How Japan’s geisha culture inspired Tatcha make-up founder Victoria Tsai to dive into the world of beauty
The idea for Tatcha came when Tsai had an encounter with a modern-day geisha in Kyoto. Eight years later, the entrepreneur is a powerhouse in the beauty industry
Victoria Tsai sat nestled on a couch, looking red carpet-worthy in a pastel blue bustier dress, near a stack of copies of hernew book, Pure Skin: Discover the Japanese Ritual of Glowing. Around her buzzed dozens of beauty influencers and make-up artists, there to pay homage to the savvy entrepreneur who gave the beauty world blotting paper, rice water face washes and The Silk Canvas – the bestselling primer at beauty store Sephora in the United States.
The warm and approachable beauty celebrity welcomed her fans, encouraging them to spritz a bit of this here and dab a smudge of that there.
The founder of Tatcha, a brand based on ancient Japanese beauty rituals, was recently in Los Angeles to launch a new product and showcase a reformulated one.
Accompanying her was celebrity make-up artist Daniel Martin, the man behind the wedding day make-up of Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex.
The event provided an opportunity for Tsai to chart the course of the eight years since she launched her line, which started with her famed blotting papers, Original Aburatorigami. The soft leaflets are made from abaca leaf and contain 23-carat gold flecks that blot away oils from the skin while leaving make-up intact.