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When it comes to luxurious, overperforming J-beauty brands, Tatcha is among the most coveted. When you think of the brand, the lilac apple-shaped packaging of The Dewy Skin Cream immediately springs to mind as the viral sensation – but their innovative formulas extend beyond the cult-loved moisturiser, with routines and rituals designed to not just nourish the skin, but your mind, too.
Rooted in timeless Japanese wisdom, Tatcha does away with the phrase ‘anti-ageing’ and instead takes a holistic approach that invokes the senses through texture and scent using a combination of traditional botanicals, clinical ingredients, superfoods and AHAs.
“Because skin affects and reflects your well-being, we believe that skincare can take care of all health: physical, mental, and even emotional,” the brand says. “Our skincare formulas can be anchors of larger well-being rituals that touch the mind and engage the five senses for harmony from skin to soul.”
In recent weeks, I’ve created my own Tatcha ritual using a number of the brand’s most beloved best-sellers, and quickly discovered that this is a brand that not only lives up to expectations, but exceeds them. Sometimes premium beauty brands are all marketing and high price tags with underwhelming formulas and lacklustre results, but Tatcha isn’t one of them, and is one of the few, more expensive skincare names I’d be happy to part with my money for.
From their iconic Dewy Skin Cream to the gentle Rice Wash – here are all the Tatcha innovations I’ve been using as part of my daily self-care regime.
The Rice Wash
For centuries, Japanese women have rinsed rice in preparation for cooking and have repurposed the leftover milky water within their beauty rituals. This nutrient-rich byproduct serves as a vital source of vitamins A, B2, B12, and E, as well as moisturising proteins that soften and boost the luminosity of hair and skin, and features in many of Tatcha’s products, including The Rice Wash.
Squeezing the tube, the pH-neutral cleanser is thick and creamy – so thick, you’d be forgiven for thinking you’d need to dispense more, but a grape-sized amount is plenty to cover your face and neck. Designed to wash away daily impurities without stripping the skin of its natural oils, it’s ideal for all skin types, but particularly for combination and dry skin, like me.
Upon adding water, The Rice Wash can be lathered into an indulgent foaming wash that gently removes daily buildup while replenishing the skin’s moisture. Fine rice powder particles offer gentle exfoliation without being too abrasive, with a subtle fragrance that’s fresh – perhaps slightly citrusy – without being overpowering.
Okinawa algae and hyaluronic acid work together to plump skin with hydration, while the Japanese rice powder works to soften the skin and boost luminosity. Unlike harsh cleansers that can leave the skin feeling dry and tight and sometimes a little tacky, The Rice Wash maintains the skin’s natural moisture balance and helps replenish ceramides to ensure optimum skin barrier function, while leaving my face feeling soft and well-moisturised.
Priced at £41, The Rice Wash is gentle on skin but tough on pollutants and daily grime, the lather feels really indulgent and the subtle fragrance is really soft and elegant. A little tip, though – lather this product in your hands before applying, instead of trying to foam it directly on the face. When you first dispense the cleanser it has quite a sticky consistency, and I find lathering it in my hands with warm water first, before applying to my face, makes for a more effective and texturally satisfying wash.
The Dewy Skin Cream
Perhaps the most recognisable of Tatcha’s offerings is the Dewy Skin Cream (£67), with it’s Instagram-worthy packaging, complete with tiny golden spatula. Since launching in 2019, it’s earned cult-status among influencers, beauty editors and celebrities alike, with Selena Gomez describing it as ‘yummy’.
This rich, moisturising cream is designed to provide intense hydration and a radiant, dewy glow, making it a go-to choice for those with drier skin types, or anyone seeking a formula with a richer texture.
Just like the cleanser, the Dewy Skin Cream harnesses the power of Okinawa algae and hyaluronic acid to deliver moisture-drenched, supple skin, while Japanese purple rice – known for its ability to survive any harsh environment – helps restore skin and protect against stress and pollution, helping the complexion to look healthier and more balanced.
The jar is super tactile to handle, and when I very first opened this product the untouched product was simply one of the most satisfying things I’d ever witnessed. The gold spatula, which slots onto the lid, helps to keep the product more sanitary and means you don’t have to stick your finger in the pot – which is a lifesaver if you have longer nails like I do.
Replenishing and plumping, the cream itself, while rich, is incredibly lightweight and immediately leaves skin looking radiant thanks to a blend of botanical extracts and oils from ginseng and wild thyme, to sweet marjoram. And it’s these natural ingredients that give the moisturiser its light, slightly floral but incredibly clean scent.
While it can be used day, night or both, I find that it works really well under my makeup, so I love to use it before applying my primer and foundation, giving me that extra hydration boost and a dewy finish.
The Kissu Lip Scrub
Combining natural exfoliators with nourishing oils, The Kissu Lip Scrub buffs away flakiness while nourishing and conditioning the lips, leaving them perfectly prepped for your favourite lip colour.
Japanese camellia oil provides deep nourishment, while konjac and peach seed scrubs gently exfoliate to reveal healthier-looking lips.The scrub removes flakiness and rough texture, enhancing the lips’ natural softness and providing a smoother, kissable surface.
Exclusive to Sephora, it’s definitely a pricier lip scrub at £29, but I can’t knock its performance. I quite often find lip polishing products leave my lips feeling gritty or sticky, as though I can never quite get the last bit of residue from them, but this one applies beautifully without mess from the squeezy tube, gently exfoliates without irritation, and has, over the last few weeks, really helped with some pigmentation issues I was having on my lips.
It doesn’t have much of a fragrance to it at all, but has got a gorgeous cinnamony hue and is ideal for anyone looking to maintain soft, smooth, and hydrated lips if the change in weather usually takes its toll on your pout.
The Kissu Lip Treatment
Another Sephora exclusive, The Kissu Lip Treatment is a do-all daily serum for the lips, working to plump and hydrate, restore natural volume and colour, and smooth lip lines.
The moisturising treatment features a squeezy tube-style packaging and a lockable cap to avoid any leaking, alongside a bouncy, gel-like applicator that feels amazing as you smooth the product over your pout.
Ingredients like sea fern increase lipid storage over time, restoring volume where it would naturally occur for fuller-looking lips that last, while sea kelp aids in restoring colour and definition lost to ageing and dryness for a plumper looking appearance. Meanwhile, peptide-like carob fruit extract reduces the look of lip lines, which not only offers a more youthful, blurred appearance, but helps to minimise the potential for lipstick feathering or bleeding too.
At £42, it can feel expensive in comparison to alternative lip care formulas, but it promises both immediate and long-term benefits, perfect for those seeking fuller, more defined lips. Suitable for all skin types, I adore how The Kissu Lip Treatment feels on my lips as the balmy texture and pillowy applicator work together. It’s definitely a more elevated treatment, but would I repurchase it? I’m not so sure at full price.
The Kissu Lip Mask
One product I absolutely will repurchase, though, is The Kissu Lip Mask, which is absolutely worth the hype. Similar to products like the renowned Laneige Lip Sleeping Mask, this jelly lip mask from Tatcha provides deep hydration without being sticky. It works overnight to plump and smooth lips, making them look and feel more supple by morning.
Formulated for all skin types, but particularly effective for dry skin, it boasts a combination of moisture-sealing squalane and camellia oil, alongside Japanese peach extract, which has been hailed as a traditional Japanese beauty secret for centuries.
The texture of this product is super playful but genuinely effective, coming with another gold spatula – even smaller than the Dewy Skin Cream one – with which to apply it. The mask leaves a gorgeous glossy finish, and in modern Japan, this look is described as puru-puru lips, which means soft and bouncy, like jelly.
And while it’s best used as an overnight lip mask, in my opinion, it can also be used during the day to prep lips for product, or used over the top of your lip colour to give it a glossy appearance while maintaining hydration. Not only will it intensely moisturise, but will help smooth the look of fine lines and strengthen the lips’ delicate moisture barrier to stave off dryness, eliminate flakiness, and reveal a soft texture over time, too.
I’m actually a little bit addicted to applying this before bed each night and has become a much-loved part of my evening routine. I love that you can still feel it lingering on the skin the morning after as though it was still recently applied. And at £27, it’s more purse-friendly than the above Lip Treatment, and in my opinion, is worth every penny.
I really think that Tatcha’s skincare products offer a perfect blend of traditional Japanese ingredients and modern skincare science. Each product is designed to nurture the skin with spa-like indulgence, with gentle formulas and light, natural scents that trigger the senses to make for a mindful, self-care routine that’s as good for your wellbeing as it is your skin.
If you’re looking to add some high end, high performing products into your skincare routine, Tatcha is a brand well worth exploring.
