WARNING! Tatcha Violet-C Brightening Serum Allergy!

I got the Tatcha Violet-C Brightening Serum in the 2022 Lucky Bag and after reading rave reviews about this product's brightening power, I thought this would be a staple to my daily skincare routine and how strong could an herb be? However, I developed a BAD allergy to this product. 

So the night I first used this product, I patted it on my face after putting on toner and immediately felt a slight burning sensation. I thought this was normal since I have this kind of reaction with my glycolic acid toner, so I didn't think anything of it and went to bed. But when I woke up in the morning, my entire face was swollen and my eyes had swelled up so bad that I almost couldn't see. My hubby freaked out when he rolled over and saw Snorlax.

I took a Claritin and called my doctor and the only thing out of the ordinary that I did was use the Tatcha serum. I looked at the ingredients online and saw an ingredient that seemed familiar: Angelica Acutiloba Root Extract, also known as Japanese Angelica or Dong quai in Chinese medicine. Supposively, Angelica is said to have a lot of antioxidants and brightens skin. I took this description from the Tatcha website:

Japanese Angelica Root: This edible plant has been prized for centuries in herbal medicine for its recovery benefits. It helps reduce the appearance of dark spots, discoloration, and post-acne scars from the source. It also helps to diffuse accumulated excess melanin, a cause of hyperpigmentation, resulting in a visibly more even skin tone.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/09/Angelica_acutiloba_subsp._iwatensis.JPG

It sounds like a very nice Asian herbal ingredient but BEWARE! It's strong and there's evidence that it can cause some individuals like me to have contact dermatitis. I knew this because after I gave birth to my first daughter, my MIL gave me Dong quai to get rid of the "dirty" blood, but I developed a nasty rash all over my body and swelling in my legs. I went to the dermatologist and he told me to immediately STOP taking the Dong quai. I never thought this ingredient would be in so much Asian skincare. I would say that if you have sensitive skin, DON'T USE JAPANESE ANGELICA! Read all the ingredients in any new skincare and avoid this ingredient at all costs. I'm sure I got permanent damage to my skin, I can see more fine lines and wrinkles from all the swelling episodes I have been fighting all week.

The reason why is has such a high allergy response is because the Angelica genera contains furocoumarins  which can cause photosensitivity and cause dermatitis (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angelica_acutiloba).

After creating a post about it, I'm hoping that I won't forget again to check my ingredient list again.

Tatcha 2022 Fukubukuro Lucky Bag Deal

 

This is my review of the Tatcha 2022 Lucky Bag deal that I received in January, paid with my own money! I got the $100 lucky bag last year but this year, I decided to splurge and get the $200 bag. It's a great opportunity to try products that I am normally to cheap to buy or think is not a good value. In the bag you get the trial size of The Silk Cream, Violet-C Brightening Serum, the Serum Stick, Luminous Dewy Skin Mist, the Liquid Silk Canvas, and a full sized The Silk Canvas protective primer.

One aspect of my life that I think investing money into is skincare since I'm almost 40 (yikes!) and I think maintaining nice supple skin will help me save money on Botox injections and face lifts in the future. However,  I am VERY picky about what skincare lines to use and Tatcha is my #1 favorites for a few reasons:

1. Tries to be "clean" skincare. This is important to me since I don't like parabens or other nasty ingredients.

2. Doesn't smell bad. I hate strong smelling skincare... one skincare line I can't stand the smell of is La Mer. It smells like old lady perfume from the 80s and I don't think their formula is much more effective than Tatcha, I think the high price is due to all the fragrances!

3. Tatcha creams aren't heavy and I haven't had any allergic reactions or breakouts from any of their products.

4. They sell value sizes at Costco! Some of the Tatcha products can get a little pricey but their basic creams are reasonable, which to me means under $100.

OK, on to the review:

THE SERUM STICK (Full size $48):

 This is a really nice chaptick-y serum stick for fixing up cakey makeup underneath the eyes during the daytime. I think this is a good option for people with mature 50+ skin but for now, I would pass on buying since my sunscreen acts as a serum based moisturizer.

THE SILK CREAM (Full Size $125):

I was the most excited to try The Silk Cream (on the right) but didn't because of the price. I normally use The Indigo Cream, The Water Cream, and the Dewy Cream depending on what season we are in. I honestly don't feel this cream made any more difference than the other creams in terms of moisturizing and benefits. I feel that the Dewy Skin Cream actually feels more hydrating and pleasant than The Silk Cream. 

THE LIQUID SILK CANVAS (Full size $52):

The Liquid Silk Canvas surprised me the most since I like the original Silk Canvas that comes in the compact. When I went to Lake Tahoe for a mini vacay, I was having a skin allergy on my eyes from a dental procedure (doctor used Latex gloves) and my eyes were so swollen and dry from the cold conditions. I used The Liquid Silk Canvas on my eyes before putting on my eye makeup and I'm happy to say that it made my eyes look less dry and more or less normal. I think this hydrating primer is good for dry skin and I would pick it against my YSL Illuminating Primer. However, I wouldn't pick it over the original Silk Canvas compact just because I feel the compact version does such a good job filling in fine lines and large pores.

VIOLET-C BRIGTENING SERUM (Full size $88): 

I was also very excited to try this product since it sounds so cheery and the bottle is fancy but this product turned out exactly as I expected, which is that it doesn't do any better than cheaper brands like The Ordinary and The Inkey List's Vit-c serum. The Violet-C Brightening Serum is runny and I think you're just paying for the light perfume smell and the pretty packaging. Prob will not buy again but nice to try in a sample size.

THE LUMINOUS DEWY SKIN MIST (Full size $48):

I didn't even bother taking an individual picture of this product because I think it's such a bad deal. I don't know how it's a best seller and that people are paying $48 for a gimmick. It is basically a toner and in my opinion, toners shouldn't be expensive since you're going to be layering moisturizer and SPF on top of it anyways. I know you're supposed to use this mist throughout the day to hydrate your face but I didn't feel like this did didley squat for me. Maybe I will change my mind 10 years down the road when my skin is even drier.

The products that I buy regularly for my combo oily cheeks and dry eyes skin type: The Dewy Cream, The Indigo Cream, The Indigo Overnight Repair Cream, the Violet-C Radiance Mask, The Water Cream,  and the Silk Peony Eye Cream. All the Tatcha cleansers are very good too but I don't think face cleansers that I only use for 30 seconds need to be pricey, so I stick to Cetaphil gentle cleanser from Costco and DHC Oil Cleanser.