New Goodies & First Impressions: Tatcha

Tatcha is brand I have admired from a far for a while. It’s a little start up which began it’s journey in the US, by a passionate lady (Victoria Tsai) who wanted to capture the rituals and secrets of geishas and encapsulate them in gorgeous skincare. When skincare has a story behind it, it adds that extra bit of magic into everyday routines. It’s luxurious and feels like you have your hands on a little secret. I consider the brand to be different from the big luxury, commercial brands, because your not paying just for the brand logo and marketing campaign – you are buying something which has had a lot of time and effort put into it and you can really see and feel that when you get your hands on one of their products (tradition meets with modernity, but not in an overdone, kitschy way). The other draw card is that it feels authentic. That’s not something you can buy. How many times have you gone into a department store and left feeling worse than when you came in? The Japanese traditions the brand captures also spark my imagination and nostalgia. Not only did Memoirs of a Geisha totally fascinate me back in high school (yes it’s a writing of fiction, but the life a geisha was portrayed so well that it took me to another world!), when I was still a student at uni, I got to travel to Japan and spend some time Kyoto. I even dressed up as a geisha and wondered around the old parts of Kyoto in my get-up lol it was quite a spectacle I’m sure (for locals) but it was worth it 🙂 All of those memories come back to me when I pick up one of Tatcha’s products 🙂 The featured image at the top of this post is one of my photos from Kyoto in summer 🙂

Before placing my first order with Tatcha, I emailed them because their shipping rates for international orders is quite high ($35 flat rate for international orders) asking if they would be changing this soon (to make the rates more competitive lol – a girl can try right….) and the response I received was timely, professional and sincere. If I ever start up my own company (it all starts with a dream huh) I will definitely be looking towards Tatcha as inspiration! The lovely guy who responded let me know that because Tatcha is still a relatively small company, the company can’t bear all of the shipping costs atm (which makes sense, I’m sure they absorb some of the shipping cost anyway) but that shipping is free once you purchase $250 USD worth of products. They use couriers for their shipping and I think this is because the products are expensive and at least this way, there is less chance for parcels to go missing (mine arrived within three days of being sent!).

It might seem silly to complain about $35 when the products themselves are expensive, but I figure that $35 is almost a product in itself (us beauty bees always think about how much bang we can get for our buck 😉 ) and because of the crappy Aus dollar atm, that’s almost $50 *sigh. That meant that I couldn’t just try one or two products on a whim, because the shipping just didn’t make it worth it. So I waited a little while and then finally placed a bigger order, so I could take advantage of free shipping. If you are wanting to try some Tatcha goodies beauties but don’t want to spend $250 USD in one hit, you could always place an order with a friend in order to reach the $250 (spending $100-150 each would be easy to do lol). I still hope the shipping rate cheapens up a little, just so I can buy from them more often.

Firstly, everything was packed in a sturdy box with lots of tissue paper. My order list/letter was printed on  delicate Japanese paper, as is every product leaflet, which I really appreciate!

The first product on my list was Tatcha’s popular Luminous Dewy Skin Mist ($48). The glass bottle has some substantial weight to it and the main  ingredients have scientific backing to show that they really are moisturising (glycerin, squalene, camellia oil) AND the mist also contains Tatcha’s famous three Hadasai-3 complex (antioxidants green tea, rice bran oil and Okinawa red algae). The mist is super fine and ‘dewy-ness’ is not greasy or oily. It’s refreshing and very light.

I also really wanted to try Tatcha’s newest addition to their line, the Silken Pore Perfecting Sunscreen SPF 35+ ($68). This sunscreen is beautiful! It has the texture of a light cream but it isn’t greasy, shiny or sticky at all! It also has some antioxidants in it’s formula, which I think it important for higher end sunscreens (green tea, Okinawa red algae and rice bran). It’s other star ingredient is Japanese wild rose extract, which is astringent and anti-inflammatory, so it’s thought to help with tightening pores. I also like that it contains dimethicone (a silicon) because it’s also moisturising and helps with makeup application (so it’s a great makeup base!). If you don’t like the feeling of silicone, no need to worry because you can’t ‘feel’ it in the formula. If it wasn’t listed in the ingredient list, I wouldn’t know it was there 😉 It does seem a little small coming in at 60ml (especially since you should be quite liberal with sunscreen application), so I think I will stick to another sunscreen for other exposed areas day to day (chest area, arms, hands etc). I looove it so far though 🙂

The next product I ordered just because it looks super fancy lol hellloooo gold leaf! In a lip balm!

The Gold Camellia Nourishing Lip Balm ($36) is a clear lip balm, with a sheet of 24-karat gold leaf on top! I haven’t used this guy yet, just because it almost looks ‘to special’ to use. I will eventually though, after I’ve decided that I have admired it enough lol The lip balm also contains the Tatcha’s Hadasai-3 complex, so you are protecting your lips just as well as your face!

Tatcha’s very first product was the Aburatorigami Japanese Beauty Papers ($12). These blotting papers are the only Tatcha product you can buy ‘locally’ in Aus, at Mecca Maxima 🙂 They are hand made out of abaca leaf (a natural fibre) and are suuuper fine. I also didn’t know until getting my hands on them, that the papers have whisper fine flakes of gold in them! The papers don’t disturb makeup and soak up oil very well.

I added one Luminous Deep Hydration Revitalizing Eye Mask ($12) to my order because I was super impressed that both Tatcha’s face sheet masks and eye masks are made from bio cellulose 😀 I have used this eye mask already and it’s lovely and hydrating. Because the bio cellulose has a fine texture, the eye mask can be a little fiddly. It’s a super nice treat if you need a pick me up! I’d love to try the face sheet mask next.

The Gold Camellia Oil ($95) is another special product. It also contains gold flakes in the oil! As you can tell, Tatcha likes to make their customers feel spoiled 🙂 It also makes the product look especially pretty! When I do a full review of the oil, I will show you how it sparkles in the sunshine! The oil itself is quite light and I think this is because it is an oil blend, so it contains camellia oil (of course) and macadamia oil. It hasn’t broken me out (thank goodness!) and it almost has like this dry oil texture to it. I don’t know if that’s the right description for it, but if you only apply a small amount of oil to the skin, it doesn’t feel overwhelmed and it sinks in beautifully.

Of you sign up to Tatcha’s newsletter, with your first order you get a travel sized Polished Classic Rice Enzyme Powder. It’s a powder which gently foams up when in contact with water and it gently cleanser and exfoliates the skin. It does smell like rice also (if you’ve eaten or cooked with rice cakes before, that’s what it smells like!). It makes my skin feel super clean, but I don’t know if that’s a feeling I quite like. I will need to use it a few more times and get back to you!

With every order placed, you also get to choose three samples. I haven’t tried the Indigo body butter yet, but I have used up the creams and they were beautiful! So so light and silky, yet moisturising. I was secretly hoping to not like them so I wouldn’t be tempted to purchase one (or both!) since they are pricey.

I think my journey with Tatcha will be a long one 🙂 My first impressions of the brand and products are great and most importantly, I don’t regret spending the monies I did on these products!

Let me know which product stands out to you!

Catch ya next time beauties~

Beauty Bee~

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