Wedding day beauty is not a thing you reserve just for the wedding day. We bridezillas like looking our best every day of the year, which is why our little zilla hearts skipped a beat at the mention of Tatcha aburatorigami japanese blotting papers. These babies, made of 100% abaca leaf and infused with flecks of gold leaf, claim to give users everywhere a “petal fresh complexion” and all but turn any greasy gal into a glowing geisha with a few simple dabs.
Too good to be true? We took it upon ourselves to find out.
Bridezilla Uncovers the Dirt…and Grease…and Oil…
There are a few Bridezilla rules that go unsaid.
1. Never try new beauty products on your own face first.
2. Never reveal how oily your skin is in public.
Therefore, it only makes sense that the Tatcha blotting papers were first sampled by our Bridezilla minion, the deviously dashing Doug.
Initial impressions as I watched Doug dabbing away: Tatcha blotting papers certainly work. After one swipe in that finicky T-zone, Doug pulled away a saturated paper, yelped in amazement, and went to town. 45 seconds and Doug claimed to be oil-free.
I have highlighted the end result, grease-sodden paper for your viewing pleasure.
In the privacy of my Bridezilla lair, I tried a blotting paper of my own. And, after being vaguely horrified that that much oil was sitting pretty on my face, I was satisfied with the soft dryness of my formally grease-ridden skin. There was a noticeable difference, even though one blotting paper is far from a permanent fix. I can see how, especially during an event that lasts a few hours (I’m thinking everything from post-office dinner dates to the wedding ceremony that goes straight into a dance-all-night reception) these can come in handy.
The real-gold flecks, which are a heavily advertised selling point for Tatcha, might not be entirely effective. Each sheet has only a few visible speckles of gold, and I am pretty sure the real absorption properties lie in the abaca leaf. However, the bridezilla in me love love loved the added sparkle, if only because it was pretty and distracted me from my apparently very dirty skin.
Delicate and easily transportable, Tatcha is the grown-up, classy, and slightly more expensive older sister of the blotting papers from the likes of Bioré and Clean&Clear, plus has the added benefits of being 100% biodegradable and free of animal testing. At $12 for a set of 30 sheets, Bridezilla says a-.
Minus points for sheer grease gross-out value.
oh my, those blotting papers really do work! I’ve got to get me some!