Tata Harper Talks Love, Skin Care, and the Best All-Natural Deodorant

Allure Daily Beauty Reporter

by Alexandra Tunell

Tata Harper
Tata Harper

Tata Harper is famous for making all-natural, organic skin-care products (sourced from and manufactured on her Vermont farm), so it's no surprise that she also knows a thing or two about the birds and the bees. We sat down to discuss her company's latest creation, Love Potion--and how beauty relates to attraction. (Oh, and she also told us her secret to amazingly glowy skin.)


Tata Harper Love Potion is a blend of ten of the world's most potent aphrodisiac essential oils--but according to Harper, it's not a perfume. "It's more of a treatment," she says. Whatever you call it, the scent is earthy, floral, and a bit musky, with davana (a pricey Indian oil that smells slightly different on everyone's skin), ylang-ylang, jasmine, sandalwood, and cedarwood atlas-all of which have mood-boosting, anxiety-reducing properties. "Besides smelling good, it has long-term, emotional effects on your mood." And that, she believes, is an aphrodisiac better than any oyster, caviar, or cocktail: "I know some beautiful women who are so insecure--that doesn't attract people," she says. "When you're open and at peace with yourself, that's when you find love."

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Here, Harper shares some of her other beauty secrets (as well as her enviable Valentine's Day plans):

How she gets her skin to glow:
"Once a week, I basically use all my tools. First, I exfoliate with my Clarisonic and put my Resurfacing Mask on. Then I use the Dr. Dennis Gross facial steamer to steam my face with the mask on. I use the Clarisonic Opal to put on eye cream, and then I do all my serums."

Must-have makeup products:
"Definitely blush--I'm big into blush. And just a little lip color. Sometimes I do a gold shadow with a little shimmer, but I look weird with a lot of makeup. I don't wear foundation because I don't like to feel anything sitting on my skin and clogging my pores. Skin should breathe."

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Signature fragrance:
"For the last two months, Love Potion. I stopped wearing [traditional] perfume a while ago, when I realized how toxic the chemicals are."

Favorite all-natural deodorant:
"I love Lavanila--the lavender scent."

Valentine's Day plans:
"My husband and I are going to Blackberry Farms in Tennessee. It's this amazing retreat we've heard so much about. The farm grows its own vegetables and is all about sustainability, and they have a new, renovated spa I'll be visiting."

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