Review: Tatcha’s Luminous Memory Serum Concentrate

Tatcha’s Luminous Memory Serum Concentrate is quite innovative as much as it is effective! It’s another Tatcha product I have fallen in love with, thanks to their effective formulations and scientifically backed ingredients. I don’t use it every evening – as I want it to last as long as possible – but every time I use it, I know my skin will thank me for it! So what is it? It’s a hydrating anti-ageing serum, which comes in a gel/tofu like texture lol The fact that it reminds me of food is another win 😉 haha!

Tatcha don’t specify where it should be placed in your nightly skincare routine (around other products) but I have been using it most of the time, as the last step of my nightly routine (after a traditional serum – for me that’s either a retinol based serum or AHA/BHA serum). You could think of it as a leave on mask – or a night cream which is light but potent. You could of course, place a heavier cream over the top of it, especially if you have very dry skin (since it is a serum and all). Tatcha mentions that it can be used during the day for a luminous sheen and while I wasn’t convinced about this – researching some of the ingredients made me decide to give this a go, especially since it’s summer and some of the ingredients are great for protecting the skin against UV rays (more below!).

What it is: An ultra-concentrated form of our widely-loved Luminous Dewy Skin Mist, this hydrating, gel-like treatment visibly renews skin to a youthful glow in one night’s use.Why it’s different: Ideal as an overnight recovery treatment, Okinawa Red Algae and 7 rich botanical extracts combine to restore hydration, refine texture and visibly plump fine lines. A light daytime touch adds an extra-lush glow.Who it’s for: All skin types. Non-comedogenic. Non-irritating. Non-sensitizing. Dermatologist tested.

The Luminous Memory Serum Concentrate is a super hydrating treatment serum. It contains a whole load of super hydrators like squalene (from olive oil origin – more info on this ingredient here), glycerin, royal jelly, rice germ oil and Camellia seed oil. Most of these hydrators are humectants and emollients, so if your skin is dehydrated, they will draw moisturise into the skin (moisture you don’t have, so an occlusive moisturiser won’t help much) whilst making is super soft, giving it a little ‘slip’. I’d also like to think that it’s the royal jelly (made by young worker bees!) that gives this product it’s tofu/jelly-like texture! 😉 Royal jelly may stimulate collagen production by fibroblasts, along with drawing moisture into the skin as a humectant, so it’s probably re-plumping your skin deeper down also! What definitely stimulates and prevent collagen breakdown is Camellia seed oil (type 1 collagen) and it helps prevent trans-epidermal water loss.

You will notice in the ingredient list, that 90% of the list is made up of extracts and hydrators you can easily identify. This means that the formula is highly active and packed with a great concentration of antioxidants, as well as hydrators. I believe the 7 botanical extracts are the following – ginseng root, jujube fruit (Chinese date), wild thyme, marjoram, green tea, licorice root and scutellaria baicalensis root (I can’t find the common English name for this plant – it seems to be a botanical used in traditional Chinese medicine quite a bit). Along with these botanicals, you have Tatcha’s signature Hadasei-3 Bioactive Complex included – the antioxidant powerhouse of rice bran oil, red algae and green tea. I’ve noticed that the ingredients are pretty similar to those used in the Tatcha Deep Brightening Serum, so a lot of these botanicals should also work to brighten your skin tone overall (not that this is a direct promise of the product per se).

I recently learnt that UV exposure is related to skin ageing and cancer because of singlet oxygen (thank you Futurederm!). Peroxidation is a process which results in cell damage and production of free radicals. Green tea and squalene are not susceptible to peroxidation and so it protects the skin from lipid peroxidation from sources of radiation like UV rays. As it works best as a pre-UV exposure treatment, I decided to give the Memory Serum Concentrate a go in the morning, before a day out at the beach. While the texture of the Memory Serum Concentrate is super lovely and light, it is quite shiny (not in an oily kind of way though, if that makes sense…) and for some reason in my mind, I thought this would be to much for the day since I can get an oily T-Zone (despite loading up on illuminators during the day – ha!). For a day out at the beach it is totally fine as it is not heavier or oilier than the sunscreen you apply later on. I do also think my skin was a little more calm and tolerated the heat a bit better than usual. Granted, this is hard to gauge, however usually even if I don’t get burnt (thankfully this happens rarely these days) my skin can still feel ‘heated’ and quite warm. It can also get ‘prickly’ if it is about to burn. I didn’t have any pinkness or warmness post 5-6 hours at the beach today and that’s saying something, as it is the peak of summer right now. Did you also know Australia is right under a hole in the ozone layer?!? It sure is! :O Taking this all into account – it is always better to be safe than sorry and I am super happy to use this under my sunscreen as a preventative treatment. Prevention is better than cure – this would have to be Golden Rule number one or two of skincare! After a day out in the sun, the Memory Serum Concentrate felt super soothing and hydrating – exactly what you want, without any added sensitisation (no stinging or redness). So another big tick for using it post a day out in the sun!

After scooping out some product, the Luminous Memory Serum Concentrate ‘melts’ back into level form, again looking like untouched tofu or jelly! 😀 

The Memory Serum Concentrate is primarily deeply hydrating. My skin is so plump and comfortable when I wake up after using it in the evening, it’s almost like I have had a facial! The recovery part of the product description is interesting, because the antioxidants in the formula would allow your skin to reboot. I find that any redness I may be experiencing or breakouts are soothed – so they appear to be lessened and my skin looks healthy. The texture of the serum is interesting – you scoop it out of the tub and it feels and looks like tofu or jelly. When you start to rub it into the skin, it easily melts and creates a nice layer of hydration. It isn’t greasy at all, so I can imagine this being a miracle hydrator for acne and oily skin. Because of the soothing/hydrating qualities of the serum, I find it works wonderfully over the top of my active serums. If anything, it helps to counter any irritation I may get from using a new or very potent serum. I’m still not convinced about using the serum during the day, say if I was going to work (as I can get quite flustered and shiny getting to and from work on public transport) but for other day outings or if you have dry skin – it should work brilliantly. It does give a luminous glow, but without any stickiness or greasiness.

I would use it every evening, but because it costs $110 for 50ml (the same quantity as a moisturiser) and is relatively difficult to get for those not living in the US, I try and alternate between the Memory Serum Concentrate and another night cream, since I find that using it as the last step of my nightly routine works best for me.

Ingredients: Water, Glycerin, Propanediol, Squalane (Olive Origin), Cyclopentasiloxane, Triethylhexanoin, Panax Ginseng Root Extract, Origanum Majorana Leaf Extract, Zizyphus Jujuba Fruit Extract, Thymus Serpillum Extract, Royal Jelly Extract, Stearyl Glycyrrhetinate (Licorice), Camellia Sinensis (Green Tea) Leaf Extract, Algae Extract, Scutellaria Baicalensis Root Extract, Oryza Sativa (Rice) Germ Oil, Camellia Japonica Seed Oil, Sericin (Silk Extract), Inositol (Rice Extract), Glyceryl Stearatese, Polyglyceryl-2 Diisostearate, Ppg-5-ceteth-10 Phosphate, Sodium Lauroyl Lactylate, Sorbitan Stearate, Trideceth-12, Ethylhexylglycerin, Peg-240/hdi Copolymer Bis-decyltetradeceth-20 Ether, Butylene Glycol, Behenyl Alcohol, Fragrance (Natural), Alcohol, Phenoxyethanol. 

I can see this product being a hit in all climates – after all, if you live in the tropics but have dry skin, it could be difficult to find a light enough serum/moisturiser that doesn’t make you feel like you are suffocating your skin with a heavy veil of grease whilst hydrating your skin! In very cold climates, it might be that added serum underneath your night time moisturiser, which really provides some added comfort and hydration to your skin. I love to use it both in the summer and winter time, so it’s a hit for me in that I can depend on it regardless of season! I will be repurchasing once I run out (though it seems to be lasting me a while when only used every second night or so). You can buy this beauty directly from Tatcha’s website here.

Is this a product you could see yourself using? Have you tried Tatcha products before?

Catch ya next time beauties!

Beauty Bee~

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