Skincare Sample Set

3 Reviews

1. 

   decimalDotterel1

   Reply

   Received the sampler in its lovely packaging. First time I used the products, I had a strange tingling sensation, bordering on burning. It took about 10 minutes for it to subside. My cheeks were red, but that subsided too. About 24 hours later, I used the products again. My face was on fire! No exaggeration. Skin inflamed, and I had such burning that I immediately splashed cold water to get off all products. Even after I washed the products off my face, my skin was burning.

   The reaction was so bad that I had to make an emergency call to my doctor on a weekend. She immediately prescribed a topical steroid cream. She also told me to take the medication Benedryl because Tatcha products had clearly caused a terrible allergic reaction. Note that I do NOT have what anyone would consider “sensitive” skin. I have never, ever had such a reaction to any skincare products … ever!

   I’m writing this review so that others might be spared. If you have the initial reaction on first use that I did, immediately stop and return the products. Don’t do what I did and attempt to use a second time. I now have to use the steroid cream for about a week to stop the damage the Tatcha products did.

2. 

   pridefulApricots2

   Reply

   I would like to start off by saying, I really, really wanted to love this. Admittedly, I’m a sucker for packaging, and these products are some of the most beautifully presented you’ll ever find.

   That said, I feel that the packaging is just that: packaging. It’s dressing up cheap filler ingredients in a pretty package and marketing it as natural, expensive, and exotic.

   First, the good:

   – These products are free of a lot of bad or suspect ingredients: there’s no mineral oil, synthetic fragrances, sulfate detergents, parabens, pegs, ppgs, urea, DEA, TEA, or Pthalates.

   This is all well and good- mineral oil is a major irritant/pore clogging ingredient for many people, synthetic fragrances frequently cause reactions for those with sensitive or acne prone skin, and sulfate detergents can be too harsh.

   The bad:
   – They might be free of the above ingredients, but don’t be fooled. Tatcha still uses cheap filler ingredients that have a record for causing breakouts or sensitivity. Talc debuts in first place on the ingredient list for all three of their Enzyme Cleansing Powders. You won’t find this listed on their website, because they only list “Actives” rather than all ingredients. Alcohol also shows up in almost all three main liquid based products. Again, this is not in and of itself bad, but it is incriminated frequently as an irritant for sensitive skin, and it tends to be drying.

   The ugly:
   – I love the idea behind the products- skin care secrets of geisha?? How awesome is that? But the problem is, there doesn’t seem to be enough “secrets” here that I couldn’t find elsewhere. Instead, there’s a large dose of cheap fillers that might actually irritate a good many people with genuinely sensitive skin, and there’s a small amount of the “secret” ingredients. Camellia and Rice Bran oils, licorice root, green tea and algae extracts, rice powders, etc.- all of these are potentially excellent ingredients for people with sensitive, aging, and acne prone skin. The problem is, if you dump in a hefty dose of talc and alcohol, the odds are these same people will start to have some unpleasant reactions.

   Case in point:
   – I have sensitive, combination skin that breaks out only when irritated. It did, however, take me years to realize that I wasn’t “oily and acne prone”- so I have some faint scarring from when I broke out after using my dermatologist’s prescribed benzoyl peroxide creams. My concerns are: I’m 26, I would like to maintain a clear, pale, smooth complexion; I want to continue fading old redness/dark spots; I want to avoid the sun. Forever.

   – Tatcha seemed like it might help me to achieve these things. I’ve used Mario Badescu’s Whitening Masque for years, and I love it. I also get frequent Diamond Microdermabrasions, moisturize religiously, and use sun screen. I wanted to graduate my skincare to one that was more focused on my post-quarter-of-a-century age, and Tatcha’s focus on a few natural ingredients seemed like a good start.

   My first use of the products wasn’t bad. I enjoyed the Camellia Cleansing Oil- it does actually turn milky, but you have to be sure to add water or it will just stay an oil. It took off all of my makeup, and it did leave my skin smooth.

   The Enzyme Cleansing Powder was also a treat to use (emphasis on “to use”). It left my skin polished and soft, wasn’t abrasive, and didn’t irritate while on my skin.

   The Brightening Serum: seemed to soak in fairly well, it does leave a faint tackiness, but it wasn’t a huge turn off. Ditto for the Moisture Rich Silk Cream- absorbs, does stay a tad sticky, but not anything extreme.

   So far so good, right?

   Oh, just wait a few hours. The first night, I used it at about 7:30 PM. By 10:00 I was getting cranky. I had been warned by other reviews about the “tingling” that you’re supposed to expect from the algae going to work, but by 10:00 it wasn’t so much tingling as a faint, constant itch. My skin wasn’t red or irritated in appearance, but for the love of God it ITCHED.

   When I couldn’t stand it any longer, I washed it off with Cetaphil and used my witch hazel hydrosol from From Nature with Love to remove the rest. I put my pearl powder masque on for a few minutes, and topped it off with a good dose of my Oxygen Plasma Serum. My face immediately relaxed, and drifted off into blissful peace.

   The next day, I started wondering if this was all a fluke. Maybe it itched because I washed my face, applied my serum and moisturizer, and then later decided on a hot shower. That sounds logical, right? (maybe not, whatever. I’m telling a story here).

   So the next night I tried it again. This time, I took my shower first, then waited an hour or so to cleanse, treat and moisturize.

   Because I had used the Classic Enzyme Powder the first night, I chose the Gentle this time around. Maybe my skin couldn’t handle the other- maybe it wasn’t classy enough.

   Again, directly after my ritual, everything felt fine. Supple, soft skin, a feeling of silky, moisturized awesomeness.

   Two hours later: #*@&$)(@#*&$)(*@ it ITCHES!!! Again, there wasn’t any redness to indicate a major irritation, but this time there were painful, blotchy pimples in places I’ve never had them. I don’t break out anymore, mind, I haven’t broken out since I tried to use La Roche Posay sunscreen last year and my skin bitch slapped me back to puberty. But this time there were pimples- the kind that look a bit like welts because they’re in clusters of clogged pores. It hurt, it itched. I said “screw it” and hopped back into a cool shower to cleanse, treat and apply my old school serums.

   Obviously, I decided there had to be more going on here than awesome ingredients like camellia, rice, licorice root, pearls and green tea. All of those ingredients have ended up in my skincare routines over the past few years, and none of them have caused any irritations.

   So I did a bit more research. And, lo and behold, there it was: talc

3. 

   excitedIcecream7

   Reply

   I have bought the trial set and then get the whole full size line as gifts so I can say that I have tried all of these products for at least 6 months.
   Cleanser: feels and smells extremely luxurious and expensive. It is very gentle on the skin. But if you use a lot of waterproof mascara, I find this oil does not do that good of a job taking them off even compared to cheap cleansing oils like DHC. Also, you do have to use quite a bit of it to create a slick enough layer to massage your face so this is always the first product of the line to run out. All in all, I’d buy it again because i like the feel of it but I don’t think it is my smartest purchase.
   Powder: my favorite exfoliant of all time. I have struggled with blackheads and large pores all my life and this product, while does not eliminate them completely, has drastically helped while still being gentle to my skin. Many other pore/blackheads control products use very harsh ingredients that would end up aging your skin fast so this Tatcha powder is a godsend. Warning: This probably will not work on people with dry skin. I have combination skin with oily Tzone and normal cheeks, and I avoid the cheek area when using this product. If I happen to use this on my cheeks for several days in a row, I would end up with dry red rashes.
   Serum: I do not have acne marks or sunspots so I couldn’t quite tell if the serum had any effect on my skin until I stopped using it. My face ended up looking a bit lackluster and less bright. So I ‘d buy it again.
   Moisturizer: this is the most meh product of the line for me. It did not leave me oily but at the same time it didn’t do anything to improve my skin either. I have dehydrated skin so I feel this product is not doing enough and the richer version broke me out. There are many better moisturizers out there at this price range.