Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Review of TATCHA Skincare

This evening I went in for my regular European facial at the Art of Beauty, and now my skin feels splendid. Since then, I've been lounging around the apartment in pajamas and eating chocolates. It's a good time to talk about another luxurious skincare experience that I've had recently: TATCHA, inspired by the geisha's ancient beauty routine.

I introduced the line in an earlier feature, and over the past weekend, I tried out the deluxe sampler set. I approached this with modest expectations; I'm quite content with my current regime, which works for my sensitive skin, and I receive compliments on the soft and youthful appearance of my face. Still, my skin could be better, especially when it comes to my pores. So why don't I try TATCHA?

Let me go straight to the end: TATCHA skincare is potent and delivers the "baby-pure skin of the geisha" that it promises.


The One Step Camellia Cleansing Oil is a sweet-smelling oil that you rub onto your dry face to remove makeup and also to condition dry skin. It absolutely does not strip the skin of essential oils. When I returned to my beloved argan oil cleanser from Kahina Giving Beauty, in fact, my skin felt dry and tight in comparison!

The Polishing Rice Enzyme Powder may be my favorite product out of the line, because the results are so clear to the naked eye. You pour a tablespoonful of the dry powder into wet hands, then rub them together to create a paste. Using this for the first time, I was shocked at how gentle the paste felt on my skin, and I thought that the exfoliating action mustn't be working. Then I looked into the mirror and saw smooth and glowing skin. More exciting for me, I also saw smaller pores. Nothing else has ever made my pores shrink so dramatically. After two days, I could no longer say that I had enlarged pores on my nose. Of course, now that I have switched back to my old regime, they are beginning to grow again. For the sake of my pores alone, I must have a vat of this polishing powder. I tried both the Classic and Gentle versions, and I can say that the Classic is perfect for twice-daily use on even my reactive skin. Alternatively, I like to use Classic at night and Gentle in the morning.

The Deep Brightening Serum is similarly marvelous. A pump or two of this milky serum absorbs into the skin weightlessly, and delivers a massive amount of hydration; in the first few seconds, also, it delivers an intense warming sensation. The brightening effect was not dramatic, but the company says it takes four to six weeks of regular use for a difference to be noticed. I like this serum simply for the remarkable hydration that it delivers.

The Moisture Rich Silk Cream is the final step in the routine, and it seals all that moisture in to create a protective barrier around the skin. Amazingly, it is as weightless as the serum, and I felt like I had nothing on my face at all. However, I merely had to stroke my cheek to realize that TATCHA skincare had made my skin the softest and smoothest it has ever been. Geisha beauty secrets, indeed.

The only issue I could find was that the products didn't improve the inherent redness in my skin. Most products aggravate the redness, and it's been a lifelong battle to find ones that are kind to my skin. TATCHA skincare made my face porcelain-smooth, but not porcelain-white. Is this a deal-breaker? I'm not sure yet. I haven't used up my samples yet -- it looks like they are meant to last about a week -- so I'm going to continue experimenting. If nothing else, I know I'm getting the Polishing Classic Rice Enzyme Powder for my pores.

Update 3/28: This morning, I still felt great from the facial. I didn't want to bring my skin back down to earth, so to speak, with my regular old products, so I returned to TATCHA. I followed all the steps, going with the Gentle version of the Polishing Powder, then applied my regular tinted moisturizer which has that all-important SPF. The result was flawless skin. The Silk Cream is meant to double as primer for makeup, so it anchored my tinted moisturizer perfectly. My face looked lighter and brighter, due to the serum, and I could find no bumps or pores anywhere except for my nose. TATCHA preserved, and enhanced, the results of my facial. This is the game-changer I was looking for. I need the entire line now. I'm going to cry when my samples run out.

TATCHA skincare delivers on what it promises, and the clean yet luxurious simplicity of its ritual makes for a transformative experience, day and night. I thought my skin was soft, until I tried TATCHA! The line is currently available on the company's website and at Barneys.

fin

2 comments:

  1. Thanks for the review it was really useful! I'll try the Polishing Rice Powder first.

    ReplyDelete
  2. My pleasure, Noemi. In case you missed my earlier post, TATCHA's website also offers a sampler set for $49, if you want to try the whole line.

    ReplyDelete

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