Revisiting cleansing oils with the highly raved Tatcha Camellia Cleansing Oil

I haven’t used a cleansing oil in well over 2 years now. Coming from someone who used to be a strong proponent and user of cleansing oils, it is quite something! But the reason I stopped was not because I no longer double cleanse. On the contrary, it was because I’d switched over to using cleansing balms.

This was after realising that cleansing oil, while far more convenient than balms, were stripping my skin and drying it out, resulting in my breaking out. So, when I was invited to try the Tatcha Camellia Cleansing Oil I felt a little concerned.

I wasn’t too sure if I wanted to go down that route again, because overly dry skin results in me breaking out. But because this was such a highly raved product and brand, I took the plunge.

Tatcha is a luxury skincare brand based in the USA, but built on the backs of Japanese skincare philosophy, and as founder Victoria Tsai will tell you, inspired by the beauty rituals of geisha. I must say that the packaging of their products are beautiful. there is a lot of attention to detail and surprise. For example, the fairly simple looking wood-print box that houses the Camellia Cleansing Oil opens up to reveal a beautifully designed blue tray with a grosgrain ribbon pull-tab. The bottle housed within, is wrapped like a scroll, with lovely washi-type paper, with a message from Victoria printed on it. The product itself is housed in sturdy bottles and tubs, with good heft, and a minimalistic design.

I haven’t seen this sort of aesthetic in a long time from any brand, and suffice to say, my attention was captured from the get go! Yet, how did this cleansing oil fare?

To be honest, very well indeed.

The Tatcha Camellia Cleansing Oil is a typical cleansing oil, which most of us would be familiar with. If you aren’t, a cleansing oil operates as a first step cleanser, or as some people will have it, a one-step cleanser. Oil binds with oil on skin to lift off and remove dirt and grime more easily and more effectively than a regular cleanser, and the best part is that you can use it as a makeup remover as well, thus shortening your skincare routine.

Personally, I remove my makeup first, especially around the eyes (read my reasons here) before using a cleansing oil as my first cleanse, followed up by a second cleanse. However, I can attest to the fact that the Camellia Cleansing Oil is very effective at removing makeup from skin. I’d forgotten how convenient using a cleansing oil can be!

While Tatcha says that you do not need to double cleanse when using this, I still do. It’s force of habit and I think it’s good practice anyway.

But how do you benefit best from this? You use it as you do other cleansing oils – with DRY hands and DRY face. I’ve shared my tips on how to effectively use a cleansing oil here, which basically means you do not attempt to splash it off, but I’ll repeat it below for ease of reference.

• Pump 3-4 pumps of cleansing oil onto dry hands. I find that this gives the best result, as there’s sufficient product to properly move over the skin
• Spread between palms and apply to dry face.
• Massage it into your skin firmly but gently without tugging for a few minutes. You may find that there are gritty bits appearing between your fingertips.
• Take some warm water, wet skin (not splash) and massage to emulsify. The product will turn milky.
• Continue taking little water and emulsifying for a few minutes before splashing off to rinse till clean.

If you do the slow emulsification process, you will find that this and any cleansing oil, will rinse off more easily and more cleanly. If you don’t, you’ll find that your face won’t feel clean, or you might even break out from improper cleansing.

I find that the Tatcha Camellia Cleansing Oil does a very good job at taking off makeup and grime, and cleansing the skin. My skin feels absolutely lovely and soft after and best of all, IT DOES NOT FEEL DRY!

I don’t feel like I have to run for my lotions and creams immediately after cleansing, or that my face is pulled into a taut grimace. I must note here that my skin type is normal-dry and every cleansing oil out there that I used to love (or hate) before, would dry my skin out to a husk. It’s why I switched to cleansing balms which I feel are much kinder to dry skin. But it was gratifying that this wasn’t drying, and was actually very comfortable.

I do think it performs very well and is absolutely worth trying, if you use cleansing oil. However, the key drawback here would be the price (US$48/150ml) and availability. It’s not easily available worldwide, and although the Tatcha site does ship internationally, shipping can be pricey, unless you buy above a certain amount, where they’ll ship for free.

Having experienced again the ease and practicality of a cleansing oil for one step cleansing and best of all, not drying my skin, I’m definitely in the market to replenish this one if the opportunity arises.

IN A NUTSHELL

The Tatcha Camellia Cleansing Oil is a cleansing oil that removes makeup and cleanses skin all at one go. The best thing about this, is that it isn’t drying at all, even for my normal-dry skin! This makes this wonderful for me, despite its rather hefty price tag. The oil is comfortable on skin, and thick enough to massage over skin to remove makeup and impurities, yet emulsifies easily to remove and rinses off clean, leaving skin feeling soft and clean. I enjoyed using it, and even set aside my balms for over a month while trying this. It’ll be hard to give up this ease of cleansing once it’s gone.

PROS: Light yet viscous oil that is easy to massage over skin, Emulsifies easily, Does not leave a greasy residue, Not drying even on dry skin

CONS: Pricey, Hard to get especially outside of the USA

WHO WILL LIKE THIS: Anyone who currently uses cleansing oil, Anyone who wants the ease of a cleansing oil but finds most too drying

PRICE: US$48 / 150ml

AVAILABILITY: Tatcha website (ships worldwide), Sephora US, Barneys New York US

For those interested, here is the ingredient list for the Camellia Cleansing Oil.

Do you use a cleansing oil? Have you tried this by Tatcha or any other Tatcha skincare?

This is the first time in 2 years, at least, that I’ve used a cleansing oil, and I just can’t get over how convenient it is. No need to use face cloths, or to remove my makeup before hand! I can just emulsify and be done. That said, I’m still happy using cleansing balms. It’s just nice to have a more simple alternative! 😛 So, is there any other Tatcha skincare I should consider trying? 😀

Paris B