Back in 2013, I wrote about Tatcha as a brand I’d love to see in the UK. So, it’s taken almost a decade but it’s finally here. I have a bit of strange journey with Tatcha because I was randomly sent some last year before I even had a clue (maybe that was the clue!) that it was finally reaching our shores and I eked it out like liquid gold. There are few brands that truly live up to expectations and I’d cite Tatcha as one of them. It’s a young brand in general terms – Tatcha was founded in 2009 by Vicky Tsai who has Taiwanese-American heritage.
On a trip to Japan, Vicky Tsai discovered blotting papers which she liked so much she imported ten thousand packs to sell in the US. It was the very beginning of Tatcha as the brand and fostered an ongoing love of Japanese skin care and ingredients, all of which are translated into the products we see now. The Tatcha blotting papers contain flecks of gold as a symbol of their heritage – lore says that geisha discovered the papers used to protect hammered metal leaf removed oil from their faces without disturbing their make up or taking moisture from the skin. There is so much to like about Tatcha – from the promise to phase out the term ‘normal’ and a skin type because of its connotations for natural skin behaviour being somehow abnormal. They’re also phasing out ‘anti-ageing’ for all the obvious reasons and showing the way to other brands that it’s possible to speak to women of all ages about their skin without diminishing them. Honestly, I love my 57 year old skin right now – I want to look after it and treat it and truly appreciate it as it is.
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Tatcha’s formulation labs are in Tokyo with ready access to Japanese botanical ingredients – think amino acids, AHAs, fermented rice, green tea and algae that form the basis for Tatcha skincare. The skin care feels special because it is. The products I have used the most thanks to my surprise drop last year are The Dewy Serum HERE which I would recommend in a heartbeat as one of the few skin care items that I know of to give your skin that beautiful dewy feeling without making it look shiny. I don’t mind sheen but too much is not the goal. The Dewy Skin Cream HERE is productive for my complexion in terms of deep hydration, smoothness and discernible plumping – it’s the one to choose for dry or older skin.
I’m saving my secret weapon til last, but I want to flag up both The Rice Polish Foaming Enzyme HERE which is the most gentle exfoliator I’ve ever used (and if you’ve been too keen on acids, the rice powder, papaya enzyme and liquorice root combination will retrain your beauty brain into realising that things don’t have to be harsh to be effective) and The Camellia Cleansing Oil HERE. This oil is utterly complete – it melts away sunscreen and waterproof make up, has no mineral oil and suits all skin types. It has the most beautiful skin feel that ensures you massage it thoroughly (it’s hard to stop) and when you rinse away there is no tightness at all.
I can’t make any bones about the fact that Tatcha prices sit in the luxury category (although not outrageous) and I always like to find what I think is the best possible value in terms of price and introduction to a brand. Your first purchase is always the most important one – it’s what dictates completely whether you want to know more, so for that, I suggest the Kissu Lip Mask HERE. The texture is a non-sticky, balm-like gel that contains peach extracts and squalene – give it two weeks and you will see a difference in hydration and softness. I feel like a lip balm expert given how many I’ve tried over the years and this is indeed an elevated experience. It’s also highly protective if you use a very thin layer under lipsticks – especially mattes – although if you use Kissu at night, you probably won’t need anything extra by morning.
So, that’s my round up of Tatcha that I think you would like and I have relished trialling these products – if you have Tatcha recommendations of your own, I’d love to hear them. Almost a decade is a long time to wait for a brand and I’m really so glad it’s here at last.
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