TATCHA Gold Camellia Beauty Oil and Nourishing Lip Balm Review & Giveaway!

The mere sight of TATCHA products on my bathroom shelf is enough to bring me the feeling of deep contentment - which is only further intensified when it comes to applying them on my face. There is no other brand that does its packaging better than TATCHA, and opening a package brings about a similar level of visual stimulation to an art exhibit; or possibly even higher, because it's also a tactile and olofactory experience. I love it. Despite my usual cynicism, I think there must be something right in this world after all if products like TATCHA's are designed, manufactured, and enjoyed by thousands of women, no?

It's no surprise then that I was beyond excited to be able not only to try and review two more products from the range (click here for my review of TATCHA One Step Camellia Cleansing Oil and Rice Enzyme Powder, which I'm still using, and here for the TATCHA Luminous Deep Hydration Lifting Mask), but also to give them away to one lucky reader! But more on that at the bottom of the post (yes, I know you're all frantically scrolling down right now...); first let's see how I've been getting on with TATCHA Gold Camellia Beauty Oil* ($95 for 30ml/ 1.01 oz) and Gold Camellia Nourishing Lipbalm* ($36 for 8g/0.28 oz).

The GOLD Camellia Beauty Oil comes in a sturdy glass bottle, embellished with a purple ombre design. The oil is dispensed through an elegant pipette with a press down button - a bit of an upgrade from the usual rubber. TATCHA describes it as 'a light and rich beauty oil for face, hair and body. Infused Licorice Extract gently calms skin, while young Bamboo and Green Tea fragrances offer transport to a Kyoto countryside. Camellia Oil and Squalane nourish skin and seal in moisture, while 24-karat gold flake gives skin a sensual glow.'

The Gold Camellia Beauty Oil is possibly the lightest and most easily absorbed oil I've ever tried, while still remaining moisturizing and nourishing for the skin. Camellia oil, rich in Vitamin E as well as other antioxidants, is a Japanese carrier oil expelled from the seeds of camellia sinesis tea plant (not to be confused with tea tree essential oil, or Tsubaki oil, pressed from seeds of camellia japonica), and it's been traditionally used by Japan's Oshima Island farm girls, and later geishas, to nourish the skin and hair. It's a lot less viscuous than my Clarins Blue Orchid Facial Treatment Oil, and takes less time to sink in, thus making it better suited for the hot New York summer, and even appropriate to use in the daytime on my combination acne-prone skin.

I've been using the Camellia Beauty Oil for the past four weeks every night and some days in the morning in place of a moisturizer, and my skin is now soft, hydrated and plump, and my skintone more even. I also wanted to test how moisturizing this light oil really was on my skin, so for a while I used it just on its own, without layering a serum underneath - and my skin remained hydrated without any dry patches. I take a couple drops onto my fingers, briefly rub my palms together, and press the oil onto my face, breathing in the sweet, slightly lemony green tea fragrance. Even after a couple hours I can tell my skin is still nourished, but not greasy or tacky, and it seems to calm down the redness in my face - and absolutely does not clog pores or cause any breakouts, in fact I believe it speeds up the healing of any blemishes. I haven't tested it fully on my body or my hair, because I think it's too precious, but I can tell you that whatever is left on my hands after applying it to my face is instantly sucked in without any residue. The skin on my hands is very dry and eczema-prone, so if the skin on your face is more on the dry side, I'd recommend layering the Camellia Beauty Oil with a moisturizer.

The GOLD Camellia Nourishing Lip Balm is packaged in a simple glass pot, and comes with a single gold leaf square delicately placed on the surface of the balm. TATCHA suggests scooping out a bit of the lip balm with a touch of the golf leaf, which then dissolves on the lips for a soft, gold gleam. The gold leaf is actually the only thing I have a slight issue with in both the Nourishing Lip Balm and the Beauty Oil; when I try to crush it between my fingertips it just balls up and disappears somewhere - so I don't entirely see the point, apart from it looking beautifully luxurious in the product. But I can live with that!

As far as the balm itself, it has an interesting, smooth oil gel texture that spreads easily on the lips, and a light scent similar to that of the Beauty Oil. It feels a lot thinner and less waxy than my long-standing favorites like Nuxe Reve de Miel or Osmia Organics Honey-Myrrh Lip Repair. Because of that, it absorbs much quicker into the lips and doesn't leave a thick layer on the skin like the other two can. For this reason, I find the TATCHA Gold Camellia Lip Balm a fantastic product for daytime and a great step in prepping for lipstick application, but not moisturizing enough on my Sahara-dry lips overnight - I think my lips just need that extra coat of balm to stay put through the night!

As you can tell, I've been very much enjoying both the Gold Camellia Beauty Oil and the Nourishing Lipbalm, and thanks to the generosity of the beautiful ladies at TATCHA, I have a set of these products to give away to one lucky reader. The giveaway is open to all US residents over the age of 18 (please obtain parental permission if you're under 18), and you can enter by using the Rafflecopter widget below. I will contact the winner via email a week from now and ship the prize out as soon as possible. Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway
Disclaimer: Products marked with an asterix (*) were press samples I received from TATCHA for review consideration. All links are non-affiliate. All opinions are 100% honest and unbiased, no matter if the products featured were purchased with my own monies or provided as free press samples. Thank you for reading!