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Now’s the time of year when we transition from our heavy-duty cold-weather skin care products to breathable, featherweight options for hot summer days. Finding the best sunscreen that suits your skin is an essential step in your summer skin prep, and this new sunscreen might be the formula you’ve been looking for. We tested the Kosas’ DreamBeam SPF 40 Comfy Smooth Sunscreen to assess its benefits, feel, and wear time.
Kosas is a beauty brand that’s known for creating multitasking products that prioritize your skin health, like a concealer that doubles as eye cream and a mascara that conditions your lashes. The brand always takes a skin-first approach to beauty, which has drawn the attention of celebrities like Hailey Bieber, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Olivia Wilde. As a result, any Kosas launch causes a racket online, with shoppers clamoring to get their hands on the latest innovation. This spring, all eyes are on Kosas’ first-ever sunscreen, the DreamBeam SPF 40 Comfy Smooth Sunscreen. The formula is a liquid, all-mineral sunscreen with a barely-there tint that’s designed to prime your skin for makeup.
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Since this Kosas sunscreen launched in early April, it’s already gained wild popularity on TikTok with over 218 million views. Bieber gave the sunscreen an early endorsement, posting a video of herself slathering the formula on her face, décolleté, and shoulders to give her skin a glow on Easter Sunday. Kosas’ DreamBeam sunscreen has already sold out at Sephora, but fear not — you can still shop it directly at Kosas.com.
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Our editors tested this new sunscreen for a full month to pen this honest review. Discover more about this buzzy new SPF, and shop it below.
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How We Tested Kosas’ DreamBeam SPF 40 Comfy Smooth Sunscreen
- Product tested: Kosas DreamBeam SPF 40 Comfy Smooth Sunscreen
- Key ingredients: Peptides, ceramides, hyaluronic acid, allantoin, and non-nano zinc
- Number of testers: A beauty editor with an expertise in SPF products
- Testing time period: One full month
- Retailer availability: Kosas, Sephora, and Credo
- Pros:
- Sheer tint works on fair to deep skin tones
- Reef safe
- Contains hydrating and soothing ingredients
- Fragrance-free, non-comedogenic, and dermatologist-tested formula
- It’s a top sensitive skin-safe sunscreen
- Designed for wear under makeup
- Cons:
- Water resistant but not waterproof
- Leaves some residue on your hands after application
- Pricey per ounce
- Best for: An everyday sunscreen to wear alone for a subtle boost in your skin tone or under makeup for a radiant, last-all-day look.
About Kosas’ DreamBeam SPF 40 Comfy Smooth Sunscreen
Kosas is a brand with beauty and brains at its core. Founder Sheena Zadeh-Daly has a background in both art and science: Before creating Kosas in 2015, Zadeh-Daly studied biological science at the University of California, Irvine, and also apprenticed for a fine artist. Her love of organic chemistry and painting inform every new product she creates. So this latest sunscreen, like all Kosas launches, is immaculately formulated with careful attention to its chemical composition and payoff on different skin tones.
Kosas’ DreamBeam sunscreen is an all-mineral SPF — a type of sunscreen that’s notoriously tricky to formulate in a pleasant result. Many mineral sunscreens take some serious elbow grease to rub in, often leave a white cast that’s a turn off for dark skin tones, and can feel greasy on skin. Kosas’ new sunscreen, on the other hand, is cleverly created in a liquid-like texture that immediately melts into skin. And it has a sheer peachy tint that counteracts any white cast you’d find in old school mineral formulas.
Along with non-nano zinc to protect your skin from sun damage, DreamBeam contains loads of skin care ingredients. It contains firming peptides, skin barrier-strengthening ceramides, hyaluronic acid to hydrate, and allantoin to keep redness and irritation at bay.
Editor Testing Review: Kosas DreamBeam SPF 40 Comfy Smooth Sunscreen
During the course of my month-long test drive with Kosas’ DreamBeam sunscreen, I’ve come to rely on this product not just for my daily SPF, but also as a makeup primer. (I even apply it before heading out to dinner long after the sun has set.) The silky liquid dries down to a natural finish; it doesn’t add too much shine but imparts some radiance that allows my best foundations to blend seamlessly on top without pilling. I also love that this formula doesn’t have the typical scent you associate with mineral sunscreens.
Application is a breeze with Kosas’ DreamBeam sunscreen. The needle-nose applicator allows you to squeeze some sunscreen directly onto your skin to ensure full coverage, while preventing the formula from spilling or dripping after multiple uses. The soft, rounded tube fits comfortably in my palm and is just the right size for travel (at 1.4 ounces, it’s TSA-friendly).
If you have breakout-prone, reactive skin like me, Kosas DreamBeam is a sunscreen that won’t make your skin freak out. During testing, I didn’t experience any redness or tingling. More importantly, I can say with confidence that this is one of the best acne-proof sunscreens. I didn’t experience any bumps or breakouts during testing — and many mineral sunscreens cause my skin to erupt.
Compliance is key with any sunscreen, and Kosas DreamBeam is a formula I love to apply. Although it looks like a fully tinted sunscreen, the color payoff is so sheer that it doesn’t leave a line of demarcation on your jaw and by your ears. My makeup looks better when I wear this underneath, and the cantaloupe and Barbie-pink packaging always catches my eye, reminding me to reapply.
Is Kosas’ DreamBeam SPF 40 Comfy Smooth Sunscreen Worth It?
The main downside to Kosas’ DreamBeam sunscreen is the cost — it’s $40 for 1.4 ounces of product. But when you factor in the versatility and skin care benefits of this sunscreen, it’s well worth the price. Serums with similar ingredients can cost up to triple the price alone, and this has the added benefits of working like a makeup primer and containing the ingredients found in top face serums. Out of all your skin care expenses, good face sunscreens are worth splurging on, as they entice you to wear SPF regularly which has far-reaching benefits for your health.
Kosas DreamBeam SPF 40 Comfy Smooth Sunscreen is well-deserving of a spot in your sunscreen lineup this summer. It’s a one-and-done product to protect, moisturize, and smooth out the look of your skin, and you can easily apply makeup on top without worrying about your look smearing throughout the day.
Related: The Best Tinted Moisturizers With SPF
Meet the Author
Claire Sullivan is the Senior Beauty and Lifestyle Commerce Editor for WWD and Footwear News. She’s spent over five years researching, reporting on, and writing about the beauty industry for publications like Martha Stewart Living, Martha Stewart Weddings, InStyle, and Byrdie. She’s tested hundreds of products during her time as a beauty editor, so she’s well-versed in selecting the products that make a meaningful difference in your skin and hair. Sullivan tested Kosas’ DreamBeam sunscreen for a full month to write this honest review.