I have a complicated history with supplements. Most of them are, in my experience, elaborate placebos in attractive packaging. And don’t even get me started on gummy vitamins. So when I kept hearing NMN come up in the longevity space — from The Skinny Confidential crowd to Bryan Johnson’s entire public existence — I did what any reasonable skeptic does. I filed it away and kept scrolling.
Then I actually listened to David Sinclair on Diary of a CEO, and the science was too loud to ignore.
I wasn’t looking for a 30-day transformation. I’m in my thirties, I feel good, and I take my health seriously enough to think about who I want to be at ninety, not just next summer. NMN appealed to me as a long game: a cellular investment, the kind of thing you start before you need it. I bought my first bottle at Erewhon more on that tax later and committed to a full 30 days before forming any opinion.
I did not expect what came next, especially this fast.
The Product
Novos Boost (NMN) is a warning: really big word incoming nicotinamide mononucleotide supplement built on one core premise: that aging is not inevitable, it’s biological (and biology can be influenced). NMN works by replenishing NAD+, a coenzyme that powers cellular energy production and declines with age. Less NAD+ means less cellular repair, slower metabolism, duller skin, and that creeping fatigue that starts feeling normal in your thirties.
I’ll be honest. I’d heard the term third-party tested before and filed it away without fully understanding why it mattered. It wasn’t until I heard Dr. Rhonda Patrick break it down on Diary of a CEO that it actually clicked. Here’s the thing that blew my mind: Supplement brands can legally put almost anything on a label, including ingredients that might not actually be inside the supplement. Dr. Patrick used creatine gummies as an example. Most of them contain little to no creatine. Which is exactly why I wasn’t just going to hand over $44 to just any brand.
Third-party testing is my holy grail metric because an external company that has no skin in the game, independently verifies what’s actually in the supplement. I scanned a few options and bought the Novos brand because of the unbiased stamp of approval. Not one, but two accredited third-party labs (Anresco and Micro Quality) confirmed a 100%+ purity and no mercury detected.
How I Used It
I took two capsules daily with my first meal, which for me lands around noon. I stacked it with a basic women’s multivitamin from Whole Foods nothing elaborate, nothing that would complicate the picture. I completed a full 30 consecutive days, which the brand recommends as the minimum window before drawing any conclusions. On the two days I forgot and took it before bed instead of with food, I still fell asleep without any issue. No racing thoughts, no disrupted sleep, no adjustment period to speak of. The protocol is low-lift, which matters when you’re committing to something long-term.
What I noticed
I want to be clear that I didn’t start taking NMN for a 30-day transformation. I started taking it because I follow the longevity space closely — Sinclair’s explanation was the nudge that finally got me to pull the trigger and I wanted to be building toward the version of myself that’s still sharp, energetic, and vibrant at ninety. I was not expecting to feel anything significant in the first month. That’s not how cellular health works, and I knew that going in.
Which is exactly why what happened next surprised me.
The napping stopped. I’m a dedicated weekend napper, the kind who schedules around it. Somewhere in the first two weeks, I just… didn’t need it anymore. The afternoon wall that I’d accepted as part of my life quietly disappeared. The energy shift wasn’t caffeinated or jittery. There was no sudden jolt, no artificial alertness. I just stopped running out of fuel before the day was over.
Then came the skin comments. I was traveling, which meant my skincare routine had been stripped to the bare minimum, a travel-size PCA Facial Wash Gentle Cleanser and a Youth To The People serum. No elaborate multi-step routine, no new products, nothing to credit. A woman at my nephew’s lacrosse game stopped me to ask what I was doing for my skin. When I told her it was just makeup, she pointed to my neck and said there was no makeup there, and it was glowing anyway. I went home and looked in the mirror more carefully than I had in months. The dullness I’d gotten used to was gone. Something underneath looked different — brighter, more alive.
Another noticeable difference: my nails. I haven’t seen NMN marketed for nail growth, and I hadn’t heard anyone in the longevity space mention it as a benefit, but somehow in these 30 days, my natural nails got undeniably longer than ever. No polish, no gel, no change to my routine. Just quietly, consistently growing. I can’t say with certainty it was the NMN, but I can say it was the only variable. See for yourself.
The Price
At $44 for a 30-day supply, Novos Boost NMN sits in the mid-range of the supplement market, more than your average vitamin, less than most of the serums in your bathroom cabinet. I’ll be honest: I bought my first bottle at Erewhon, alongside a vegan pizza and a Hailey Bieber skin glow smoothie. Standing at that register watching the total climb was, truly, a hard pill to swallow — no pun intended. But that’s the thing about Erewhon. It has a way of making you confront exactly how much you’re willing to spend on your wellness era, and apparently my answer is: quite a bit.
My honest wish is that Novos would offer a 60-day bottle at a better per-pill price point, because this is not a one-month experiment. This is a long-term investment in your biology, and the math adds up to over $500 a year. That said, I’ve spent more than $44 on moisturizers that did considerably less. When you reframe it as cellular infrastructure rather than a wellness add-on, the price starts to make sense. You’re either paying now or paying later, the longevity community has been saying this for years, and at this point, the evidence is clear.
Would I Buy It Myself
I’m already on bottle two. I ran out while traveling and can’t wait to get home and back on my routine. That’s not something I’ve ever said about a supplement before — historically I’ve been skeptical of the entire category, gummy vitamins included. The fact that I’m actively anticipating my dose tells you everything about where I landed.
Who It’s For
I’m not a doctor and I’m not going to pretend to be one (please talk to yours before adding anything new to your routine, especially if you’re managing medications or existing health conditions). What I can tell you is who this feels right for based on my own experience. If you’re like me, someone who has been loyal to her basic women’s multivitamin for years and is starting to wonder if it’s time to level up, this is the natural next step in your big girl glow-up supplement routine. It’s for the woman who is already doing the work and wants to start investing at the cellular level. Not for a quick fix. For the long game.
If you’re looking for something you’ll feel dramatically by day three, this isn’t your supplement. NMN works on a timeline measured in months and years, not days. NMN interacts with cellular pathways, so it’s always worth making sure your full regimen is working together, not against itself.
The Verdict
Worth it. When I first opened the bottle and saw how small the capsules were, my immediate reaction was that I had just wasted $44 on very expensive nothing. They are comically, almost insultingly tiny. I stood there holding the bottle thinking about every supplement I’d ever bought that did exactly nothing and wondering if I’d done it again. I hadn’t. But I guess that old cliché about good things coming in small packages actually holds some weight. Thirty days later, I have more energy, visibly better skin, and a second bottle already ordered. My only real critique is the price-to-supply ratio — at $44 for 30 days, the annual commitment is real, and a larger bottle at a lower per-dose price would make suggesting this to everyone significantly easier. But I’m recommending it anyway, price and all. Some investments you make for who you’re going to be in sixty years. This is one of them.
Skip it if you want fast, visible results. NMN works on a timeline measured in months and years, not days. If that’s not your timeline, this isn’t your supplement.
About the writer.
Alexis Bennett Parker is the Director of Shopping Partnerships at Refinery29. Strategic consumption is her Olympic sport. And her nine to five.
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