits have actually been prized for eons in other parts of the world, and have only recently come to our mass attention.

For its July 2008 issue, Cosmopolitan spoke with a number of skincare mavens and media darlings from around the globe to find out their beauty secrets. Wei Brian, founder of exfoliator in its line that contains pomegranate--another known astringent--for those of us looking to cleanse & clear without having to know how to tell a persimmon from a tomato at first glance: cleanser.

If you want to try the real thing--that is, real pomegranate fruit, a few notes of caution...pomegranates typically are a pricier fruit; they're also no walk in the park to open and release the seeds (the part you eat). A tip on doing so...

1. Slice open the pomegranate in sections
2. Soak the sections in a bowl of water and then ease the seeds out--in the water--so they fall to the bottom of the bowl
3. Remove any rind or pulp from the water and drain.

It's a bit messy and time-consuming. Oh, and pomegranate stains--just ask my couch.

Have you tried Wei East Pomegranate Antioxidant Exfoliating Grains for Face?