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Tatcha
- Tatcha is a Japanese skincare brand that takes inspiration from centuries-old skincare routines of geisha.
- The founder, Victoria Tsai, still works with geisha and Japanese scientists to formulate the products, which prioritize calming ingredients like camellia oil, green tea, and silk extracts.
- It’s one of my absolute favorite brands, and I’ve tested hundreds. You can find it at Sephora, or Tatcha.
- Many of the product formulas are offered in variations for specific skin types, which allows you to customize your routine based on very specific concerns (for me, it’s dryness).
There’s something particularly gentle about practicing a morning or evening skincare routine with multiple steps. The careful massaging of cleansers and serums, the soft swipe of toners and essences on cotton pads, the precise application of hydrating creams — it’s an act of meditation and intentionality.
My routine has ebbed and flowed over the years, rarely staying the same from week to week — the consequence of a job that requires a lot of product testing. But there’s one brand that, among the hundreds I’ve tried, has been a consistent part of my daily ritual for the better part of a year, filling in the multi-step process I enjoy as a form of self-care.
Tatcha makes products that combine two qualities nearly everyone touts but almost no one gets right: gentleness and effectiveness. I know these two words sound annoyingly cliche when used together to describe skincare (like a food blogger describing their meal as “delicious” and “so good” over and over), but when you have sensitive skin that takes a beating from city pollution, makeup, and sun, those are qualities that actually matter — and they’re hard to come by sincerely.
Founder Victoria Tsai, a graduate of Harvard Business School, founded Tatcha on the principals and traditions from a 200-year old beauty manuscript on the beauty routines of geisha in Japan.
She now works with modern-day geisha and Japanese scientists to continue developing skincare and beauty formulas that speak to women around the globe, but that are based in centuries-old traditions.
I’ll be honest — what appeals to me about Tatcha has never had to do with the company’s backstory or its celeb-favorite status. Instead, it has everything to do with how great their products are, which, sure, is a direct result of how they were conceived and developed, but ultimately hinges on how well they’ve performed for my skin.
