Hi friends!
This October I’m spotlighting cruelty-free and/or vegan beauty products on the blog with a new review every Friday. If you missed last week’s review on the Lune + Aster Supermoon Bronzer & Glow Palette, do make sure to check it out! Today I’m taking a very close look at the Kosas 10 Second Eyeshadow, an innovative completely-liquid formula. You may remember that I included indie brand Kosas in my post on beauty brands that excited me, so I’m very happy to finally be trying them out! I have three beautiful neutral-to-warm shades called Element (warm chestnut), Globe (neutral champagne), and Copper Halo (warm coppery rose gold).
An important note: Kosas is Leaping Bunny certified but not entirely vegan. However according to Ethical Elephant, the 10 Second Eyeshadows have a vegan formula.
Let’s get into the review!
PRODUCT DESCRIPTION
Your eyeshadow game is about to change. 10-Second Eyeshadow is a clean, water-based, fast-drying and crease-resistant formula for buildable, high-impact color that stays all day. It’s meant to be worn as a wash of color for the most modern take on a fresh eye. The formula is carefully crafted with skin benefiting ingredients to smooth and tone — that’s skincare for your eyelids.
PRODUCT BENEFITS
APRICOT KERNAL SEED OIL – Restorative Skin Soother
ROSEHIP SEED OIL – Brightening & Clarifying
JOJOBA SEED OIL – Soothing & Balancing
Kosas is Cruelty Free, Gluten-Free and made without Parabens, Phthalates, Mineral Oil, Propylene Glycol, Phenoxyethanol, Synthetic Fragrance, and is never tested on animals.
From left to right: Kosas 10 Second Eyeshadow in Element, Copper Halo, Globe.
MY THOUGHTS ON PACKAGING
These come in small-ish, slightly-frosted plastic tubes that are quite lightweight. Everything about it is sleek – from the tube, to the font on the front, to the black cap. I really like it, no complaints here at all! You could easily throw this in your makeup travel bag with no issue.
RATING: 5 / 5 ⭐️
MY THOUGHTS ON APPLICATION
As I mentioned briefly in the intro, this is straight-up liquid formula so you need to shake these really well before applying. Like, you could easily spill product out of the tube if you knock it down on your vanity, so be careful! It’s got a slightly longer doe-foot applicator that kinda reminds me of a tiny paddle. I just apply straight from the applicator, don’t bother decanting onto the back of your hand or anything like that. These set quite quickly; they don’t call it 10 Second Eyeshadow for nothing!
Initially I was having trouble blending these products out with my fingers, but then I switched over to the Real Techniques Deluxe Crease Brush; oh my goodness what an amazing difference! It takes all the hard work and hard edges out. I’d definitely recommend using a dense, synthetic blending brush to help apply these.
I do want to mention here that I always apply my beloved MAC Paint Pot as a base before I apply this product onto my lid. Here’s why. The first time I applied the 10 Second Eyeshadow onto my bare lid I could almost feel the shadow on my eye for a good half-hour afterwards. Almost like a stiffness or something, it was very weird! I think it had something to do with the dry-down. So after that I decided to lay down a primer first – which essentially acts like a barrier here – and luckily I’ve never experienced that feeling again. Thank goodness!
RATING: 4 / 5 ⭐️
Read this: MAC Paint Pots – my most used products of all time
From top to bottom: swatches of Kosas 10 Second Eyeshadow in Element, Copper Halo, Globe.
MY THOUGHTS ON PIGMENTATION
All three shades that I own have serious pigmentation. I definitely agree with Kosas’ “high impact” description on color, but definitely not with the “buildable” part, nor the “wash of color” part. These go on with full, intense pigment from the start; you really don’t need to build them up! I once tried to pat on the shade Element to see if I could get a different finish by using my finger, but the pigment was still quite intense even then.
Just a quick note on finish here: Element, Globe and Copper Halo are all quite metallic. Globe also contains glitter particles. Definitely nothing matte or satin here.
RATING: 5 / 5 ⭐️
MY THOUGHTS ON WEAR
These are super long-wearing, there’s no doubt about that. After 9+ / 10+ hours of wear, these are still going strong with very little signs of wear-and-tear. And interestingly, there’s not much fall-out from the sparkle or glitter throughout the day. That’s a big bonus in my book.
RATING: 5 / 5 ⭐️
Showcasing Globe, the sparkly neutral champagne shade, on my eyelids here.
MY THOUGHTS ON SHADE RANGE
The 10 Second Eyeshadow formula is currently available in eight shades, ranging from neutrals to plums and blues. I have nearly every neutral tone available except a gold called Supreme. I think it’s a nice core collection of colors for now, but I would love to see them branch out into pinks, reds and greens which are now completely absent from the range.
RATING: 3 / 5 ⭐️
MY THOUGHTS ON PRICE
These are a bit pricier than most liquid shadows on the market – $28.00 for 6 ml of product. But you are getting much more product than, say the Stila Glitter & Glow Liquid Eye Shadow which is $24.00 for 4.5 ml of product. Or the MAC Dazzleshow Liquid Eye Shadow, which is $22.00 for 4.6 ml of product. So it’s all relative really, but it depends on how much you’re willing to spend for high-pigment, high-performing shadows. For the amount of product and quality you get, I personally don’t have a problem with the price.
RATING: 4 / 5 ⭐️
Showcasing Element, the warm chestnut shade, on my eyelids here.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Despite some early issues with the texture and blending, overall I think these are lovely shadows that offer amazing color and longevity. They apply rather quickly once you understand the formula and how best to work with it (I still recommend a brush!). Are they my new favorite, go-to obsession? Hmm, probably not. I still think I prefer my cream shadow sticks, cause I can apply those in my sleep! But I do really, really like these, and will gladly continue to use them.
Showcasing Copper Halo, the warm coppery rose gold shade, on my eyelids.
Have you tried the Kosas 10 Second Eyeshadows yet? If so, what do you think? I’d love to know!
xo, Erica
PIN IT!
I really love the colors, especially Globe and Copper Halo. It’s weird that it feels like that on your eyes. The tip on adding a primer first is really helpful! 🙂
Yea thank goodness the primer stopped that cause I probably would have had to return them – it was so weird! But the colors are super gorgeous!
Beautiful colors and they look beautiful on you !😉❤️💄
Oh thank you!
I saw these on Tati’s channel! She mentioned the same thing about the product literally spilling out of the tube, I would probably spill all of mine in about ten seconds of owning it haha.
But the finish is so pretty, I’m glad they worked out for you!
For sure you definitely have to be careful not to spill them all over! But I appreciate the interesting format and the innovation at work here. I mean most ‘liquid’ shadows kinda apply like creams to be fair. These are pure liquid!
They’re really cool! I love the colors too 😊
These sound very interesting and the swatches are so pigmented and out of thisworld.. I also love some of the ingredients they got like rose hip and jojoba. I havent been a huge fan of cream or stick shadows so I probably wouldn’t buy something like this.
They look really great on you though. Great review! Thanks for sharing.
Thank you! Yea I can definitely see how these wouldn’t be to everyone’s taste. The formula has a bit of a learning curve, and I do feel most people want powder shadows most of the time. But the pigment here is absolutely amazing!
I do love the pigment! They swatch well and they look stunning on you! Seriously!
Thank you girl! ❤️
Wow it looks great on you! These sound like a keeper!
Thank you Diane! They are fun to use!
I’ve never heard of this brand! I’m glad the MAC paint pot helped with the weird feeling & that’s so cool how it’s super liquidy yet still dries fast. Love that they are highly pigmented & long-lasting. All of the shades you chose are gorgeous! For a CF, vegan, high performance product– that price is a steal.
Great review as always, Erica! Thanks for sharing!
Thanks girl! These are really cool. If you can, check ‘em out! They should have testers at Sephora.
Oh so good to know they are sold at Sephora!
OMG I swatched this in a store and accidentally spilt the tester all over the table because they are so liquidy! SO EMBARRASSING
Oh no! But I can see that happening if you’re not careful – they’re pure liquid. But they’re really good though I promise! 😉
Thank you for this helpful review. I was wondering how easy are they to remove at the end of the day? Do they require a lot of rubbing, even with an oil based remover? That’s something I fear with long wearing products.
Thanks so much for taking the time to read it! I haven’t encountered much trouble taking these off at all. For instance, a Neutrogena remover wipe gets it right off, so I imagine most cleansers would do the job very well. Hope that helps!
Hi! These look gorgeous! Off topic question..do you go to a salon to get your hair colored or no? If not what brand/color do you use? It looks like the perfect shade!
Thanks so much for reading and commenting! I go to a salon to get it colored; it’s Goldwell brand but I have no idea on the numbers, sorry! But I believe my colorist mixes brown and red together to get a really natural shade.