In the heart of the imperial capital of Phoenix, in a small apartment cluttered with books, coffee cups, and drafts scattered like autumn leaves, Isabelle Ryen, 30 years old, freelance webnovel writer, pressed her temples with fingers stained with holographic ink. The dawn had been devoured by words and more words. Three new chapters. Two cups of black coffee without sugar. Zero hours of sleep.
She was about to write the protagonist's big revelation when...
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK.
The knock on the door cut the atmosphere like a knife in butter.
Isabelle closed her eyes with a long sigh, as if every gram of inspiration was draining down the drain of existence. Grumbling something about the curse of insomnia-dependent delivery people, she dragged her feet to the door.
"Who is the lost soul interrupting me at seven fifteen in the morning...?"
On the other side, an Amazon Imperial delivery man smiled professionally. "Delivery for Isabelle Ryen. Please sign here."
She signed, still with half-closed eyes, and received a luxurious black box, with a matte finish and the shiny Diamante Tycoon logo engraved in the center.
The product's name was there, in an almost ethereal handwriting:
LUX™ — Immediate Perfection Facial Mask.
"Ah…" she murmured, scratching her head. "That so-called miracle mask. I just wanted a test, not to sell my soul..."
She closed the door, left the box on the table, and went to get scissors. She wasn't an influencer, nor a celebrity, much less rich. She was just a woman with skin tired of living on coffee and words, hoping that, just once in her life, the marketing was not pure collective delirium.
Upon opening the box, she found four small individual masks sealed in a translucent security wrapper. The inside seemed to contain particles that moved like a liquid microcosm, adjusting according to the angle of the light.
"Well... If LUX doesn't work, maybe I'll use it to write science fiction," she joked.
Without thinking much, she took one of the masks and applied it to her face, noticing it molded like silk, cold and comfortable, as if it had been custom-made for her face.
The mask did not run, nor burn. It just... was.
The instruction system suggested leaving it on for half an hour. But Isabelle, exhausted, lay down on the sofa and fell into a deep sleep in less than five minutes.
Two hours later...
Isabelle woke up slowly. The sun invaded the room through the window, and she blinked a few times before getting up. The mask had completely dissolved, as if absorbed by the skin. She went to the bathroom mirror—and stopped.
Stopped breathing.
Stopped thinking.
Stopped existing for a few seconds.
Her skin... was different.
Where before there were open pores, dark circles, fine lines, and that tired tone that seemed tattooed on her dermis, now there was a smooth, luminous, uniform surface. It was as if she had gone back ten years in time and spent the last ones eating organic salads and sleeping on silk.
She moved closer. Pinched the cheek's skin. Smiled. The skin returned immediately to place.
"…What the hell is this…" she murmured, eyes wide open. "This isn't cosmetic. This is scientific witchcraft."
She ran to her room, grabbed her cellphone, and searched for an old selfie she had taken before applying the mask.
The previously tired and dull skin now contrasted violently with the new Isabelle.
She took a new selfie, with natural light, no makeup, and posted a carousel on Instagram with the caption:
BEFORE X AFTER (no filter, no makeup, not selling my soul)
"I tried that #LUX from Diamante Tycoon and thought it was just rich celebrity hype. But... I'M SHOCKED. That's it. My face went back 20 years. I refuse to believe this is legal. Is this legal???
Ps: not sponsored. But if you want to sponsor me, please, my DM is open.
#tycoonlux #perfectskin #nofilter #beforeandafter #skinmiracle #stillshocked"
She dropped the cellphone and went back to work on her webnovel chapter.
Only this time, smiling.
---
Meanwhile, in a busy city in the interior of the Phoenix Empire, where skyscrapers still competed with noble houses in imperial style, Lucas nervously adjusted the package in his hands as he climbed the steps of his girlfriend's small townhouse. The day was sunny, and he had spent the entire morning researching how to surprise her with something more than flowers and chocolates.
He rang the doorbell. "Ju? Open the door, love!"
Julianne, or just Ju, opened the door with a suspicious expression and her hair tied lazily.
"If this is another heart-shaped necklace, I swear I'll hit you with the packaging," she said crossing her arms.
Lucas laughed shyly and extended the small luxurious box sealed with the label: LUX – Immediate Perfection Facial Mask.
"It's not a necklace. It's alien technology disguised as cosmetics. It will change your life," he joked, excited. "It's from Tycoon. The LUX mask."
Julianne raised an eyebrow, taking the box.
"You spent money on that? Love… I already bought the new from True Beauty. That one… the Vérité Absolue? Super expensive, global launch." She rolled her eyes. "It'll end up expiring here, stored."
"But just try it once, come on…" Lucas insisted. "They say it's absurd. And you keep complaining about your skin when you're stressed. Just test it. For me."
She huffed dramatically but took one unit from the box and turned her back, walking to the bathroom.
"If my skin falls off, you'll love me bald and smooth," she shouted from the door.
"Always," he replied, laughing.
Thirty minutes later...
Julianne came out of the bathroom silently, eyes wide open, skin so smooth and luminous it looked covered by a real-time social media filter. She ran her fingers over her cheeks, chin, forehead, and could only murmur.
"Dude... what... is this real?"
Lucas, lying on the sofa, raised his eyes and froze. "My God. Ju... you look like you're 15 years old. Like… a version of you that didn't even exist yet."
She blinked, startled. Then ran to the living room mirror and turned her face from side to side. "I swear on everything sacred, Vérité Absolue never did this. Never. It just… hydrated. But THIS… this made me look like I went back in time, Lucas. It's like… cosmetic surgery in a sachet!"
He stood up, approaching with a smug smile. "So... it wasn't money wasted?"
"You're a genius. A beautiful genius." She gave him a quick kiss and grabbed the cellphone from the table.
She positioned herself in front of the mirror, put on a little lipstick just to add some charm, and took a selfie next to Lucas, pressing her face against his with a scandalously radiant smile.
In the Facebook post caption, she wrote:
"This man gave me the gift I didn't even know I needed. The LUX mask from Tycoon gave me baby skin post-alien treatment. Never spending on another brand again. Ps: look at this skin!! [Crying face emoji]"
#luxskin #tycoonmiracle #beforeandafter #naturalbeauty #boyfriendnailedit #bestgift
Minutes later, likes started exploding.
Friends began commenting. People asking where she bought it. A cousin sent a message asking if it was some new filter. A college friend said she would buy "right now." Even the gossip aunt liked it with a heart emoji.
Julianne flopped on the sofa with the cellphone in hand, smiling, while Lucas put his arm around her.
"Love... this mask didn't just save my skin. It saved my self-esteem."
"And you saved my dignity by not hitting me with the box," he joked.
She laughed loudly.
"Next time, get me another one. Not a necklace. Another LUX. Three boxes."
Social media buzzed.
Julianne's post went viral in hours. The algorithm couldn't resist the organic charisma of the before-and-after. And as if it were a trigger, thousands of other women started doing the same: natural photos, glowing skin, emotional comments about how the LUX mask had changed their beauty routines—and their lives.
And then... came the cascade effect.
TikTok. Instagram. Threads. Pinterest. Even on X (formerly Twitter), the hashtags exploded:
#LUXbabyface #LuxFromTycoon #ExclusiveInPhoenix #IWannaLUX #BoycottTrueBeauty #ElenaGoddessOfSkin #TycoonDominating
And at the center of the viral explosion... her. Elena.
The commercial starring Elena returned to the trends. The short, hypnotic video, with a soft theme song and the singer's clear voice—had already been reposted in 34 languages by fans who subtitled the content spontaneously.
Fanarts popped up.
Cosplayers tried to replicate the beauty of the commercial's look.
And a phrase said by Elena in the video, unintentionally becoming a catchphrase, now printed on t-shirts and stories everywhere:
"Beauty is what shines when you feel alive." Elena, LUX.
Morning shows started debating the "LUX phenomenon," with dermatologists, influencers, and even marketing experts trying to understand how a cosmetic product, sold exclusively in a single country, was dominating the global internet in hours.
In forums and international networks, the tone was unanimous: frustration.
"I bought the Vérité Absolue thinking it was the peak. After seeing this LUX video, I want to cry." @beautybyLiane (California)
"Anyone live in Phoenix and can send me a box? I pay 3x the price." @KimuraGlow (Japan)
"Tycoon needs to launch this worldwide! It's torture just watching!" @Sara.Belle (Italy)
Meanwhile, in Phoenix, the feeling was... delicious.
The empire's people, used to being targets of technological envy for their cities, top universities, and vertical parks, now had something more:
exclusive beauty.
LUX became a status symbol.
"Have you used LUX?"
"Of course. I bought two boxes in the pre-sale."
"Lucky you. I'm on the restock waiting list."
"My friends abroad are freaking out."
With every story shared, every before-and-after posted, Phoenix's population self-esteem inflated. It was almost a "ticket" to the select group who had access to what the rest of the world desperately desired.
Meanwhile, in the glass towers of Diamante Tycoon...
Victoria watched the reports being updated in real time. The LUX engagement graph—initially projected for controlled peaks—had broken all models.
She took a sip of jasmine tea, eyes dancing among the data.
"ÆVA," she called calmly. "Tell the logistics team to reinforce stocks in the main cities of Phoenix. And... talk to the legal department."
"About what, madam?" the holographic AI replied.
Victoria smiled. "I want to know the legal limits of keeping an exclusive product in a single country... for longer."
If the world wanted it... it would suffer a little more. Luxury is exclusivity. And nothing is valued more than desire.
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