Tatcha Water Cream: a Guru Score of 83% from 10 experts

Every take, in full

What the gurus are saying.

Every take we've logged from this product's reviews across YouTube. Click any row to watch the moment they said it.

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✓Approved

"For years, it has been one of my go-to recommendations if someone with oily skin wants a moisturizer because it feels luxurious and kind of rich on the skin, yet dries down in such a weightless, hydrating way. It's perfect and it does so well under makeup."

No BS Beauty

89k subs

✓Approved

"I like their Water Cream still. It's still a really nice moisturizer with a light fragrance and really nice."

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"Both products are lovely I've used them both extensively"

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"I like their Water Cream still. It's still a really nice moisturizer with a light fragrance and really nice."

Dr. Aleksandra Brown

131k subs

✓Approved

"I'm borderline obsessed with this. I do find that it's ideal for the warmer months thanks to its really lightweight oil-free formula or if you're somebody who has like combination oily skin. This Tatcha Water Cream is just pure perfection. It delivers that boost of hydration without clogging pores. It's really good for oily, combination, even acne prone skin. It helps balance the skin and helps control excess oil, but also hydrates at the same time. You don't end up with like that tight, flaky skin. It absorbs super quick, leaves your skin fresh, dewy, not greasy. I put it on top of my vitamin C, let it dry, and then SPF goes on top. So, if you find that maybe you're using SPF on top of moisturizer, your SPF's rolling off, maybe you don't have the right moisturizer, this one's like perfect underneath your SPF or makeup spring, summer, or even like all year if you have oily skin. The key ingredients here are the Japanese wild rice and Hideaci 3."

All 2 takes from Dr. Aleksandra Brown

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"I love this. Love it. Even though it's a jar, super fancy little applicator right here. So cute. It smells really nice. This one has the Galactomyces ferment filtrate base. It's really lightweight. It feels like you feel like a million bucks when you put it on. It's really ideal for those warmer months because it's lightweight. It's completely oil-free if you're somebody who's acne prone or you're worried about that. It hydrates without clogging your pores. So it's perfect for that combination oily skin or even acne prone skin. Helps balance the skin and control oil while also maintaining that optimal hydration so you don't end up with oily but flaky skin. It absorbs really quick. Leaves you really fresh, kind of dewy a little bit, but not greasy at all. I really like it under makeup. The key ingredient here is the Japanese wild rice and Hyaluronic Acid."

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"I'm borderline obsessed with this. I do find that it's ideal for the warmer months thanks to its really lightweight oil-free formula or if you're somebody who has like combination oily skin. This Tatcha Water Cream is just pure perfection. It delivers that boost of hydration without clogging pores. It's really good for oily, combination, even acne prone skin. It helps balance the skin and helps control excess oil, but also hydrates at the same time. You don't end up with like that tight, flaky skin. It absorbs super quick, leaves your skin fresh, dewy, not greasy. I put it on top of my vitamin C, let it dry, and then SPF goes on top. So, if you find that maybe you're using SPF on top of moisturizer, your SPF's rolling off, maybe you don't have the right moisturizer, this one's like perfect underneath your SPF or makeup spring, summer, or even like all year if you have oily skin. The key ingredients here are the Japanese wild rice and Hideaci 3."

Nipun Kapur

401k subs

✓Approved

"When I did use the Tatcha Water Cream I absolutely fell in love with it. It is a gorgeous formula and yes it is beautiful fragrance strong but it sinks into your skin. It gives you that glass-like finish on your skin but it's not sticky. It's just beautiful Water Cream is perfection."

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"The tatcha Water Cream it's literally like water is fabulous this is my recommended number two recommendation"

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"This is a really really beautiful formula which intently seeps into your skin"

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"It just leaves your skin feeling absolutely smooth and glowy. The only downside about this product is the fragrance, it's strong. All Tatcha products have a fragrance, and the fragrance is just a bit strong, but the payoff is so beautiful that I don't mind it. This is one product that I highly highly recommend, and honestly, even though the product is pricey, this is going to last you a really really long time."

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"When I did use the Tatcha Water Cream I absolutely fell in love with it. It is a gorgeous formula and yes it is beautiful fragrance strong but it sinks into your skin. It gives you that glass-like finish on your skin but it's not sticky. It's just beautiful Water Cream is perfection."

The Style and Beauty Doctor

220k subs

✓Approved

"This feels very hydrating. Petrolatum is not going to break you out if you have acne either, unless you put something on that's going to break you out and then you put petrolatum on top, because when you put petrolatum on top things are under occlusion and when things are under occlusion sometimes they get a little bit more intense and that could break you out, but the petrolatum itself won't break you out unless for some strange reason you're allergic to petrolatum."

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"The Water Cream, it's kind of similar to the Dewy skin cream except it's a lighter weight. It's more of a gel cream moisturizer, equally as luxurious but it's more lightweight and better suited for oilier skin."

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"This feels very hydrating. Petrolatum is not going to break you out if you have acne either, unless you put something on that's going to break you out and then you put petrolatum on top, because when you put petrolatum on top things are under occlusion and when things are under occlusion sometimes they get a little bit more intense and that could break you out, but the petrolatum itself won't break you out unless for some strange reason you're allergic to petrolatum."

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"Tatcha Water Cream is a very light gel cream moisturizer. It's very hydrating but it's super lightweight. It's best for oily, combo, or maybe normal skin. It's oil-free, so you probably shouldn't use this if you have dry skin. There are certain products that have to be used either by a certain person profile or during a certain time of the year. For me, I typically wouldn't use something like that in the winter. I'm probably going to only use something like that in the warmer months when I want the hydration but I don't want that heavy feel. In the colder months, I'm probably going to want something that's even more hydrating."

James Welsh

1.58M subs

✓Mixed

"In my personal experience, I have found that I dry out a lot quicker with the Tatcha Water Cream. It just seems to disappear too quick on the skin, especially on my dry parts. Tatcha does feel a bit more geared towards those seeking pore refinement and oil control and anti-aging benefits with a touch of luxury. And I do find that the gold in the product is tacky, to be honest with you. What that says to me is that people don't want what Tatcha are often claiming their product does. What they want is a nice lightweight watery cream, a deeply hydrating watery cream, which I find other options do considerably better than Tatcha."

All 4 takes from James Welsh

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"In my personal experience, I have found that I dry out a lot quicker with the Tatcha Water Cream. It just seems to disappear too quick on the skin, especially on my dry parts. Tatcha does feel a bit more geared towards those seeking pore refinement and oil control and anti-aging benefits with a touch of luxury. And I do find that the gold in the product is tacky, to be honest with you. What that says to me is that people don't want what Tatcha are often claiming their product does. What they want is a nice lightweight watery cream, a deeply hydrating watery cream, which I find other options do considerably better than Tatcha."

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"I don't like Tatcha's moisturizers. I like a fair few of their other products, their lip products are amazing, but the Water Cream I just don't like that much. It broke me out, it's not as deeply hydrating as you'd want from a product with the word water in the name, and it's just very very expensive."

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"Their Water cream is like an iconic product."

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"I don't love this brand but I do see why people like their products, I especially understand why their Water Cream is so popular, it is so deeply hydrating, smells nice if that's your thing, and contains an ingredient that is incredibly soothing, especially if you have rosacea or break out easily, probably one of their best products."

Dr. Jenny Liu

318k subs

✓Approved

"The Water Cream is one of the OG best sellers from Tatcha. It is a lightweight moisturizer that hydrates. It feels so lush on your skin but at the same time it's not heavy, and it has their fermented hadashi 3, which is a blend of green tea, rice, and algae extract that helps to plump your skin, helps to hydrate your skin, and brighten your skin, as well as wild roast extract that serves as an antioxidant and helps to brighten your skin. It's great for the majority of skin types but especially if you are more oily prone or combination skin."

All 2 takes from Dr. Jenny Liu

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"Tatcha's Water Cream retails for $72. This one is great, it's lightweight, fast absorbing, great for individuals that have combination or oily skin or anyone that gets easily dehydrated but wanting a moisturizer that won't add heaviness, greasiness or shine. This one absorbs really quickly, is great at hydrating the skin at the same time, helping to control sebum and over time improving the appearance of pore size. Ingredient wise it contains Tatcha's proprietary Hadasei-3 blend which is basically fermented ingredients from green tea, brown algae and rice along with other plant-derived ingredients that is just really soothing and calming. So a lovely moisturizer, however certainly $72 is really expensive."

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"The Water Cream is one of the OG best sellers from Tatcha. It is a lightweight moisturizer that hydrates. It feels so lush on your skin but at the same time it's not heavy, and it has their fermented hadashi 3, which is a blend of green tea, rice, and algae extract that helps to plump your skin, helps to hydrate your skin, and brighten your skin, as well as wild roast extract that serves as an antioxidant and helps to brighten your skin. It's great for the majority of skin types but especially if you are more oily prone or combination skin."

Beyond50Skin

31k subs

✓Approved

"I just gave my mom the Water Cream and she opened the box and she's like I can't use this it's too beautiful like it's meant to be used mom you have to open it so she is falling in love with the Water Cream and I am an all-time fave of the dewy skin cream."

All 2 takes from Beyond50Skin

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"I just gave my mom the Water Cream and she opened the box and she's like I can't use this it's too beautiful like it's meant to be used mom you have to open it so she is falling in love with the Water Cream and I am an all-time fave of the dewy skin cream."

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"The Water Cream is probably better for normal to oily skin types."

Alexandra Anele

1.43M subs

✓Approved

"The Tatcha Water Cream is one of my favorite ways to moisturize and prepare my skin for makeup. This is a Water Cream, it's very moisturizing, it makes your skin look nice and dewy and hydrated, but it is not a heavy moisturizer. This is just a really good option for people who have more oily skin that might be a little bit more dehydrated without building up way too much moisture. Obviously it is very expensive, but I really do like it for prepping my skin."

All 6 takes from Alexandra Anele

Super dry, post treatment skin that is sooo rude to your makeup

"I'm going to moisturize my face using the Tatcha Water Cream. I typically use this just underneath my eyes, but I'm going to put a glob of it on that spot because it is so irritated and dry. It is so irritated and dry, trust me, these are like the little steps that are going to make a huge difference when you are trying to conceal that under my eyes. It is very very thick around the edges."

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"That extra moisture is very helpful. It's the kind of thing that I would suggest for a wedding or a very special event. I use the Tatcha Water Cream as my moisturizer, and it's my favorite base for makeup now. These are very expensive so I use them when I'm doing a full face of makeup or when I have a special occasion."

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"I prepped my face with my Tatcha Water Cream and um kind of regret that just so you know I feel like it made my skin a little too dewy."

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"My favorite base are the Tatcha Water Cream and then the Tatcha Dewy Skin Cream. I use both of them. I usually use the Water Cream all over my face as my moisturizer and then I'll use the Dewy Cream sometimes like as a second layer, depends on how dry my skin has been, but at the very least I will focus that in more dry areas. I also always super hydrate underneath my eyes because obviously you can see dark circles, that's where I need a lot of coverage, so all the areas I need a lot of coverage and dry areas I want to make sure that they are sufficiently moisturized."

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"The Tatcha Water Cream is one of my favorite ways to moisturize and prepare my skin for makeup. This is a Water Cream, it's very moisturizing, it makes your skin look nice and dewy and hydrated, but it is not a heavy moisturizer. This is just a really good option for people who have more oily skin that might be a little bit more dehydrated without building up way too much moisture. Obviously it is very expensive, but I really do like it for prepping my skin."

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"For my base all I did was rinse with a little bit of water, mist with my aesop mist, and then I went in with the Tatcha Water Cream."

Tea with MD

107k subs

✓Approved

"The Tatcha Water Cream has been a holy grail of mine for a really long time. It really helps to hydrate without feeling heavy or sticky at all. It is formulated with Japanese rose and also Japanese lily, so one helps to tighten pores and smooth the skin texture and one helps to kind of clamp down on excess oil. It also comes with this proprietary blend called the Harasé 3 complex which consists of green tea, rice, and algae. I know this one is a little bit pricier than a typical drugstore option, but that's why I like to offer a range of pricing in all the products I recommend so that you can test them and kind of pick one that fits your preferences and your budget."

Common questions

Frequently asked.

What is Tatcha Water Cream?

A lightweight gel-cream moisturizer formulated with fermented botanicals and hyaluronic acid, designed to hydrate without heaviness or grease.

Is Tatcha Water Cream worth it?

Mostly yes. 9 of the 10 gurus who reviewed it give it their stamp of approval, for a Guru Score of 83%.

What is Tatcha Water Cream's Guru Score?

Tatcha Water Cream holds a Guru Score of 83%. That is our read on how warmly the experts talk about it, based on the verdicts of 10 independent expert reviewers we have collected. At least one expert has named it a Top Pick in its category.