Kosas dominates the your-skin-but-better makeup category. All of the its products are lightweight yet effective, and give your complexion the perfect boost while still allowing you to look like yourself. And founder Sheena Zadeh-Daly brought this same energy into the brand’s latest product, the Glow I.V. Vitamin Infused Skin Enhancer, which leaves your skin with a gorgeous, shimmery glow.
“I’ve always loved the benefits of a Vitamin IV Drip, and thought, ‘What’s a way to bottle that healthy glow I feel after I get a treatment, and make it a super easy step to an everyday makeup routine?'” says Zadeh-Daly. “Like everything at Kosas, I wanted to bring together the benefits of active skin-care ingredients with the beautiful glow and luminosity of a more radiance-focused offering.”
The Kosas Glow I.V. Vitamin Infused Skin Enhancer ($38) is made with three key ingredients: Vitaglow-D, a botanical complex that enhances luminosity and hydration; glutathione, a tripeptide brightening antioxidant; and algae extracts that are rich in polysaccharides, peptides, and amino acids that nourish skin. Since the product provides a bit of tint and that glow, Zadeh-Daly says you can use it on its own or blended with your other products.
“Glow I.V. is designed as a skin enhancer, not as a replacement to our Revealer Foundation ($42) or Tinted Face Oil ($42) for coverage,” she says. For an all-over glow, apply Glow I.V. on hydrated skin using your fingers or a damp sponge. To mix it, combine it with your go-to foundation or moisturizer and apply it. For a more targeted glow, add on top of your makeup and use it as a highlighter, applying “where the light naturally hits—high points of cheeks, bridge of the nose, cupid’s bow, and brow bones.”
Five editors and writers put the Kosas Glow I.V. Skin Enhancer to the test. See how it looks on us and learn our thoughts below.
Zoë Weiner, senior beauty editor
Shade: Illuminate
“I’m down to try any product that promises an opportunity to skip out on foundation and am a big believer that there’s no such thing as ‘too much’ highlighter, so I was very excited when this stuff landed on my desk. Honestly, I felt like it was made specially for me,” says Weiner. “I like to apply it all over my face and then top it off with concealer, which leaves my complexion looking even, radiant, and lit from within. The formula definitely feels more like skin care than makeup—it’s lightweight and hydrating, and I barely notice that I’m wearing it at all, even hours after application. It’s not not shimmery, but I personally don’t mind a little glitter on my skin. And on days when I want to downplay the sparkle, I’ll mix it with my moisturizer and apply a tinted facial oil on top of it.”
Kayla Hui, commerce writer
Shade: Radiate
“The Kosas Glow I.V. has been a godsend in my makeup routine,” says Hui. “As the name implies, this liquid highlighter gives me a radiating glow after applying a pea-sized amount on my cheeks. The formula is easy to apply and blend into my skin. Also to love? The formula is infused with hydrating emollients like glycerin, which keeps my sensitive and eczema-prone skin quenched. It serves up results and looks in just one swipe.”
Kara Jillian Brown, beauty writer
Shade: Awaken
The first time I tried out Glow I.V., I was so shimmery that I looked like Edward Cullen. I learned that, just like all other Kosas products, less is absolutely more. Once I got the amount down—about a pump and a half to cover my full face—I loved it. It gives skin an amazing glow. Mixing with foundation or moisturizer will dampen the shimmer if you don’t want it to be too loud, but on its own, it’s subtle yet bold. Subtle because it melts into your skin, but bold because the shimmer flecks are a bit larger than that of most other shimmer-infused skin-care products on the market. It will totally remain a staple in my routine.
Alexa Casanova, commerce writer
Shade: Spark
“I applied IV Glow as the first step in my makeup routine and dabbed it on my cheeks and the high points of my face using my fingers,” says Casanova. “I immediately loved the hydrating feel of the gel-cream texture, how easily it blended out, and the fact that it dried down to a non-sticky finish (because absolutely no one enjoys getting hair stuck to your highlight). Most importantly, though, was the *glow*. The cream is infused with an ultra-fine shimmer that looks a little intense at first, but once it’s blended in it gives my skin a radiant, healthy glow. That being said, as a no-makeup makeup wearer, I enjoy it most applied sparingly underneath or on top of my usual skin tint for a precise highlight effect, rather than an all-over base.”
Gina Vaynshteyn, editorial commerce director
Shade: Revive
“If skin tint and highlighter had a baby, it would be Glow I.V.,” says Vaynshteyn. “This is basically a lit-from-within filter in a tube, and I’ve been using it every day for the last week and not even bothering with filters on Zoom to make me look more alive. Lightweight with light coverage, this formula adds natural-looking radiance so that your skin looks effortlessly luminous—kind of like you’re on day four of your tropical vacation getaway. The only caveat here is that it doesn’t cover blemishes, so if you’re broken out (like I am now—you can see in my photo!) you’ll still need concealer if that’s something you feel like touching up (or not—you do you).”
Watch Weiner try a full face of Kosas products:
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