Kosas BB Burst Review: 5 ‘Glamour’ Editors Give Their Honest Thoughts

All products featured on Glamour are independently selected by our editors. However, when you buy something through our retail links, we may earn an affiliate commission.

If there’s one brand we trust for a no-makeup makeup look, it’s Kosas. Their skin-loving products double as both makeup and skin care. Since launching in 2015, it’s gained a cult-following for viral products like the Revealer Skin-Improving Foundation (a tinted moisturizer favorite of Glamour associate beauty editor Danielle Sinay) and the Air Brow Lifting Treatment Gel (a 2022 Glamour Beauty Award winner). Which goes to say: we’re big fans of Kosas at Glamour, so of course we had to try the brand’s latest launch, Kosas BB Burst Tinted Moisturizer Gel Cream.

A lightweight tinted moisturizer, the BB Burst features a gel cream formula that hydrates skin with ingredients like collagen-boosting copper peptides, smoothing saccharide isomerate, moisture-retaining sodium PCA, and calming zinc oxide. Basically, the usual hybrid of skin care benefits combined with the pigment and high performance makeup that we’ve come to love. The 24 shade range includes light, medium, medium deep and deep, skin tones with cool, neutral, warm, and olive undertones. Described by the brand as “my skin with a little extra,” the BB Burst promises buildable coverage with a smooth and natural finish.

So what happened when we put Kosas BB Burst to the test? Ahead, five Glamour editors share their honest reviews.

Ariana Yaptangco, senior beauty editor, wearing Medium Tan Neutral Cool 30BB creams are usually not my complexion product of choice. I had terrible acne as a teenager which meant discoloration and scarring, so when it comes to foundation, I’m full coverage all the way. As I’ve worked on my skin, my texture has vastly improved (shoutout to my dermatologist for prescribing me spironolactone) to the point where I can wear tinted moisturizers without feeling overly self-conscious. However, bad habits die hard and I still feel like I need a good amount of coverage in my skincare-makeup hybrid products.

Kosas BB Burst gives me the best of both worlds. The texture is soft and smooth like a moisturizer, but gives you a good amount of pigment that can be built to something more opaque. The result is very natural-looking finish—it melts into skin and can be applied with just your fingers. The trickiest part was finding a shade match—initially I tried shades in the medium-warm 20s range, but they ended up being way too light and chalky. I finally found my fit with Medium Tan Neutral Cool 30, which blends pretty seamlessly into my complexion. I’ll definitely be using this on days when I need to get out the door in a hurry, or when I’m running weekend errands and want to look a bit more put together.

Kosas BB Burst Tinted Moisturizer Gel Cream in Medium Tan Neutral Cool 30

Danielle Sinay, associate beauty editor, wearing Light + Neutral Warm 14Lightweight, versatile, and oily skin-friendly: Kosas BB Burst is the epitome of skin care and makeup in one. In fact, it’s the only product that helps me stop wearing foundation entirely. The formula is so delicate that it looks like my face is bare, but it has the right amount of color-correcting coverage to smooth and blur pores. With a beautiful, natural finish and a shade that perfectly matches my skin tone, it feels more like a second skin than product. I wear it alone for a no-makeup makeup look or as primer with a full face. Every time I use it it lasts all day long—sans oxidation—despite how greasy I get. I haven’t been able to stop texting my friends about how much I love it!

Kosas BB Burst Tinted Moisturizer Gel Cream Light + Neutral Warm 14

Monique Wilson, assistant editor, wearing Medium Deep Neutral 33The Kosas BB Burst feels very light on my skin, which is great for day-to-day minimal makeup. It’s very buildable if you want more coverage, but I only use one or two pumps for light coverage. Thankfully, it doesn’t oxidize and the color match is amazing for my complexion (I wear Medium Deep Neutral 33). I would definitely recommend Kosas BB Burst, especially for the price point! I’m keeping this a part of my everyday makeup rotation.

Kosas BB Burst Tinted Moisturizer Gel Cream in Medium Deep Neutral 33

Lindy Segal, interim deputy editor, wearing Light Neutral 12When it comes to complexion products, I lean more “skin tint” than “heavy foundation,” so the Kosas BB Burst immediately piqued my interest. I tried shade Light Neutral 12, and it was a pretty good shade match, especially once blended. The texture is substantial—not runny or thin—but it feels weightless on the skin. I found it to be down the middle in finish; not overly glowy yet not matte either, so keep that in mind if you prefer one or the other. It also stayed on well (I used a setting spray—shoutout Rare Beauty Always An Optimist!), though at the end of a long day I did notice it separating a bit on my dry skin, as can be expected. Overall, I’d recommend it to anyone looking for a comfortable, easy-to-use formula for every day. She’s a winner!

Kosas BB Burst Tinted Moisturizer Gel Cream Light Neutral 12

Brie Schwartz, commerce director, wearing ight Medium Neutral Warm 20Despite growing up in a salon, and being a very longtime editor of all things beauty, I’m pretty hopeless when it comes to doing my own makeup. This is one of the few reasons why I don’t wear foundation (laziness ranks high on the list, too), but I do like the occasional pore minimizing coverage. I’ve tried tinted moisturizers before, which is just about as skilled as I get in the application process, but most (even the beloved Laura Mercier) can get cakey or pilly on my skin. The Kosas BB Burst, however, blended super easily with just my fingers (yep, so effortless even I could do it), and felt ultra light.

My typical go-to is Supergoop Glowscreen, but that has a tendency to go from dewy to greasy-looking fast. This buildable tinted gel cream has none of that shiny slick. It also smells…fresh, which is so often not the case. Plus, it stayed put through the day. Keep in mind that shade matching is tricky. Despite trying two different shades, I could have used a shade a hair darker. I thought I looked a tad corpse-y, but I’m also not used to seeing myself in matte-like makeup, so I popped some Charlotte Tilbury highlighter blush on my cheeks. In short, I’m into it and will definitely wear it on special occasions (read: when I take the extra thirteen seconds in the morning).

Kosas BB Burst Tinted Moisturizer Gel Cream in Light Medium Neutral Warm 20

Ariana Yaptangco is the senior beauty editor at Glamour. Follow her @arianayap.