Review: Tatcha Twilight Cherry Blossom Lipstick & Sunrise Plum Blossom Lipstick

Tatcha is a favourite brand of mine and back in 2016 they released their first lipstick, Kyoto Red Silk Lipstick. In recent months two more lipsticks have joined the family – a light pale pink (Twilight Cherry Blossom) and a glowing plum shade (Sunrise Plum Blossom). The lipsticks come in stock every now and then, probably depending on how many can be made in Japan. They are categorised as ‘limited edition’ but always come back into stock eventually. I can appreciate that they aren’t made in bulk in some standard cheap factory, but rather, made in smaller numbers but with more care taken for every detail, from the lipstick casing to the bullet. And made by hand by Japanese artisans I’m sure! Perhaps I’m romantising the production of the lipsticks a little too much but hey, they are beautiful and unique so why not 🙂

Above: The Kyoto Red lipstick comes in a black lipstick casing, the pink is Twilight Cherry Blossom and the white is Sunrise Plum Blossom.

Firstly, you will notice that the lipsticks come in a heavy metal casing. They are so so beautiful! It screams glamour and sophistication. I haven’t seen a more beautiful lipstick casing to date. If you know of any that surpass Tatcha’s lipsticks, let me know. The touch of gold is quite imperial and Japanese too, but what I love the most is that the gold is detailed with a mosaic pattern. There’s a nice subtle ‘click’ when you close the lipstick case.

You will also notice that the lipstick bullets themselves are shaped with diamond ridges. I suppose this makes the lipsticks look like every detail has been handled carefully and thought through because it has! Kyoto Red is very pigmented and slightly satin (it’s matte but with a little bit of sheen, so it’s not as drying as say MAC’s Russian Red or Ruby Woo – check out the full review here). I was curious to see how the next two lipsticks would compare. Plum Blossom and Cherry Blossom are satin lipsticks in the true meaning – a little glossy & shiny, and very comfortable to wear. Neither have sparkle or shimmer, but Plum Blossom has 24 karat gold in its formula, while Cherry Blossom has 23 karat gold. It’s not visible to the eye, but you could say that the lipstick shades do have a ‘glow’ about them. Maybe I say this because I know gold has been used in the formula and maybe if I didn’t know, I wouldn’t think twice about it or realise, who knows!

Twilight Cherry Blossom Lipstick

I would love to go to Japan to see the cherry blossoms in all their glory! I’ve also dreamed that when I have my own home, I will plant cherry blossom trees along the fences 🙂 They grow quite will in Sydney actually. 

THE CHERRY BLOSSOM ROAD INTO OLD AKASAKA — A Fine Spring Day in Old Tokyo, Japan. Ca.1890s Large format , hand-tinted photograph by an unknown Japanese photographer. This is another rare SALT PRINT from a world long gone. No emulsion, No baryta layer, and No coatings of any kind — the photographic image being saturated directly into the fibers of the fragile paper. Perhaps the paper was salted by dipping it in a bucket of sea water during the summer months. The sliver nitrate was brushed on the paper and dried before sandwiching it with a huge glass negative. It was then printed under the sun for 10 minutes to half-an-hour as the above image slowly appeared on the paper. Photo Source: Okinawa Soba (Rob).

Cherry Blossom is a mid-toned neutral pink. It’s very natural looking on the lips, and has a healthy shine to it. The colour isn’t as pigmented as expected – it has a little bit of translucency to it. This makes it look even more natural on the lips, so if you are looking for an everyday lipstick shade that makes you feel a bit more special or inspired than say drug store brands, this is the lipstick for you! Do note that it can catch on dry skin and make it look a little more noticeable, because it is on the lighter side of the spectrum (colour wise). It doesn’t always apply very evenly either. It’s not incredibly noticeable or streaky,  but I do notice it on my lips if I look closely. Since the lipsticks come in at $55 a pop, this may not be acceptable to some. I thought I would like Cherry Blossom more than I do Plum Blossom, but I don’t think I do! Cherry Blossom is a nice lipstick, but the shade and texture isn’t very unique. The lipstick casing and aesthetic of the brand is, but not the product itself. I probably get about 3-4 hours of wear with this lipstick (if you eat or drink a lot, then the wear time decreases further because of regular wear).

Above: Wearing Twilight Cherry Blossom on the lips. My skin isn’t the greatest in this photo, but I didn’t want to put off doing the review as who knows when my skin will clear up again!

Sunrise Plum Blossom Lipstick 

http://regex.info/blog/2008-03-06/756, Plum-Blossom Detail Photo by Katsunori Shimada — Kyoto, Japan

When I think of plum shades of lipstick, I think of muted or rich dark purples and of Autumn or Winter. Plum Blossom surprised me because it contains more pink than I expected and it’s a mid-range cool plum shade that pops! It’s really unique in my collection and I think it’s very flattering. It gives the lips a healthy wash of colour. The pigmentation isn’t opaque, but it’s buildable and non-streaky. Again, it has a satin, slightly shiny reflective finish that is very comfortable to wear. It’s a shade I would wear in either the summer or cooler months, so it gets a tick for versatility (you could say the same for Cherry Blossom too). The wear time is similar to Cherry Blossom, 3-4 hours. Kyoto Red Silk Lipstick is much more pigmented than these two lipsticks, so it’s wear time is far longer but it can become drying on the lips, depending how long you wear it for. I love Plum Blossom far more than I expected, and I’ve probably gone through half the bullet already!

Above: Wearing Sunrise Plum Blossom Lipstick

Each full sized lipsticks contains 3.4g or product. I don’t notice a particular fragrance with these lipsticks, so that will be a plus for some. I do also like that antioxidants are included in the formula (Tatcha’s signiture Hadasei-3 Complex, which includes Green Tea, Rice Bran and Algae – all strong antioxidants) . The skin on your lips is the thinest on your body, so it’s nice that these (expensive) lipsticks go the extra mile in regards to comfort and protection (as much as possible for a lipstick anyhow). The lipsticks have enough ‘slip’ to them, that application is easy and don’t require precision. The lipsticks glide on like a dream.

Above: Swatches of all three Tatcha lipsticks in natural light. From top to bottom: Kyoto Red Silk Lipstick, Twilight Cherry Blossom Lipstick, Sunrise Plum Blossom Lipstick

At the moment you can buy a set of Tatcha’s lipsticks for $125, which is brilliant value! Each lipstick usually costs $55, so that’s a saving of $40. I bought a miniature set of the three lipsticks that cost $60 and the lipsticks are teeny tiny. That mini set was not economical though it is cute (expensive cute….) lol While Watch is available at Mecca Cosmetica in Australia, the whole collection isn’t yet available, so if you want the lipsticks you need to order them from Tatch’a main website based in the US. International shipping is $35 which is ridiculous, however it’s free once you spend $250 US dollars. Because Tatcha’s products aren’t on the cheap end of the scale, you can very easily order 2 or 3 products and spend the $250. I know this isn’t an option for a lot of people, so it’s a shame that small orders require you to pay such a hefty price for shipping (unless you live in the US of course). Fingers crossed the lipsticks become available in Australia soon!

So tell me Beauties, do any of Tatcha’s lipsticks ‘speak to you’? Would you try them if they were more accessible perhaps? Let me know in the comments below 🙂

Catch ya next time,

Beauty Bee~

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