The Concealer on your FYP
Review #7 - Kosas 👀
Once again, it all comes back to the magic touch of Hailey Bieber.
Review #7 - Kosas 👀
What Is It
Kosas makes “makeup for skincare freaks”. Their makeup is all about “revealing” and “feeling good in your skin” which feels pretty antithetical to makeup as a general concept, especially as they make it clear that they’re not part of the post-Glossier “no-makeup makeup” category. Their hero product (made viral by Ms. Bieber) is the Revealer Concealer, so naturally that’s the item I’ll be reviewing.
Brand / Aesthetic
I want to like this brand so badly.
Kosas was one of the first major brands that got some traction in the era of clean beauty, so in my mind they were cutting-edge in all aspects. At a glance, it has all the makings of a cool, popular brand: high quality imagery, a sleek, yet bold wordmark on the products, an impossibly beautiful founder… And yet.
And yet none of it fits together. I’ll spare you from a long-winded diatribe about their font issues (why are there so many of them, all with varying levels of legibility?) and lack of consistency between their products’ primary packaging (so many different colors and textures and opacities!). But indulge me as I air my grievances with their copy.
“Finding what makes you feel alive and feel good.” What.
Obviously, there is no AP Style Guide for brands and the assortment of copy they require, but would it kill us to have some formatting or grammatical consistency between webpages? What are the subject and predicate of any of these clauses?!
I realize I’m in the 5% of website visitors who are actually taking the time to read this mumbo jumbo, so I can get over it. What I can’t get over, however, are the product names and descriptions.
Take, for instance, their newest release. On the webpage it’s called DreamBeam SPF 40 PA++++, but on the bottle it’s called DreamBeam Sunlit Comfy Smooth Sunscreen Broad Spectrum 40 PA++++. Again, WHAT?
I get that they want you to “reveal your beauty” with the Revealer Concealer, but I don’t really think the oxymoron is compelling enough. Honestly, I recommend perusing their site if you’re ever bored and looking for entertainment. My personal favorite is their body wash called “Good Body Skin”. Totally.
Marketing
Right off top I gotta give major props to their PR team. Getting Hailey Bieber to not only use your product, but then feature it in her Vogue YouTube feature and viral TikTok videos,
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thereby creating content for a frenzy of press hits? All I can say is wow, good stuff guys. They also made this insane headline happen which basically declares Sheena, the founder, beauty industry royalty. Clearly they’ve got the paid / earned media content down; I have absolutely no notes there.
And so we move onto their social channels for some more high-contrast visuals and insane font behavior, plus a healthy dose of unhinged memes and models / MUAs applying makeup.
But what happens if you blend all of those insane attributes together? Ladies and gentlemen, I give you THE INFLUENCER TRIP (dun dun).
A couple weeks ago, Kosas sent a handful of their favorite influencers to a resort in Cabo to celebrate the launch of their aforementioned DreamBeam SPF 40 PA++++ (a.k.a. DreamBeam Sunlit Comfy Smooth Sunscreen Broad Spectrum 40 PA++++), a pretty risky move for not long after TarteGate and TarteGate 2: Revenge of the TikTokers.
I accidentally spent [REDACTED] hours going down a TikTok rabbit hole, as one does, in an attempt to understand exactly what’s happening there. While I didn’t get an itinerary (this video is the closest I could find), I did come across a mix of hilarious, upsetting, and fascinating comments that ultimately left me incredibly confused about their current customer perception.
I’m not going to interpret any of this or offer any more thoughts here, because frankly, I’m exhausted and don’t care enough. But at the end of the day, they got the people talking and engagement is engagement — so long as ROI is just a number without a backstory.
Efficacy
Now, the moment you’ve all been waiting for: is the Revealer Concealer actually as good as the internet girlies say it is?
Meh.
It’s definitely not bad, but it’s nothing special. I tend to have dry skin, which I understand is a me problem, but it means that if I haven’t moisturized under my eyes (with what, you ask?) exactly 10-15 minutes prior (too much moisture also causes problems, speaking from experience), it ends up looking scaly. Also, they promise a 10-12 hour wear time, but I’ve had 6 hour days where it’s pretty flaky by the end.
Hang in there, I’m almost done. I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the mold allegations, though. ICYMI: a Reddit thread got some traction about a year ago that brought into question the shelf life of Revealer Concealer, and clean beauty products in general. As an OG Eyewitness Beauty listener, I already knew that ‘clean’ is a very fuzzy adjective and doesn’t necessarily equate to better quality products since preservatives can sometimes, depending on the ingredient be in the consumers’ best interest. So, all is to say, this is not uncommon with all-natural products, and I don’t fault Kosas for it. I mean, clearly I had bigger fish to fry here.
However, if you’re in the market for a concealer, ‘clean’ or otherwise, you’re better off opting for
’s latest stroke of genius, the Saie Slip Tint All-Over Concealer that I tried and instantly adored at Café Saie, or the cult-classic RMS UncoverUp Concealer that’s been a trusty staple for me as well.Overall Thoughts
As I quickly realized, Kosas as a brand is a little too Gen-Z — and chaotic in all sense of the word — for me, and their Revealer Concealer isn’t something to write home about, but I will respect that something really fascinating is happening here.
Their social media fandom is akin to that of a celebrity, with thousands of 15-30 year-olds feeling a deep devotion to their products, partners, and KCU (Kosas Cinematic Universe). Maybe I’m scarred from the hours I wasted watching these Cabo trip videos and reading through the comments, but I think Kosas needs to get involved with the Bravo network. If anyone reading knows Andy Cohen, let him know that there’s some drama going on that’s ripe for television.
Rating: ⭐️⭐️/5
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New! Find my the products I review on my ShopMy, more recs to come as well. As always, if there’s a product you want reviewed or just want to chat, reply to this email. :)
Love these comments on their web messaging!