I tried MECCA's 'Best Moisturiser' winner and I have thoughts

It’s not unusual to have a particularly expensive handbag or precious pair of shoes that you stow away to only be pulled out for special occasions. It’s good sense, right? You don’t want to scuff your most valuable items on your dreary daily commute, now do you? I, however, have a special occasion moisturiser, one special bougie-as-hell cream that only graces my face when I have somewhere very important to be.

You might be wondering why – after all, it’s not like my face doesn't need daily help in its eternal fight against dryness; ‘dull’, ‘sensitive’ and ‘always kinda angry at me’ is how I would describe my skin. It’s also thirstier than all of the world’s Instagram models put together, so there’s that, too.

Well, here’s the reason: I’m yet to win the lottery. Because while they say the best things in life are free (and yeah, love and laughter are great and all), whoever ‘they’ are obviously haven’t tried Tatcha’s The Dewy Skin Cream. It’s one of the best damn moisturisers I’ve ever had the pleasure of smearing onto my perennially-sad skin, and yet, it’s pretty much the furthest thing from free; a single 50ml tub goes for $109; steep.

Now don’t get me wrong; I’m not saying the results aren’t worth the cash. To be perfectly honest with you, if we’re talking long-term ones, I wouldn’t really know. I’ve had my beloved tub for around seven months now and I reckon I’ve applied it once monthly max. I truly only pull it out for the big moments – birthdays, weddings, occasions I’ll see an ex-boyfriend… you know the drill.

It seems it’s fine sitting on the ‘big days only’ bench for the most part, though; in fact, it’s actually one of the few formulas I can sub in without experiencing some kind of reaction, a blessing considering I’m certainly not applying it often enough for my skin to adjust to any new potential aggravators.

Can’t figure out why I put it on this pedestal? For me, the obsession boils down to the short-term results it offers; nothing else I've discovered delivers in the 'immediate improvement' department the way this guy does. And just FYI, other beauty junkies appear to agree; it just took out the coveted ‘Best Moisturiser’ prize in MECCA’s customer-voted 2020 Beauty Election.

I always compare it to icing on a cake – say you haven’t greased the pan properly and a few chunks have crumbled away, or maybe you left it in the oven a touch too long and the top is covered in burnt bits; basically, the surface isn’t looking so hot. But once you’ve swept a coating of velvety-smooth frosting across it, it’s totally impossible to tell that your handiwork was anything less than flawless. That’s how this stuff works for your face; uneven texture and redness is somehow hidden beneath a velvety veil of moisture.

It also doesn't hurt that once it’s in place, applying foundation on top feels something akin to that moment of ecstasy when your scissors start gliding through a piece of wrapping paper. I guess that’s the squalane, ceramides and superfoods combo for you – welcome to silk city.

Is it hard to wean myself off it again the next morning knowing the feeling that awaits if I just dip in for one more day? Absolutely. But frankly, the thought of finding an empty tub on the day of an important occasion is far scarier than facing my far-less-glossy skin on a mundane trip to Coles.

Even more than that, though, what I’m really scared of is committing to everyday application, seeing the best skin of my life, and knowing that going forward I’ll have to allocate my budget between ‘rent’, ‘savings’ and ‘Tatcha’… ignorance is bliss, huh?

Searching for something a little more affordable? Check out the budget moisturiser Jennifer Aniston loves...