Snow-Like Skin with Tatcha's Yuki Pure As Snow Holiday Set

Hi, everyone! After discovering Tatcha as a brand several months ago, I was instantly drawn in by the combination of Japanese tradition and high-tech ingredients. I mean, who doesn't want to care for their skin like a geisha and get fabulous results in the process!? After falling smitten with their Luminous Dewy Skin Mist, I was thrilled when Tatcha got in touch about some of their Holiday 2015 offerings. One such set is the Yuki Pure As Snow Set**. I literally did a happy dance when I opened up the package and I'm here now to chat more about this little treasure. 

The Yuki Pure As Snow Set features travel sizes of two of Tatcha's best-selling products said to be essential traditional skin care secrets. Tatcha describes: "Gentle purification and daily enzymatic exfoliation are at the heart of the geisha's time-tested skincare ritual. This limited edition set, wrapped in washi paper with a Japanese snowflake pattern, will leave your complexion as soft and smooth as freshly fallen snow" (from tatcha.com). 

In the spirit of this ritual, the set contains the brand's signature Pure One Step Camellia Cleansing Oil (25mL) and an exfoliating Rice Enzyme Powder (10g). The neat thing is that the kit can be customized for your skin type. While the Cleansing Oil is universal, there are four versions of the exfoliant. I received the set for Sensitive Skin (luckily, as my complexion has been acting up lately), which includes the Indigo Soothing Rice Enzyme Powder. 

As mentioned in the description above, the products were indeed nestled in a soft paper pouch with a festive snowflake pattern. The set also included an insert (likewise on beautiful paper) that provided more detail about the history and design behind the products included. It explains that Yuki is the Japanese word for "snow" and that it was a geisha's goal to create a fresh, snow-like complexion by gently removing all makeup and then polishing the skin. 

As with all Tatcha products I've encountered, the items in this set are housed in brown cardboard boxes with a wood-like appearance and white lettering. They each contain thorough descriptions of the products, full ingredient listings, and  directions.

First up in the Yuki Pure As Snow Set** we have the Pure One-Step Camellia Cleansing Oil. Its main components are rice bran and camellia oils to break down even the heaviest of makeup with red algae and green tea to act as gentle antioxidants. 

The product itself comes in a weighty gold and white glass bottle with a pump dispenser:

Here are a few pumps of the oil in the palm of my hand. As you can see, it is nearly clear and very fluid and runny.

Instructions say to massage the oil into the complexion (with dry face and hands) and then rinse by emulsifying with water. I have to say that I was quite impressed with it! Not only did it break up my makeup easily, it also emulsified fully and rinsed to a very clean finish. No oily residue left behind! 

Next up we have the Indigo Soothing Rice Enzyme Powder designed for sensitive skin. It is a powder-based exfoliant that is activated with water and uses natural rice enzymes to chemically exfoliate the skin. This Indigo version contains both colloidal oatmeal and Japanese indigo, which have both been shown to soothe the skin, as well as Tatcha's proprietary Hadesei-3 complex, which touts powerful anti-aging properties. 

The exfoliating powder comes in a beautiful plastic purple tub with a twist-off cap. As you can see the surface underneath has a slide-back mechanism which allows you to pour only a small amount of the powder at once. How nice to see packaging that doesn't encourage the wasting of product! The powder itself is also a lovely pale (appropriately) indigo colour. 

The directions say to mix about half a teaspoon of product in the palm of your hand with water and then to massage the mixture over the face for 10-20 seconds. The resultant texture depends on how much water is added. With a smaller amount, some of the powder grains remain for a touch of added physical exfoliation; with more water, it becomes a completely smooth foam. The photo below is a bit blurry, but you can see that when applied to the skin it looks and feels like a lightweight, low-foaming mousse. 

So how did it perform? I have tried Tatcha's original Polished Classic Rice Enzyme Powder (made for all skin types) and I can attest to the fact that the Indigo Soothing version is gentler. While the original is by no means harsh, it does sting the skin slightly and can leave my complexion feeling a touch stripped (perhaps due to the foaming action). The Indigo, however, creates no such stinging, but seems to be just as effective at leaving my face ultra smooth and soft afterwards. Although it did not seem to soothe the redness in my skin, it did exfoliate without any additional traces of irritation. That's a plus in my books! 

So if you've at all been tempted by Tatcha, the Yuki Pure As Snow Set** is really an ideal place to start! You can customize it to your skin type and, at only $25 USD, it's a pretty fab bargain! I will definitely be bringing both of these goodies home with me for the holidays (when else would be more appropriate to want to keep my skin looking snow-like?) and will report back on how I like them with continued use. 

To enable you further (I've been told that's a talent/downfall of mine), Tatcha is now offering 20% off site-wide with the code FF2015. Now is really the time to give them a peek :)

Have you tried any products from Tatcha?  Have you tried Japanese skin care? What are your thoughts on cleansing oils and exfoliating powders?

Have a fantastic weekend!

** These products were sent to me for consideration and review. All expressed opinions are 100% authentic and my own.