This Under-the-Radar Japanese Skincare Brand Has Solid 5-Star Ratings at Sephora

With so many skincare brands out there, it can be overwhelming to figure out what to put on your face, even for a seasoned beauty editor like me! But it is still one of my favorite categories, so I try to narrow it down by focusing on things that I gravitate toward, like ancestral ingredients and a meaningful ethos that centers nature and sustainability. This is why I was instantly drawn to DamDam, a Japanese skincare brand that launched at Sephora in 2021.

According to co-founders Giselle Go and Philippe Terrien, DamDam is made up of four pillars: simple beauty rituals, high-efficacy formulas, time-honored ingredients, and planet-friendly practices—all the things I look for in a beauty brand. One of these beauty rituals honors osoji, the traditional deep cleaning of a home that is done at the end of the year. "In Japan, the practice of cleansing is the foundation of everything,” explains Go and Terrien. When you apply it to your skincare routine using DamDam’s products, it’s through a double-cleanse regimen, followed by a detoxifying mask at least once a week. When it comes to formula, the brand uses ingredients that have been used in Japanese skincare and wellness rituals for centuries. "One of our hero ingredients is shiso, a Japanese mint historically used in kampo medicine. It is a plant rich in antioxidants and omega-3 fatty acids,” says Go and Terrien. "Another hero ingredient we use is konnyaku, a Japanese tuber used in detoxification and cleansing since 710 AD.”

With this in mind, I decided to try out DamDam’s entire line to see if it was right for my over-40, acne-prone combination skin. Keep scrolling for my honest opinion. 

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(Image credit: @marielodiandreakos)

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(Image credit: @marielodiandreakos)

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Marie Lodi
Freelance Beauty and Fashion Writer/Editor

Marie has covered beauty, fashion, and lifestyle for almost 15 years. She contributes to the beauty section here atBest Knockoff Luxury Clothing . Previously, she was the Looks Editor for Bust Magazine, built the beauty vertical at HelloGiggles as its beauty editor, and was a founding staff writer at Rookie mag, giving fashion advice to teens. Her bylines have appeared in The Cut, Allure, Glamour, The Hollywood Reporter, and more. She was born and raised in Southern California and is based in L.A. Marie is a self-proclaimed costume design nerd and a co-host of Makeover Montage, a podcast about fashion in film and costume design. You'll see her writing about her beauty obsessions: red lipstick, winged eyeliner, pink hair, nail art, and skincare for people over 40. When she's not working, she's playing with her dog, Gnocchi, and writing her style newsletter, Overdressed.