After living in Japan for three years, Tatcha was at the top of my list of brands to try. Having seen the unreal/mermaid/forever young/I’m never eating sugar again skin of Japanese women up close, I knew I wanted whatever they were using. I decided the perfect entrée into this brand would be their top selling, top reviewed cleanser The Rice Polish Foaming Enzyme Powder.
I chose the Deep formula for my oily skin, but I’ll admit, the word “polish” threw me a bit. I had always been warned against daily physical exfoliation and using my Clarisonic every day actually seemed to make my acne worse. But polish your skin it does, without any nasty abrasives.
The texture of Rice Polish is a soft powder which lathers into a delicate foam with just a few drops of water. You don’t need much, which makes the price sting less. It can be a bit messy as you’re adding the water so I typically used it in the shower to avoid getting the powder all over my countertop. Once it’s on your skin, it feels very gentle and you probably won’t think it’s doing much. But once you rinse it off, you are left with seriously soft skin. Like can’t-stop-touching-it-but-you-really-should soft. My skin never felt stripped or dry after using the cleanser and it also never broke me out. I was able to follow it with the rest of my products without issue.
However, I can’t say Rice Polish did anything to combat the oiliness of my skin when used in my morning skincare routine. For that reason, I don’t think it will be an immediate repurchase for me. But I’m excited to check out other products from the Tatcha line, especially after learning more about it from founder Victoria Tsai on Jonathan Van Ness’ podcast (don’t we love him?!), Getting Curious. Their packaging is some of the most beautiful I’ve experienced and a fitting tribute to the country that inspired this brand.
Ugh, take me back to Japan ASAP.
See what else I’ve used up here.
