4 of Our Editors Tested Kosas’ New Lipsticks—Here Are Our Honest Thoughts
Fun fact: When Kosas launched in 2015, it did so with a collection of four red lipsticks. Eight years and dozens of additional products later, the brand returned to its roots—this time, with two entirely new lines of lipstick.
Last month, the brand introduced Wet Stick ($24), a tinted balm, and Weightless Lip Color ($26), a creamy lipstick. The idea behind them was to provide neutrals that worked on all skin tones, and our editors have fallen in love with both formulas. Keep scrolling to learn more about why.
Wet Stick is a tinted balm that provides a sheer—yet pigmented—wash of color to the lips. It’s packed with squalane and ceramides, leaving your skips soft and conditioned. It’s available in 12 gorgeous shades. Most are neutral shades of pink and brown, but it also includes Bikini Blaze, a cool magenta, as a pop of color.
A revamp of Kosas’ previous Weightless Lipstick, this lip color goes on comfortable and opaque and is formulated with antioxidant-rich rosehip oil, soothing cocoa butter, and smoothing mango butter to leave your lips soft and happy. It comes in 10 shades of beige, pink, red, and brown.
Kosas Wet Stick
Gina Vaynshteyn, Commerce Director
Shade: Tropical Bliss
"This rosy mauve is a nice neutral that doesn't 'pop' but doesn't wash me out, either," says Vaynshteyn. "It's a good everyday color for me! And the formula is lovely—so effortless to glide on, and keeps my lips hydrated (and tinted) for hours."
Kara Jillian Brown, Beauty Writer
Shade: 100 Degrees
For me, this shade is the ultimate my-lips-but-better color. It camouflages the scars left behind from over-picking dead skin on my lips while adding a nice, mauve-y wash of color. It feels really good, and I'll reach for it anytime I'm looking for a neutral shade to pull my look together.
Shade: Cinnamon Spritz
I LOVE this sheer brown. It's amazing to get such pigment in such a sheer, lightweight formula. It adds a ton of color without overwhelming my face. Come fall and winter, I'm going to be wearing this shade all. the. time.
Zoë Weiner, Senior Beauty Editor
Shade: Baby Rose
"I weirdly didn't like this shade at all when I first tried it, but over the last few months it's become one of my favorite lip products in my collection of hundreds," says Weiner. "It's a sort of grown-up baby pink that reminds me of the Bonnebell balms I used to love in the early 2000s, but leaves my lips feeling so much more hydrated—and looking so much better—than those ever did."
Our thoughts on Kosas Weightless Lip Color
Francesca Krempa, Associate Commerce Editor
Shade: Daydream
"I'm not really a lipstick gal—it usually just gets on my teeth or ends up smudging all over the lid of my water bottle. But I love how buttery this stuff is," says Krempa. "It goes on smooth and creamy in a single swipe. Seriously, all you have to do is swipe it over your lips once on top and bottom, smack 'em together to even it out, and you're done. It's the definition of easy peasy and it feels so nourishing on lips, too. I tried Daydream, which is a pretty berry shade and doesn't really look all that different from my normal lip color."
Shade: Fantasy Life
"If I'm being candid, Fantasy Life looks very weird on my skin tone," says Krempa. "It's too light for my tan right now, and makes my lips unflatteringly fleshy. So if you've got warm, golden undertones, reach for something else."
Weiner
Shade: High Cut
"These lipsticks I reach for when I know I need to put on actual lipstick—versus gloss or balm—to complete a look, but don't want to have to think too much about it. In other words, they go with everything," says Weiner. "I love all of the shades I've tried (Fantasy Life and Turned On are other favorites), but High Cut is the one I reach for the most thanks to its ease of wear. It's the perfect neutral pink, and matches my lips in a natural way that makes my face look finished, but not overdone."
Brown
Shade: Deep Talks
I love love love this shade. It's a warm terracotta shade and it adds so much depth to any look. Even though it's a deep shade, it doesn't feel dark. I also love how nourishing the formula feels and that it glides on effortlessly and doesn't need a lipliner. It's a lipstick that I know I'll actually enjoy having on my lips.
Shade: Daydream
Like Francesca, I tried Daydream and it's not my favorite. I don't think it looks bad, but it reads more mauve on my skin tone than berry, and because it's so opaque I think it looks a bit jarring. This just isn't a shade I'd reach for again.
Vaynshteyn
Shade: Turned On
"This is a really rich, sultry neutral that veered into near-brick territory (Kosas says it's a 'warm pinkish brown' but it feels darker than that)," says Vaynshteyn. "It's really pretty and has a lot of dimension and looks good on my skin tone. The formula itself is sooo creamy! Like I was slathering body butter on my lips. The fade was also very forgiving, which I appreciate, since I tend to forget to reapply throughout the day."
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