Three generations of women running a Kyoto apothecary, and their big secret is… a jar of fermented goo they’ve kept alive since the 1950s. Sounds wild, but that’s literally the starter culture for this oil.
The real kicker? They don’t sell this outside their shop. This is the first time they’ve bottled it for anyone who isn’t a local regular. That’s not marketing hype — that’s just how the Yamashita family operates.
It’s a concentrated face oil, $68 for 20ml. The claim that made me roll my eyes then click buy: “fermented for 70 days using a culture started in 1954.” I’m a sucker for a science-meets-superstition story.
The Mother Culture
Each bottle uses a fraction of the original 70-year-old fermentation starter. Like sourdough, but for your face.
Cold-Brew Extraction
No heat. The herbs sit in the fermented base for 10 weeks. It’s painfully slow, but nothing gets burned off.
Single-Batch Sealing
Each batch gets a handwritten number. Batch #7 is what I’m using. Feels weirdly personal.
Photo: sarah b / Unsplash
No fragrance oils, no filler extracts. Just 5 fermented botanicals and the culture itself. The smell is… an acquired taste. Like a very expensive, very polite compost heap.
- Red Rice Koji: brightens without burning your moisture barrier
- Kyoto Yuzu Peel: smells like a dream, kills dullness
- White Mugwort: calms redness in 10 minutes flat
- Sake Ferment Byproduct: the real MVP — it’s what makes your skin feel like velvet
Photo: ibnu ihza / Unsplash
Texture is weirdly satisfying — thick enough to feel substantial, but it sinks in before you finish patting. No greasy film. My skin drank it in 8 seconds flat. First night, I woke up with that “I slept 10 hours” glow. Second night, I got a tiny whitehead. Not mad — it’s just purging the junk.
Week 3 now. The glow is real, but my pores aren’t smaller. That’s fine. It’s not a pore shrinker, it’s a skin tonic.
Photo: x ) / Unsplash
My skin looks more even. Less patchy redness around my nose. But my fine lines? Same as before. This isn’t Botox in a bottle — it’s a fermentation tonic that makes your skin behave better.
Photo: Poko Skincare / Unsplash
This is the kind of product you buy because you want a story on your shelf that actually works. It’s not a miracle — but it’s a damn good oil with a soul.