Keeping It Tight with TATCHA Luminous Deep Hydration Firming Serum

Hydration.

It’s the one crucial factor that I always try to incorporate in my skincare routine, and ultimately, in everyday life. I believe that hydration is the fundamental foundation on the journey to great, healthy skin for years to come.

While we may not be able banish wrinkles and fine lines altogether (seriously, aging is a privilege!), we can at least make the skin more supple and plumper, less prune-like if you know what I mean. Hence, those lines won’t be as visible. Hydration is possibly the easiest solution.

One of my favorite products to do just that is TATCHA Luminous Deep Hydration Firming Serum.

What it is (from the website):

A firming serum featuring a deeply hydrating blend of Okinawa Red Algae and hyaluronic acid to nourish skin in need of bounce back.

I’ve mentioned a little bit about one of the star ingredients, the Okinawa Red Algae in the Luminous Dewy Skin Mist review. In this video (which I suggest you should watch), TATCHA‘s founder, Victoria Tsai, explained about the remarkable properties of Okinawa Red Algae. Because the plant lives in saltwater, it must be able to retain moisture to survive. This makes perfect sense to my logic. The moment she dropped those dried algae into the water, the algae bloomed almost instantly and grew (or I shall say puffed up) significantly in size. The serum also has hyaluronic acid (specifically Sodium Hyaluronate) which is known for its ability to hold up to 1,000 times its weight in water.

Watching the demonstration alone, I knew I had to give this serum a try.

Imagine having a moisture magnet inside the skin. Pulling in water and keeping it in there.

When TATCHA says to “shake gently before use”, by all means, give it a good shake. Deep Hydration Firming Serum has a light aloe-gel-like consistency that can sometimes get a little clumpy. So yes, best to shake it a few times. Because of its gel nature, the serum that’s trapped inside the pump’s nozzle can become coagulated, especially if I haven’t used it in a while. The somewhat-solidified gel doesn’t clog the pump thankfully, so that’s not a problem.

The fancy element to this serum is the 23-karat gold flecks that lends to a glow-from-within look. Once applied, I personally couldn’t detect any corny shimmers. If I take a really good look, I can see it, but I don’t get annoyed by it. The overall result makes the skin look more luminous and healthy.

One pump. Just one pump, is more than enough for the whole face and I can still drag a little down to the neck as well. The light gel consistency breaks down to a watery texture, making it effortless to spread across the skin. My skin drinks it up within a few seconds. It does leave just a slightly sticky finish, but once it’s all absorbed, my skin is pretty much soft and smooth.

I emphasize on using one pump because I find when I layer on too much, instead of absorbing in, the serum will sort of just sit on top of the skin and on several occasions it can ball up and flake off when I tried to massage it in.

Not to worry because one pump alone is indeed potent.

The gelatinous consistency.

Speckles of 23-karat gold…

I like to use the serum either day and/or night time. It’s not that hard to incorporate it into the skincare regime because the main (yet still very important) function is to provide hydration. Well, the proof is in the pudding. I didn’t have to use it daily to find my skin becomes plumper and ‘fuller’. If I can visualize it from a zoomed-in perspective, I imagine the empty pockets in my skin are filled with moisture and it’s locked in. Like a dried shiitake mushroom soaked in water and regain its full wholesome shape. And when I touch it, it bounces back. Boing boing.

It’s supple and it’s firm at the same time.

Apart from using it on its own, Deep Hydration Firming Serum works quite lovely as a layering serum. I think this serum is such a treat that I tend to use it at moments where I feel in need of an uplift, especially when I’m using something that’s drying on the skin. For example, I like to use this serum on top of REN Resurfacing AHA Concentrate. I don’t think I can survive using REN Concentrate straight for 7 days if I didn’t have this serum to back the skin up. Sometimes, I also like to layer this under Sunday Riley Good Genes as well. I layer it before because the absorption works best in that order.

I also feel that this serum has a potential to boost other skincare products’ efficacy. When I think it over, the way that it binds moisture, it could also hold/keep other ingredients better and longer. Right? Why not? It’s definitely possible.

While Deep Hydration Firming Serum plays synergistically with most serums, I wasn’t able to layer it over Sunday Riley Luna Sleeping Night Oil. I think it’s got to do with the formulation. The serum balls up when I massage it over Luna. Even if I don’t massage it, I feel the serum just sits on top. I suppose I can layer the serum beforehand, but I prefer Luna to sink into the skin first for good measure. That’s probably the only downside, that it might not layer well with other products.

One of my guilty pleasures it to apply the serum on the back of my hands. They can get really dry and parched at times. I apply the serum first then layer the brand’s Soothing Silk Hand Cream. Not the most efficient in terms of cost versus value, but hey, whatever helps!

Worth to note, the 30 ml serum is packaged in a good-sized bottle and easy to be carried around during travels. I brought it to my work trips a few times and I feel I made the right decision by doing so. I always incorporated this serum in the skincare regime if I know I’d be on a flight later on. It’s safe net.

TATCHA Luminous Deep Hydration Firming Serum might look like an underdog but its role at keeping my skin hydrated is a force to be reckoned with.