Is This Purple Japanese Superfruit the Secret to Glowing Skin?
Yahoo Beauty would like to introduce you to The New-New, a column by Beauty Director Dana Oliver on the latest products, tools, and treatments on which she’d happily spend her hard-earned money.
The label for Tatcha’s new Violet-C Radiance Mask reads like a list of anti-aging all-stars. With powerful additives, including water- and oil-soluble vitamin C and alpha hydroxy acids (AHAs) from apple, grapefruit, lemon, orange, and lime fruit extracts, this creamy facial mask deeply cleanses and gently exfoliates. However, the ingredient that piqued my interest was the Japanese Beautyberry.
The purple superfruit, also known as Callicarpa, is packed with antioxidants and actually lends its brilliant color to Tatcha’s mask. What makes it even more powerful is its ability to prevent those two different types of vitamin C I mentioned earlier from working against each other. How cool is that?
Tatcha has established creditability as a luxe brand that celebrities, beauty editors, and skin care enthusiasts trust to give them younger-looking skin. While I’ve dabbled here and there with their cosmetics, mostly splashing The Essence onto my face after cleansing and toning, I added the Violet-C Radiance Mask to my nighttime routine and prayed for a “glow up.”
Full disclosure: I’ve yet to develop deep wrinkles or lose that “bounce” in my skin, but I do struggle with dullness and hyperpigmentation. So addressing those two issues are always my main objectives when I try anti-aging products.
While the tacky texture of the mask initially threw me off, I couldn’t help but laugh (and take a few selfies) when I looked in the mirror and saw my purple mutant-like complexion. My boyfriend even joked that I looked like an X-Men character. The instructions say to leave the mask on for a minimum of 15 minutes. Once the time was up, I rinsed off the mask with warm water, and it began to dissolve into a jelly-like substance, washing away dirt that was left behind from my pre-cleansing.
It’s almost unbelievable how much brighter my complexion looked after just one use, and the roughness around my cheekbones (as a result of hormonal breakouts) gradually started to feel much smoother. I continued using the mask twice a week, rotating between treating my skin after a long day at work and self-care on the weekends.
One of the ways I like to test the effectiveness of skin care products is to get the opinion of a makeup artist. This profession requires getting real up close and personal, and I find they are some of the most honest individuals. While I was preparing to take new headshots, makeup artist Maria Ortega complemented me on my “great skin.” My sparse eyebrows and how she’ll fill them are usually the focus of our conversations, but this time around, we chatted about my new and improved glow.
A beauty-loving colleague of mine also asked, “Are you wearing any makeup today?” It just so happens that I rushed out the door, packed my makeup kit, and then decided to just brave the day barefaced.
I may not need makeup, but I need to stock up on jars of this purple mask ASAP.
Tatcha Violet-C Radiance Mask ($68) is now available at sephora.com and tatcha.com.
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