Magic Mind Review

No matter where you are in life — student, employee, caregiver, stay-at-home parent, or something else entirely — you’ve likely experienced (or are currently experiencing) a frustrating drop in motivation and productivity at some point due to stress or burnout.1 2 But, with 44% of employees worldwide experiencing “a lot of stress” in the workplace, you’re not alone in feeling this way.3

As stress and a resulting lack of motivation are so globally widespread, many companies have started developing products intended to help you reduce stress while boosting focus and energy. One such product is Magic Mind, dubbed by the company as “The World’s First Productivity Drink.” This once-daily matcha shot contains 55mg of caffeine and various vitamins, minerals, and other herbal ingredients, like turmeric and lion’s mane mushrooms. But does the science support the company’s claims?

In our review, we analyze Magic Mind's efficacy, safety, cost, taste, and more to help you determine if it’s right for you.

Magic Mind’s once-daily matcha-based “Productivity Shots” are relatively pricey drinks that include a nice blend of vitamins, minerals, and other herbal ingredients that generally have a fair bit of research supporting the company’s claims. Based on what we know about a few ingredient amounts, these potentially beneficial inclusions are dosed lower than the amounts shown to be effective in studies (though this isn’t very uncommon in the supplement space). Even with lower-than-ideal doses, our testers saw positive results from Magic Mind and experienced feelings of increased focus and motivation. However, everyone responds differently to supplements, so your mileage may vary.4

Over the past two decades, Innerbody Research has helped tens of millions of readers make more informed decisions involving staying healthy and living healthier lifestyles.

For our review of Magic Mind, we combed through 40+ studies on key ingredients like matcha, ashwagandha, Rhodiola, and all the others. We also got hands-on with the product; our testers purchased and tried Magic Mind for themselves over the course of a week to see if they could feel any of the purported benefits. Then, to learn more about the product, we spoke with customer service representatives on topics like ingredient safety and third-party testing.

Additionally, like all health-related content on this website, this review was thoroughly vetted by one or more members of our Medical Review Board for accuracy.

To evaluate Magic Mind, we considered the criteria we often keep in mind when evaluating similar supplemental products: helpfulness, safety, cost, and customer support. Then, because Magic Mind is a drink and not the usual capsule-based supplement, we also added a criterion for the all-important taste.

Helpfulness

Magic Mind boasts quite a few ingredients with the potential to help people feel less stressed and more motivated, but from the little bit we could find out about the amounts in the proprietary blend, most of them seem a little underdosed. This doesn’t necessarily mean they can’t help you (our testers had positive experiences with Magic Mind), but it does mean they’re either less likely to help or the possible benefits will be less pronounced than what studies have found.

Some ingredients are available in proper amounts, though, such as ashwagandha and Rhodiola rosea. And other ingredients, like B vitamins and matcha (green tea), have long been known to have health benefits.

Additionally, it’s worth noting that underdosing and obscured ingredient amounts aren’t all that uncommon in supplements with multiple ingredients. Competitor Onnit’s Alpha BRAIN Focus Shot is a bit underdosed in ingredients like L-theanine and lion’s mane, and Moon Juice’s Brain Dust only provides the amount of its proprietary blend (3g) with no additional information. Thesis, on the other hand, stands out as one of the few competitors with a majority of ingredients that closely align with research.

Safety

Since the FDA doesn’t regulate dietary supplements, it’s important to investigate what supplement companies do to ensure the safety of their customers.5 This often includes things like third-party testing, certifications, manufacturing products in facilities that adhere to current Good Manufacturing Practices (cGMP), and maintaining transparency about any test results.

Unfortunately, Magic Mind doesn’t provide any information about its manufacturing facilities (unlike competitors Moon Juice, Onnit, and Thesis, all of which note production in GMP-certified facilities), but it does conduct third-party lab testing on each individual ingredient and then again on each completed batch of the drink. Magic Mind tests for:

• Heavy metals
• Toxins
• Harmful bacteria
• Other food contaminants

The company is also transparent about its test results and will send a certificate of analysis (CoA) to anyone who emails customer service and requests a copy.

In terms of the ingredients themselves, none are available in doses high enough to cause medical issues on their own, but they may interact with certain prescription drugs (particularly blood thinners, antidepressants, and diabetes medications). So, it’s important to consult a medical professional before starting Magic Mind or any new supplement.

Additionally, Magic Mind is vegan- and paleo-friendly, and it’s free from gluten, nuts, and dairy. It does contain 3g of added sugar (agave), so those following a keto diet should bear this in mind.

Cost

To put it plainly, Magic Mind can be expensive — especially if you stick to one-time purchases rather than subscribing. The chart below offers a quick breakdown of the costs.

As you can see, subscribing (even if you cancel it right after) is definitely the more cost-effective route. Standard shipping is also free for U.S. customers who subscribe, but you’ll need to pay with one-time purchases of a 15-pack; the 30-pack qualifies for free shipping.

To provide some additional pricing context, let’s take a quick look at some competitors:

• Moon Juice offers a 14-serving nootropic powder called “Brain Dust” for $38 or $34.20 with a 10% off subscription.
• Onnit’s Alpha BRAIN Focus Shot comes in packs of six or 24, with one-time purchase costs of $23.99 and $76.77, respectively. Subscribing takes 15% off and lowers those prices to $20.39 and $65.25.
• A month’s worth of nootropics capsules from Thesis costs $119 as a one-time purchase or $79 when you subscribe (and you can take an additional 10% off your first Thesis order using code INNERBODY).

Taste

Even though Magic Mind has a bit of an acquired “healthy” taste, it’s no less tasty than greens powders, for instance. If you’ve tasted and tolerated those, then you’ll likely be just fine with this product. It has a strong matcha flavor with a bit of vanilla, fruit, and herbs. Our testers found that it took around three or four tries until it was palatable. Since taste is so subjective, though, you may love it instantly, or you could never warm up to it.

Through trial and error, our testers found that drinking Magic Mind cold or adding it to orange juice helped mellow any bitterness.

In our opinion, it’s likely not something you’d want to consume for pleasure — most supplement products aren’t — but the small 2fl oz bottles also make it much easier to drink quickly, similar to Onnit’s Alpha BRAIN Focus Shots. And if you’d rather skip tasting your supplements entirely, then capsules, like those from Thesis, could be a good alternative.

Customer service

The Magic Mind customer service experience really stands out. The company’s representatives respond quickly, answer inquiries in a friendly manner, and are more than happy to help you learn about ingredient amounts for potential drug interactions.

As noted in the safety criterion, they’re also willing to help you find additional safety information, like the certificate of analysis for whichever ingredients you ask for.

And a few days after interacting with a representative, our testers received a follow-up email from the Customer Team Lead requesting feedback on improving the “customer journey,” along with another email containing a 15% off coupon code. Even though these additional emails are more than likely attempts to get you to purchase the product, our testers' customer service interactions overall made them feel like valued customers.

In our experience, Magic Mind strikes a good balance with its emails; the company refrains from bombarding you with spam messages and mainly just lets you know about sales or checks in to see how the drink is working for you (and requests feedback).

And if Magic Mind doesn’t work for you, there’s no need to return the product; the company will refund your first order “no questions asked.” Competitors Thesis and Moon Juice have policies where the companies will accept returns within 30 days of delivery; the former, however, will only refund one month’s supply. And Onnit’s 90-day return policy only includes returns on the 24-pack of Focus Shot.

Founded in 2020 and based in Los Angeles, Magic Mind is the company behind what it calls “The World’s First Mental Performance Shot,” which bears the same name.

The Magic Mind drink is a matcha-based, lightly-sweetened blend of nootropics, adaptogens, and other herbal ingredients intended to help boost your focus and productivity without the perceived drawbacks and dangers of coffee and energy drinks. Its star ingredients, matcha aside, include components like ashwagandha, bacopa monnieri, turmeric, Rhodiola rosea, and mushrooms (lion’s mane and cordyceps).

Each bottle of Magic Mind contains 2fl oz of the ready-to-drink formula, and it’s intended to be taken only once per day. This is in contrast to many other supplements on the market that require taking multiple pills (like Thesis) or measuring out and mixing a drink yourself (such as with Moon Juice’s Brain Dust).

Environmental initiatives

If the thought of Magic Mind coming in a bunch of single-use plastic bottles is off-putting to you, the company has a “carbon-capture partnership” with climate-tech company Pachama to offset supply chain emissions. And Magic Mind also utilizes the post-purchase platform Corso to handle things like tracking, returns, shipping protection, and sustainability. These initiatives, Magic Mind claims, make it a “carbon-negative company.”

Magic Mind brand reputation

Unfortunately, Magic Mind has neither a Better Business Bureau (BBB) page nor a helpful Trustpilot one. The Trustpilot page does, technically, exist, but it’s not claimed by the company, and it has zero reviews at the time of this writing.

On Amazon, Magic Mind has 4.2 out of 5 stars from 365 total reviews, with the overall complaint being about the product’s high price. (Some customers noted that the subscription option on Amazon doesn’t save you nearly as much as subscribing directly from Magic Mind.)

Reviews on the Magic Mind website are 74% 5-star out of 1,888 total ratings. However, reviews on a product’s website (or official Amazon store) have the potential for bias, which is why we’d prefer to see active BBB and Trustpilot profiles.

Magic Mind can be for any adult (not pregnant or breastfeeding) who wants to try a supplemental concoction of ingredients in the hopes of boosting their motivation or productivity while reducing stress.

As a once-daily shot of a matcha-based drink, it could be an ideal solution for those interested in the 26 ingredients Magic Mind offers, but who don’t want to (or can’t) take a bunch of pills.

And for those with dietary restrictions or allergies, Magic Mind is paleo- and vegan-friendly, and it’s free from gluten, nuts, and dairy. If its 3g of added sugar is planned around, it could also be suitable for keto diets.

However, despite its name, Magic Mind is not actually magic, and it may not be suitable for everyone or fit their unique needs. Here are some potential reasons to reconsider Magic Mind or look elsewhere for your concerns:

• If your lack of focus or motivation is intense or more like severe brain fog, it may be worth speaking with a doctor to rule out any medical conditions.
• For those on certain medications, particularly blood thinners or those for diabetes, ingredients like ashwagandha and Rhodiola rosea (among others) can interact and alter how they work.
• If you’re sensitive to certain bitter tastes or you simply would rather avoid tasting your supplements in general, then a similar product in pill form, like Thesis, could be ideal.
• Anyone who can’t tolerate caffeine may do better with an alternative, such as the caffeine-free options from Thesis or Moon Juice’s Brain Dust.
• If you’re concerned about the 3g of added sugar, Onnit’s Alpha BRAIN Focus Shots are only sweetened with stevia extract.

Additionally, even if you’re perfectly healthy and taking no medications, we always recommend speaking with your doctor before starting a new supplement.

Each 2fl oz bottle of Magic Mind provides you with the following calories and Daily Value (DV) of macronutrients (protein, fat, carbs), vitamins, and minerals:6

• Calories: 21
• Total fat: 1g (1% DV)
• Sodium: 20mg (1% DV)
• Total carb: 3g (from 3g added sugars, 6% DV)
• Vitamin D: 25mcg (100% DV)
• Vitamin C: 100mg (111% DV)
• Potassium: 183mg (14% DV)

Protein, cholesterol, calcium, iron, and potassium are also listed under the Nutrition Facts, but they all have either 0mg or 0% DV. Magic Mind isn’t intended to be a meal replacement, like Soylent or Huel, so the lack of macronutrients is to be expected. The full Daily Value of vitamins D and C is appreciated, though, especially since around one billion people worldwide are deficient in vitamin D.7

Similar to Moon Juice’s Brain Dust, many of the ingredients in Magic Mind (but not all) are organic. Thesis, in comparison, doesn’t include any organic ingredients. The full list of Magic Mind ingredients is as follows, and items marked with an asterisk (*) are organic:

The first six Magic Mind ingredients — matcha, agave, passionfruit, vanilla, red beet, and potassium sorbate — are listed on their own (and, besides matcha, are mainly for flavor), while the remaining 20 are all part of the Magic Mind Nulixir Patented Blend. Neither the standalone nor blend ingredients have any amounts listed, which, while disappointing, isn’t all too uncommon with supplement products. The ingredients in Brain Dust, for example, are entirely housed in 3g of a proprietary blend.

However, what does stand out about Magic Mind is its customer service team’s willingness to help you learn a few of the ingredient amounts if you have a medical concern or take prescription medication. When one of our testers reached out to inquire about ingredient doses, their customer service representative said that “for proprietary reasons,” they couldn’t share too much information, but they were “happy to share a couple of them” due to our tester’s medication interaction concerns.

With this opportunity to ask, our tester learned the amounts of four Magic Mind Nulixir Blend ingredients:

• Ashwagandha: 250mg
• Rhodiola rosea: 150mg
• Citicoline: 125mg
• Bacopa monnieri: 125mg

Besides the olive oil, these are the four most prominent ingredients in the proprietary blend. (Ingredient labels are organized based on quantity, something manufacturers are required to do.)8 Even though it’s only four out of 26 total ingredients, any additional information like this can help us determine how likely Magic Mind is to work.

For most adults who aren’t pregnant or nursing, yes, Magic Mind should be generally safe. However, as with any supplement (drink, pill, gummy, or otherwise), we always recommend speaking with your doctor first before adding it to your daily regimen.

Some ingredients in Magic Mind may interact with certain medications. Because there are so many ways herbal ingredients can alter the effectiveness of prescription drugs, consulting a professional is ideal. But, below, we’ll list out a few notable interactions and warnings.

It’s important to keep in mind that these are all potential interactions, not guaranteed — everyone responds differently to various supplements.4 As we noted earlier, Magic Mind is likely safe for most adults who aren’t pregnant or breastfeeding.

Interactions aside, since the FDA doesn’t regulate supplements, it’s important to check what steps companies take to ensure consumer safety.5 In Magic Mind’s case, the company subjects each batch of its formula to third-party lab testing for heavy metals, toxins, harmful bacteria, and other contaminants. (Thesis and Moon Juice also use independent third parties for testing.) And you can reach out to Magic Mind’s customer service via email to get a copy of the latest certificate of analysis for the ingredients of your choice.

Magic Mind is also paleo- and vegan-friendly, and the formula is free from:

• Gluten
• Nuts
• Dairy

Each bottle of the drink does, however, contain three grams of added sugar from agave, which the company notes should be taken into consideration by those adhering to a keto diet.

Additionally, each bottle of Magic Mind has 55mg of caffeine. This is well below the recommended daily limit of 400mg, but some people are more sensitive to caffeine than others, and even small amounts can impact their sleep or make them feel jittery.15

On the card included in each Magic Mind order, the company lays out what a few of its ingredients are meant to accomplish. In this section, we’ll compare these claims to what researchers have to say.

For focus

The ingredients Magic Mind utilizes for focus include phosphatidylserine, lion’s mane, bacopa monnieri, and citicoline. From our testers’ experience with customer service, we know that there’s 125mg of bacopa and 125mg of citicoline. This information can help us compare the effective doses used in research to what’s in Magic Mind.

Overall, these ingredients for focus (and the amounts we know about) are quite a bit less than those used in successful studies. However, the combination of the ingredients may allow them to work off of each other (like citicoline and caffeine, as mentioned above). While we’d prefer to see dosages closer to those used in studies, many supplements with a large number of potentially beneficial ingredients, like Magic Mind, tend to have them at lower-than-ideal amounts; Onnit’s Alpha BRAIN Focus Shot suffers from the same thing.

For energy

Magic Mind’s energy-promoting ingredients include matcha, cordyceps, Rhodiola rosea, and vitamins B2, B3, and B12. The only ingredient dose we know in this lineup is 150mg of Rhodiola rosea.

Overall, it feels like Magic Mind’s energy ingredients have more solid ground to stand on, research-wise, than those for focus. Matcha and B vitamins, in particular, have fairly extensive knowledge behind their energy-promoting properties, but cordyceps and Rhodiola are certainly promising.

If you’re sensitive to caffeine, then Thesis’ Energy formula (the caffeine-free version) could be an ideal alternative. For more information on this supplement and other alternatives, check out our guide to the best vitamins for energy.

For less stress

Magic Mind’s ingredients for potentially reducing stress include ashwagandha (in the amount of 250mg per bottle), L-theanine, and turmeric.

It’s pleasantly surprising that Magic Mind’s ashwagandha dose lines up with research, and its use of L-theanine is promising, too. The addition of turmeric for stress is a bit confusing unless, as we noted, it’s meant more for oxidative stress than emotional stress. Magic Mind is the only product mentioned in this review to include turmeric, and this lack of strong evidence supporting it specifically for emotional stress, focus, or motivation may be why.

Whether it was the drink itself or the power of suggestion, our testers did feel more focused and motivated when they drank Magic Mind over the course of a few days. While all of our testers found it to be at least somewhat beneficial, one with ADHD found that it worked particularly well when paired with their prescription medication. They reported that it allowed them to better move their focus from one task to the next instead of accidentally hyperfocusing (something not always helped by medication).42

Our testers' reviews of Magic Mind’s taste, however, weren’t exactly stellar. They all felt it was an acquired taste that left a slight bitterness behind. The inclusion of piperine also caused a slight burning sensation in the back of the mouth.

To make the taste a bit more palatable, our testers tried drinking Magic Mind in a variety of ways. Ultimately, though, the best outcomes were either drinking it cold (if you have nothing to mix it with) or combining it with some orange juice (as pictured above).

It’s worth mentioning that Magic Mind is not shipped cold, nor does it require refrigeration — it just tastes better when it’s cold.

Magic Mind is available as a one-time purchase or a subscription. If you plan on trying it, we recommend the subscription — even if you cancel it right after your purchase ships. With a subscription, you stand to save quite a bit of money. The chart below breaks it all down.

Subscribing to the 15-pack saves you $30, and subscribing to the 30-pack saves you $51. So, with how easy it is to cancel a subscription in your customer dashboard (it only takes one click of the “cancel” button, and there are no penalties), even if you only want to try Magic Mind once, it’s worth it to subscribe. The same can be said for Onnit’s Alpha BRAIN Focus Shots and other competitors, like Thesis.

Magic Mind also has an Amazon store, but the costs are all equivalent to the one-time purchase prices — and the subscription doesn’t save you nearly as much (only 5%) as it would if you purchase direct and subscribe.

If you’re not feeling the magic from Magic Mind, the company will refund your first purchase “no questions asked,” and no returns required. This is similar to our experience with Thesis; the company let our testers keep their purchase but refunded their money. Onnit also has a similar policy with its Keep It guarantee, where you’ll get to keep your first purchase and still get your money back. The only odd one out is Moon Juice, which will accept returns within 30 days of delivery and then issue your refund.

Even though Magic Mind calls itself “The World’s First Productivity Drink,” that doesn’t mean there aren’t other products out there that could provide you with similar potential benefits. Below, we’ve listed a few different alternatives to Magic Mind; some are drinks or powders, while others are more traditional supplements.

Onnit Alpha BRAIN Focus Shot

Onnit’s Alpha BRAIN initially began as a pill-based supplement, but the company has since begun offering it as a once-daily shot similar to Magic Mind. However, the ingredients differ between the pill and the shot. For example, the pills include phosphatidylserine (same as Magic Mind), while the drink leaves it out. But the drink includes ashwagandha, and the pills don’t.

Overall, though, Focus Shot is most similar to Magic Mind, and it includes matching ingredients like:

• Ashwagandha
• Citicoline
• Lion’s mane
• L-Theanine
• Natural caffeine from green tea
• Vitamins B6 and B12

Price-wise, the Focus Shots are quite a bit less expensive than Magic Mind, but you are getting fewer ingredients (with several similarly underdosed). Available in two flavors and in packs of six or 24, pricing is as follows:

Moon Juice Brain Dust

Brain Dust from the company Moon Juice is an adaptogen powder you mix into your drink that’s meant to help your focus, mental stamina, alertness, and concentration. Brain Dust’s ingredients are solely housed in a proprietary blend (as with Magic Mind), but you are given the blend’s total amount, 3g.

Several ingredients are similar to those in Magic Mind — lion’s mane, Rhiodioa, and ashwagandha — but others are unique, such as the following:

• Maca root
• Astragalus
• Ginkgo leaf

Unlike Magic Mind and Onnit’s Alpha BRAIN Focus Shots, there are no vitamins or minerals in Brain Dust. And it’s also quite a bit less expensive. Each container of Brain Dust has 14 servings, and you can either purchase it once or on a subscription.

• A one-time purchase is $38
• Subscribing takes 10% off and costs $34.20

Thesis

One thing Magic Mind definitely has going for it is convenience; it packs a bunch of potentially beneficial herbal ingredients into one 2oz daily matcha shot.

Taking multiple pills isn’t the most convenient option, but it can help you to better tailor your daily regimen exactly how you want — you often have more freedom over which ingredients you take, and it can sometimes be more cost-effective.

In the case of Thesis, you have the option to build a monthly box made up of six different weekly blends:

• Clarity
• Creativity
• Logic
• Energy
• Motivation
• Confidence

When compared to Magic Mind, the Clarity, Energy, and Logic blends sound most similar. Looking at their ingredients, you can spot similar names like lion’s mane, l-theanine, citicoline, and bacopa monnieri. However, there are also a lot of unique ingredients in each specific blend, such as the Energy blend having mango leaf and theacrine.

And, unlike Magic Mind, Thesis gives you the ability to choose whether or not you want caffeine in your supplement.

As with the other products mentioned in this review, Thesis can be purchased once or as a subscription. Each delivery provides you with a month’s worth, and you can take 10% off your first month with code INNERBODY.