We sat down with the Kosas founder to get the scoop on her latest launch, the Revealer Concealer. She shared the inspiration behind its creation, how it’s unlike any other concealer out there, and why it’s considered her lightbulb moment.
What is the inspiration behind creating the concealer?
For me, complexion is the place I get the most confidence, in terms of my overall look. If I have the least amount of time, that’s the place I’ll put the most amount of effort. Because an even, glowing, bright complexion sends such a strong message of confidence and it makes me feel good as I go about my day.
So you wanted to launch another product to complement Tinted Face Oil for complexion?
Yes, concealer is a key tool for complexion and we actually had a lot of people asking for a concealer. Our Tinted Face Oil is very much an all-over product, giving all-over support and nutrition to the entire skin structure, and I wanted to create another tool that could provide more coverage in certain areas where it’s needed.
Why did you feel it was important for Kosas in particular to launch a concealer?
Concealer is a complexion staple. So we wanted to do it in the way that we do things, which is to create makeup that’s also skincare. It’s going on your face all day, so we wanted it to work beautifully with a real skin-like finish. It covers to give you confidence while also working to improve your complexion and reveal better skin. That’s why we called it Revealer, because it’s changing the idea of what concealer is by actually revealing the areas that you want to brighten and highlight.
That’s why we called it Revealer, because it’s changing the idea of what concealer is by actually revealing the areas that you want to brighten and highlight.
And this informed the packaging of Revealer, right?
Yes, it’s inspired by a lightbulb! We were thinking about light, the lightbulb emoji, and our concealer being like a lightbulb for your skin. Instead of talking about concealing, we wanted to talk about revealing—not hiding in the shadows but stepping into your light. The doe-foot applicator is inspired by a Quasar light and the vessel’s top color is a lit yellow with spray paint texture to give it a sporty vibe. And the secondary packaging is designed to match each shade so it feels personalized to you.
Tell us about its creation process. What was the toughest part in making this concealer?
It’s always a little tough and sticky when we first start a new product. We don’t use stock formulas, bases, or marketing ingredients so the development process takes extra time, care, and energy. In beauty formulations there will be three or four ways a certain product is made. So you say foundation, and most chemists will be like "okay, there are three or four bases we can pull from and then we can tweak those formulas to make something specifically for your brand." That doesn’t work for me at all because I’ve never been happy with any of the base formulas and the same goes for concealers.
We don’t use stock formulas, bases, or marketing ingredients so the development process takes extra time, care, and energy.
So you like to start fresh?
Yes, we first have to forget everything we know about concealer. It’s a product that in general has more coverage, therefore it has more pigment, which brings a thicker consistency. A big challenge with a thick consistency is how quickly it sets, basically the dry down time of that product. Most of the time, in high-performance concealers, people use volatile silicones, and the word volatile means something that evaporates really fast. Because it evaporates fast and then now it’s set and dried down quickly. But I’m not a fan of that ingredient profile at all or of that method of making something dry down.
Because it’s taking skin’s moisture when it evaporates?
Exactly. It does all sorts of things that I don’t like for a makeup product, or for anything I put on my body, to do. It’s not nutritious or delivering anything positive to your skin at all.
Do a lot of concealers have that ingredient?
Most do. It’s usually the second highest ingredient on the list.
Is that why concealers can often be so drying?
So drying. Pigment itself is dry. Therefore when we’re dealing with something with high pigment load, a concealer, it can have a dry personality already and then we put this thing in it that evaporates fast and it’s just not really doing good things for your skin. So we had to go totally the other way and say “okay, how can we do this?” We had to do our research.
This is full-on science, Sheena.
Ha, yes. Basically, for concealer to work well it has a lot of boxes it needs to check. It can’t crease, it needs to blend into your skin, provide a certain amount of coverage. We look at what we want it to do, and then we look at how we can get there in a way that’s healthy for your skin and the environment. But we’re never looking at a formula that exists in the world and then just replacing it with clean ingredients.
What is your favorite thing about Revealer?
Even if you don’t know any of the stuff I’m saying, you can feel that it’s special when you try it. You can feel all of those ingredients and that they’re used at meaningful levels. Everything in it is so purposeful and doing so much for your skin--we didn’t take any shortcuts. And all that energy that went into it and attention to detail, you can feel it. It feels like luxury.
Even if you don’t know any of the stuff I’m saying, you can feel that it’s special when you try it.
So I’ve heard you mention around the office that Revealer Concealer is an Aquarius. Tell us why that makes sense.
Well, Aquarius is an air sign and they’re known for their logic and intelligence. They’re quirky and very 'march to the beat of their own drum.' Not only do they have big ideas, but they often take totally different paths to get there. They’re the aliens of the Zodiac. They have their own way of doing things.
How are you feeling about launch?
Both excited and nervous. You just never know. It has a brightly colored package--and it’s a color we haven’t used before so I never know how that kind of thing will be received. That’s how it always feels when you’re in uncharted territory.
