*AMINO PROTEIN MASK

The Amino Protein Mask is the latest addition to Kat Burki’s biochemistry-driven universe, and her first mask. Launched in October 2025, it sits at the top end of luxury skincare, positioned as an at-home alternative for people who are thinking about lift, firmness and early laxity, but who are not necessarily ready for in-office procedures. What makes it interesting is not the price point or the format, but the way it reframes collagen care: less about adding more to the surface, more about reactivating what the skin already knows how to do.

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At the core of the formula is what the brand calls “intelligent amino-based rejuvenation technology”: a three-step protocol that follows a biological sequence rather than a marketing one. Step one focuses on calming the field. Rosehip seed oil, sea buckthorn and hexapeptide-8 work together to reduce micro-inflammation and soften expression lines so the skin is not in a defensive state when the rest of the actives arrive. Step two is about communication. Hydrolyzed soy protein, rice amino acids, baobab seed extract (rich in lysine) and L-proline supply and signal the amino acids that form a large part of collagen’s structure. Instead of applying collagen from the outside, the mask brings the specific building blocks and cues the fibroblasts to use them. Step three concentrates on the areas that quietly define how “lifted” a face looks: the dermal-epidermal junction. Here, a low-molecular-weight teff seed extract targets collagen I, IV and VII, the types involved in anchoring and cohesion between layers. It’s one of the few masks explicitly designed to reinforce that interface, which we know flattens with age and contributes to loss of support.

All of this sits on top of Kat Burki’s Nutrient Delivery System (NDS), the architecture she uses across the line to move active ingredients where they need to go. The brand’s background in nutritional biochemistry is visible here: the mask is formulated so that each ingredient supports another, and potential blockers or common irritants are kept out. It reads more like a controlled delivery system than a long list of “hero” ingredients. For sensitive or reactive skin, that matters as much as the collagen story itself.

On the skin, the experience stays aligned with that philosophy. The texture is milky rather than dense, with the slightly botanical signature you recognise from the brand. It spreads easily with the brush, coats face, neck and décolleté without dripping, and rinses clean. You can use it in two main ways: a 10–15 minute treatment once or twice a week for maintenance, or as an overnight mask when the skin feels particularly depleted and you want deeper recovery. It was designed from the start to be used beyond the face, on areas like neck and chest that often show laxity first and receive care last.

In terms of placement, the evening makes the most sense: on clean, dry skin after cleansing, before any serums or creams. It slots naturally into a routine where the person is already using actives and wants to add a more structural step rather than another layer of correction.

Stepping back, the Amino Protein Mask is a good example of where high-end skincare is moving: away from topical collagen as an idea, toward targeted stimulation of the processes that sustain it, with attention to inflammation, communication and the dermal-epidermal junction. Used consistently, it offers something more valuable than a one-off effect: a measurable, clinically supported improvement in how the skin holds itself over time, with a formulation logic that respects both biology and the reality of a home routine.