Tatcha Body Milk and Body Oil Honest Review 2022

There are lots of things I want to do after taking a shower. Pick at my face in the bathroom mirror? Sure! Lie on my bed in a towel while scrolling through Instagram? Absolutely! But the last thing I want to do is moisturize my body. Call me lazy, but there’s something about laboriously rubbing lotion into my limbs, cracks, and crevices that I just can’t get behind. Unraveling myself from a warm fuzzy towel to essentially baste myself like a cold turkey is…not fun. 

Don’t get me wrong; I always moisturize my body. But instead of treating it like a sacred moment of self-care, it’s more like a chore I do after procrastinating. If I could, I would skip it altogether, but the only thing worse in my book than moisturizing is having scaly, dry skin. I’ve tried all kinds of body care products. Lotion tends to be too liquidy and cold. Body butter is often too viscous. Needless to say, I was set in my body-moisturizer-hating ways—until I met the new Tatcha Body Milk and Body Oil. 

Tatcha has long established itself as a skin care favorite, so when I heard the brand would expand into body care, I was immediately intrigued. The Forest Awakening Body Collection is inspired by shinrin yoku—“forest bathing” in Japanese—and uses forest ingredients like cellulose, cedar, and essential oils to not only replenish skin but also reduce stress and calm the mind. 

I tried the products straight out of the shower, when my skin was still a little damp. Both come in a glass bottle with a removable cap and a pump to limit mess. Fir I grabbed the Body Milk, described by the brand as a “lightweight body lotion,” and immediately noticed the unique texture, which was creamy and almost gel-like. It felt very light and had none of the dense heaviness that I usually associate with body lotion. 

When I smoothed it onto my skin, it absorbed pretty much instantly, with limited rubbing and laboring on my part. The scent is very earthy and fresh, which transports you to a calming forest. The immediate effects are visible—after application, my skin looked and felt supple and taut, thanks to ingredients like squalane and peach tree leaf extract, which restore moisture and improve skin texture. My only quibble is that it takes quite a few pumps to dispense my desired amount of product. I use a heaping pile of moisturizer for my body and really like to slather myself in it.  

I was so impressed that I decided to add an extra step to my body care and layer on the Body Oil. In the past I’ve found body oils to be too messy and, well, oily. This body oil is the exception. It creates no mess and dispenses easily. As a lazy person, I’m obsessed with the nongreasy formula, which requires minimal rubbing and absorbs like a dream.