Tata Harper Review

While some of us day dream about moving to Vermont and living on a farm, Tata Harper  is actually doing it. Although the skincare entrepreneur grew up in Colombia, she is closely associated with Vermont, where she lives on a 1,200 acre farm that produces a good chunk of her organic skincare ingredients. Here’s a closer look at the Tata Harper brand, it’s most popular products and is it worth a try?

OUR TOP SKINCARE PICKS

Is Tata Harper Worth The Money?

A common question about this brand is if the products are worth the cost. Chanel Le Lift Skincare products are expensive, for example, the Bio Shield Faxe Oil costs $165. .

In our opinion, Tata Harper products aren’t worth the money, simply because there are other skincare brands that offer similar products that are less expensive.

One brand is Carrot & Stick, a clean skincare brand that perfectly balances the gentle nurturing of plants with the powerful results of innovative science.

What Is Tata Harper?

Tata Harper founded her eponymous skincare brand in 2010, when the “farm to face” concept was still new. In an interview with Allure, Harper said her inspiration for launching the company came after watching her step-father battle cancer and learning about the “toxic load that can build in our bodies from extended exposure to certain synthetic chemicals.” Another source of inspiration, according to Harper, was how the women in her life took a hands-on approach to beauty.  Harper told Town & Country magazine that when growing up in Colombia, she would help her grandmother host home spa parties, making things like vinegar and mayo hair masks. “Beauty was not a chore or a luxury but something you did to make yourself happy,” Harper told the magazine.

Today the Tata Harper brand is one of the best known natural skincare brands with fans including Gwyneth Paltrow and Emma Watson. Harper herself is one of a handful of females leading a beauty company, including Charlotte Tillbury, Glossier’s Emily Weiss and Jamie Kern Lima of IT Cosmetics.

What is the Tata Harper Philosophy?

Tata Harper makes natural skincare products that are made in small batches in Vermont led by an all-female lab. Ingredients not grown in Vermont are sourced from around the world. Tata Harper products use 43 “high performance” ingredients and the company states that “We pack the most ingredients at the highest levels of concentration to deliver maximum results—without a single drop of artificial chemicals.” Each product has its batch number etched on the bottle, so customers can track how (and when) their item was made. Tata Harper products are free from GMOs, toxins, fillers, artificial fragrance, artificial color and synthetic chemicals.

What Are The Most Popular Tata Harper Products?

Tata Harper has an extensive skincare collection, offering serums, moisturizers, eye creams, and face oils. One of her best known products is the Regenerating Cleanser, which pulls double duty by cleansing and exfoliating the skin. The cream based product contains apricot microspheres as well as willow bark, a BHA (beta hydroxy acid) which works to exfoliate the skin. Her Nourishing Cleanser is another best-seller. This oil based product is best suited for dry or uneven skin, and also removes makeup. The Tata Harper Resurfacing Mask helps to whisk away dull skin cells thanks to pomegranate enzymes and willow bark.

The new Elixir Vitae Eye Serum is aimed at wrinkles and under eye bags, as well as dry skin. It contains 63 ingredients, including hordeum vulgare extract, a barley extract that is meant to help soothe the skin. Another popular serum is the Rejuvenating Serum, which is packed with neuropeptides to tackle the early signs of aging. It is designed to help plump up the look of the skin through hydration and leave skin feeling softer. Lightweight face oils are a big part of the Tata Harper regimen, and the Retinoic Nutrient Face Oil is formulated with wrinkle busting vitamin A as well as olive oil. The Beautifying Face Oil is packed with multiple types of oil, from olives, jojoba, argan and plukenetia volubilis, which comes from a Peruvian plant.

How Much Do Tata Harper Products Cost?

Tata Harper products are priced in line with other premium luxury brands. One of the priciest is the Elixir Vitae anti-aging serum, for $450. The Regenerating Cleanser is $84 while the Crème Riche Anti-aging night cream is $195. A tube of Hyaluronic Gel Moisturizer sells for $116 and the Resurfacing Serum is $88. The botanical based cosmetics are at a lower price point, with the Be Adored Tinted Anti-Aging Neuropeptide Lip Treatment retailing for $32 and Anti-Aging Neuropeptide Blush selling for $39.

Is Tata Harper Cruelty Free?

Yes. It is certified by Peta’s Beauty Without Bunnies program.

What Ingredients Are in Tata Harper?

Tata Harper is an ingredients focused company, and one of the brand’s mottos is “more ingredients, more results.” The company says it doesn’t use any mass-produced ingredients. Instead, the team sources more than 300 raw ingredients from more than 68 countries, including African wild grape, inca inchi (from a Peruvian plant), prickly pear cactus from the Galapagos, narcissus bulb extract,  tomato carotenoids from Israel, kakadu plum from Australia, fermented giant bamboo, and grape polyphenols. 

Tata Harper notes that while some companies are based around a single hero ingredient, they use more than 43 “high performance ingredients” in their skincare line. The Elixir Vitae serum contains 72 ingredients, and the first three listed on the product are hordeum vulgare leaf juice (barley extract), aqua (water) and glycerin, a humectant. Other ingredients include triglyceride (usually made from combining coconut oil with glycerin); simmondsia chinensis seed oil (jojoba seed oil); rosa damascena flower water; coconut fruit extract, and sunflower seed wax.  

The Resurfacing Mask is powered by  barley extract and exfoliating pomegranate enzymes, while the moisturizing all-star hyaluronic acid (which can hold up to 1,000 times its weight in water) is found in the Hyaluronic Gel Moisturizer and the Repairative Moisturizer.

Salicylic acid, an acne fighter, is found in the Clarifying Mask which is designed for acne prone skin. The mask also has AHA superfruits, including orange and lemon.

The Tata Harper products focused on anti-aging are powered by castor seed oil, cocoa seed butter and date seed extract.

Complimenting Product: Apply a serum before using The Skin Caviar Luce Cream. Serums contain a higher concentration of actives and penetrate deeper into the skin. We recommend Carrot & Stick The Repair Serum. It contains 7 plant-based peptides to help promote smoother looking skin.

Where Can I Buy Tata Harper ?

Tata Harper products are sold on the company website, Sephora, Bergdorf Goodman and Neiman Marcus.

Does Tata Harper Work?

Deciding whether a product might work for you is never easy, as one person’s hero product may do nothing for you. Looking at customer and editorial reviews is a good place to start.

 Tata Harper has received plenty of editorial praise and awards. As Goop notes, “With her chic green-glass jars and pots, Tata Harper set a new bar for glamour within the natural skin-care space.” The Resurfacing Mask won a 2017 Allure Best of Beauty and a 2019 Eco Beauty Award from Byrdie, and in 2020, Tatler named the Elixir Vitae Eye Serum one of the “10 Under Eye Creams and Products that Really Work.” In 2019, Harper’s Bazaar included the Regenerating Cleanser in a list of “13 Natural and Organic Cleansers that Actually Work.”

A writer for Byrdie tried the Resurfacing Serum in 2019, in an article called “I’ve Been Using This Starter Serum, and I Haven’t Worn Makeup Since.” The writer said she was “radiating dew” and “My skin looked bright, clear, and more even than it had in a while… The entire day was peppered with compliments on my skin. This went on for, I kid you not, seven days straight.”

Beauty writers aside, what do actual customers think of Tata Harper? On Sephora.com the Regenerating Exfoliating Cleanser gets 4.3 out of 5 stars from more than 400 reviews. For some it’s all about “love love love” and one person called it the “Best Exfoliating Cleanser EVER.” As one customer noted, “Can’t say enough good things about this. I love it so much.” Others were disappointed by it. “Nothing special, not worth the hefty price tag in my opinion. This product did not do anything for my skin.”

The Repairative Anti-Aging Moisturizer gets 3.4 out of 5 stars on Sephora, from about 120 reviews. One user called it “an average product. It is not exceptional based on price” while others noted they couldn’t get past the smell. For other customers, it is the holy grail. “I have facial redness/mild rosacea and spent close to a year searching for a moisturizer to help. This is THE BEST I have found.”

One of the top rated Tata Harper products on Influenster is the Resurfacing Mask. It has a 4.4 out of 5 star rating from more than 550 reviews. One fan wrote “There’s a reason this is Tata Harpers top seller… it’s literally the best mask I’ve ever used and always makes my face look brighter and complexion clearer after using this mask.” Reviewers who gave it a low mark generally found that it did nothing for them. “I got 5 uses out of the mask and NOTHING happened, like my skin wasn’t softer, brighter, absolutely no improvement.”

What Are Some Alternatives to Tata Harper?

If you’re looking for skincare products to address the signs of aging, we recommend Carrot & Stick. Carrot & Stick maximizes the use of powerful ingredients and minimizes the use of superficial ones, resulting in advanced skincare solutions that help promote healthy, more youthful-looking skin. We recommend The Repair Serum, followed by The Moisturizer.

Sources: Allure, Town & Country, Byrdie, Influenster, Sephora, Harper’s Bazaar