Hydrated and golden.

This quarantine season really made me take a break from wearing any makeup, huh? Before, I used to at least wear a lippie and and a brow gel but now I don't even bother AT. ALL. Because of this, I became more interested/invested in- you guessed it- skincare. I feel like quarantine really pushed me to be more experimental with skincare and just forget about makeup haha! I suddenly remembered the skincare samples I have in my stash, so yay to more Sampling Samples entries! Figured I'd kick this off with my fave skincare product: a moisturizer.

Moisturizers give me so much happiness because not only do they hydrate my skin, they also help my skin not look dull or lifeless. I absolutely love trying out different moisturizers but in general, I really prefer water-based or gel ones because they're light on the skin and doesn't leave any film on the skin.

Here I have a moisturizer that I gave a try a few days ago: it's the Tatcha's The Water Cream, an "oil-free, anti-aging water cream that releases a burst of skin-improving Japanese nutrients, powerful botanicals, and optimal hydration for poreless-looking skin." 

The product is noncomedogenic, non-irritating, non-sensitizing, dermatologist tested, and cruelty-free and is formulated without mineral oil, synthetic fragrances, sulfate detergents, urea, DEA, or TEA. I also found out that every Tatcha product you buy help support female education around the world as Tatcha is a partner of Room to Read, a non-profit organization whose mission is improving literacy and gender equality in education in developing countries.

Key ingredients in this product include: Japanese wild rose (tightens pores and smooths skin texture), Japanese leopard lily (helps control excess oil), and Hadasei-3 (a blend of green tea, rice, and algae that restores healthy radiance. Apparently the blend in this formula is where the product gets its golden hue.

The sample I had didn't contain a lot of product so I was only able to test it for a whole afternoon (yes it was kind of a one time use-kind of sample) so this review also doubles as a First Impressions post, I guess. Right of the bat, the product was such a nice thing to look at. How pretty is that gold sheen! It looked like a mild liquid luminizer without the blaring highlight. Pretty!

The product itself is definitely a cream product but it was definitely lighter than the ones I've tried before. On the skin, it melted seamlessly and beautifully and the amount in the sample was the perfect amount to use all over the face and neck. The golden hue didn't tint the skin but to me, it gave my skin a healthy subtle glow, like it removed the dullness of my skin and made it look a hundred times better. I definitely loved it on its own!

Now, I gotta tell you: this product imparts a slight film on the skin so if you're not a big fan of that, skip this maybe. If you have dry skin or have dry patches, you will LOVE this because it does a superb job in keeping your skin hydrated.

Though I just used it once, my experience was great. I thought it gave my skin the boost it needed and the fragrance wasn't bothering at all, to me at least. The product definitely felt luxurious to me and I feel like purchasing the full size product will be worth it. Ahh, I so wish the sample had more! Such a good product! (PS. If anyone knows a good dupe for this, hit me up! x)