Is Tata Harper Crème Riche Worth $210?

A Review of Tata Harper Crème Riche Velvet Moisturizer Cream, Including a Discussion on Sustainability

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A lot was happening in May. Okay mostly COVID was happening, but it felt like a lot. This might explain why I bought myself a $195.00 moisturizer ($210 as of January 2022). After all, I had just started a sustainable beauty blog and this luxury skincare brand showed up on all the eco-friendly beauty lists.

Tata Harper Skincare calls Crème Riche both a “Velvet Moisturizing Cream” and “An Anti-Aging Peptide Night Cream.” Velvet is a good word to describe this cream. It’s thick, smooth, and feels luxurious. Crème Riche is available at Sephora, Credo, The Detox Market, Space NK, and the Tata Harper website.

Sustainability

Best: Tata Harper is more sustainable than most other skincare brands.

Packaging: Tata Harper Crème Riche comes in a green recyclable glass jar. The lid is plastic with aluminum over shell. It includes a tiny metal spatula, which is a nice touch but unnecessary. If you are as obsessed with skincare as I am, you probably already have a collection of tiny spatulas. If not, you can purchase this four-pack of tiny metal spatulas for $5.49.

Ingredients: Tata Harper is ECOCERT certified. ECOCERT emphasizes organic ingredients and sustainably obtained ingredients. It means that ecotoxicity (how an ingredient impacts the environment) is considered during formulation.

Carbon Footprint: To earn ECOCERT certification, Tata Harper Skincare had to verify they use renewable energy and energy-saving practices. Tata Harper also reduces their carbon footprint by producing and packaging all in one place.

Ethics: Tata Harper is PETA certified Cruelty-free and Vegan. They also take a unique approach to transparency. Enter your batch number on their Follow Your Bottle page to find out when your batch was made and by who. Mine was made on March 10, 2020, by Jon, Joe, and Jon.

Claims

Crème Riche boasts “43 high-performance botanical ingredients.” I won’t bore you by going into all 43. Instead, I will investigate this single, yet lofty, statement: “Our youth preserving moisturizer targets visible signs of aging with natural antioxidants, essential fatty acids, and vitamin F to give you instantly soft, supple and youthful-looking skin.”

Antioxidants: Tata Harper Skincare says “Red maple bark has 5 times the antioxidant power of Vitamin C, a common antioxidant.” There hasn’t been much research on the skincare benefits of red maple (Acer rubrum), but early results are promising.

Essential Fatty Acids/Vitamin F: Their statement makes it sound like essential fatty acids and vitamin F are 2 entirely different things. But vitamin F (linoleic acid) is an essential fatty acid. The Crème Riche moisturizer also has linolenic acid, another fatty acid. Linoleic acid is a significant component of our skin barrier. Age, irritants, and other factors can impair our skin barrier leading to other skin issues. Moisturizers containing linoleic acid have proven to aid in the skin’s repair of this barrier.

Review

I didn’t see a change in my skin, but I did feel a change. Tata Harper Crème Riche made my skin feel softer than any other moisturizer I have used. Because it is so thick, I feel it works best as a night cream. It doesn’t always layer well. The first few times I used it, it pilled. I now wait a few minutes after my serum before applying. I use a different moisturizer on evenings I don’t feel like waiting between layers. Its greatest flaw however is its price. I paid $146.25, 25% off the usual price of $195.00.

Would I buy again?

No. Even with the discount, I don’t feel it was worth the price. To me, anything that costs more than $100 better have visible results.

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I can see why so many love Tata Harper Skincare but my itch has been scratched for now. Ok, I might need to try the Resurfacing Serum and I am curious about the refillable Water-Lock Moisturizer. But I’ll wait for a sale.