Kosas Tropic Equinox Color & Light Palette Review & Swatches
Tropic Equinox
Kosas Tropic Equinox Color and Light Palette ($34.00 for 0.32 oz.) consists of a darker, peachy-brown blush paired with a warm, peachy highlighter. This is the lower intensity level, so both shades are designed to be sheerer and more buildable, which they were. Both shades applied well over bare skin and had good longevity, but the highlighter’s tackier texture made it less compatible with more matte base products as it was more prone to lifting them up.
FURTHER READING: Formula Overview for details on general performance and characteristics (like scent).
Formula Overview
$34.00/0.32 oz. - $106.25 Per Ounce
Each shade in the range has two levels of color intensity; each shade has a "High Intensity" version, which offers "double the pigment" compared to the regular shade (which has less intense, more "buildable" coverage). The formula is supposed to offer "easy-to-apply, blendable" blush that is paired with a "complementary" highlighter with.
In my experience, the High Intensity version offered greater pigmentation but also offered a more saturated take on the color scheme; it felt more like making a certain color combination work for both lighter and deeper complexions rather than just doubling up on the pigment. The regular shades were semi-sheer to medium coverage and were buildable. The High Intensity shades were definitely higher coverage and typically ran semi-opaque to opaque.
The consistency was creamy with moderate slip and felt like a traditional cream brush (wet to the touch, emollient, and thin). They applied well to bare skin as well as over foundation for the most part, though a few shades could have been more foolproof to work with over base products. The more shimmery shades (like highlighters) felt slightly more emollient compared to more cream-finish shades (like blushes).
As they're a creamier product, they sheer out and blend quite well during application, so one often needs to pat on a second layer to amp up the coverage (rather than applying more heavily) if higher coverage is desired (less necessary with High Intensity shades).
The formula dried down for the most part but didn't look totally flat or matte. As a result, they didn't slide around too easily during wear on my skin. Most shades started to show signs of fading after seven to eight hours of wear, which is average most cheek colors for me.
Browse all of our Kosas Color and Light Palette swatches.
Ingredients
Tropic Equinox
PPermanent. $34.00.
Tropic Equinox (Blush)
Tropical Equinox (Blush) is a medium-dark peach with muted, warm undertones and a soft, pearly sheen. It had a lightly dewy sheen, though it dried down for the most part, that was luminous without emphasizing my skin’s natural texture. It had medium, buildable coverage as the texture was creamy, emollient, and thin, so it tended to diffuse quite readily when applied–it was key to build up coverage in layers as a result. Thankfully, it didn’t seem prone to picking up foundation, so building it up was a cinch. It wore well for eight hours before fading noticeably on me.
FURTHER READING: Formula Overview for details on general performance and characteristics (like scent).
Top Dupes
- Fenty Beauty Fenty Glow (LE, $20.00) is less shimmery, cooler (90% similar).
- ColourPop Spot Me (LE, $8.00) is less shimmery, cooler (90% similar).
- Laura Mercier Earth (LE, $24.00) is less shimmery, darker, cooler (90% similar).
- MAC Melon Pink (Top) (LE, $24.00) is lighter (90% similar).
- Bite Beauty Coconut Rum (P, $32.00) is lighter, cooler (90% similar).
- NARS Get Lost (LE, $30.00) is less shimmery (90% similar).
- ColourPop Kiss Kiss (P, $7.00) is less shimmery, darker (90% similar).
- ColourPop 2 Cool 4 School (LE, $8.00) is less shimmery, lighter, cooler (90% similar).
- Merit Terracotta (P, $28.00) is less shimmery (90% similar).
- ColourPop Perk Up (LE, $12.00) is less shimmery, cooler (90% similar).
Formula Overview
-
Each shade in the range has two levels of color intensity; each shade has a "High Intensity" version, which offers "double the pigment" compared to the regular shade (which has less intense, more "buildable" coverage). The formula is supposed to offer "easy-to-apply, blendable" blush that is paired with a "complementary" highlighter with.
In my experience, the High Intensity version offered greater pigmentation but also offered a more saturated take on the color scheme; it felt more like making a certain color combination work for both lighter and deeper complexions rather than just doubling up on the pigment. The regular shades were semi-sheer to medium coverage and were buildable. The High Intensity shades were definitely higher coverage and typically ran semi-opaque to opaque.
The consistency was creamy with moderate slip and felt like a traditional cream brush (wet to the touch, emollient, and thin). They applied well to bare skin as well as over foundation for the most part, though a few shades could have been more foolproof to work with over base products. The more shimmery shades (like highlighters) felt slightly more emollient compared to more cream-finish shades (like blushes).
As they're a creamier product, they sheer out and blend quite well during application, so one often needs to pat on a second layer to amp up the coverage (rather than applying more heavily) if higher coverage is desired (less necessary with High Intensity shades).
The formula dried down for the most part but didn't look totally flat or matte. As a result, they didn't slide around too easily during wear on my skin. Most shades started to show signs of fading after seven to eight hours of wear, which is average most cheek colors for me.
Browse all of our Kosas Cream Blush swatches.
Ingredients
Prunus Armeniaca (Apricot) Kernel Oil, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Mica, Polyhydroxystearic Acid, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea) Butter, Polymethylsilsesquioxane, Ricinus Communis (Castor) Seed Oil, Isononyl Isononanoate, Microcrystalline Wax, Zea Mays (Corn) Starch, C10-18 Triglycerides, Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Wax; Caprylyl Glycol, Commiphora Myrrha Oil, Ethylhexylglycerin, Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Extract, Limnanthes Alba (Meadowfoam) Seed Oil, Oryza Sativa (Rice) Bran Extract, Rosa Canina Fruit Oil, Rosmarinus Officinalis (Rosemary) Leaf Extract, Sclerocarya Birrea Seed Oil, Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba) Seed Oil, Tocopherol, Tocopheryl Acetate, Vitis Vinifera (Grape) Seed Oil, [+/ -: Titanium Dioxide (CI 77891), Iron Oxides (CI 77491), Iron Oxides (CI 77492), Iron Oxides (CI 77499), Yellow 5 (CI 19140), Red 7 Lake (CI 15850)]
Disclaimer: Ingredient lists are as available by the brand (or retailer) at the time of publishing. Please always check product packaging, if it exists, for the ingredient list applicable to the product you're purchasing, or the brand or retailer's website for the most up-to-date ingredient list.
Tropic Equinox (Blush)
PiPPermanent in Palette.
Tropic Equinox (Highlighter)
Tropical Equinox (Highlighter) is a light peach with strong, warm undertones and a soft, metallic shimmer-sheen. It had semi-sheer, buildable coverage–up to semi-opaque coverage–that applied evenly and blended out well over bare skin. The texture was emollient but lightly tacky, which I found didn’t play quite as well with more matte foundations and bases (but seemed to do well over something still-drying or dewier) and was more prone to lifting up base products like that. It stayed on nicely for eight hours before showing signs of fading.
FURTHER READING: Formula Overview for details on general performance and characteristics (like scent).
Top Dupes
- MAC Fleur Sure (LE, $42.00) is cooler (95% similar).
- Charlotte Tilbury Champagne Glow (P, $48.00) is more shimmery, cooler (95% similar).
- Iconic London Rose Glow (Right) (PiP, ) is less shimmery, darker (95% similar).
- Tarte Moonlight (PiP, ) is more shimmery, darker (95% similar).
- ColourPop Coastin' (LE, $10.00) is more shimmery, cooler (95% similar).
- Anastasia Wish (LE, ) is more shimmery, cooler (90% similar).
- Marc Jacobs Beauty Make a Sheen (LE, ) is cooler (90% similar).
- Urban Decay Now's the Time (LE, $26.00) is more shimmery, darker (90% similar).
- Marc Jacobs Beauty Tantalize Glo (Highlighter) (LE, ) is cooler (90% similar).
- Milani Pearl (PiP, ) is more shimmery, cooler (90% similar).
Formula Overview
-
Each shade in the range has two levels of color intensity; each shade has a "High Intensity" version, which offers "double the pigment" compared to the regular shade (which has less intense, more "buildable" coverage). The formula is supposed to offer "easy-to-apply, blendable" blush that is paired with a "complementary" highlighter with.
In my experience, the High Intensity version offered greater pigmentation but also offered a more saturated take on the color scheme; it felt more like making a certain color combination work for both lighter and deeper complexions rather than just doubling up on the pigment. The regular shades were semi-sheer to medium coverage and were buildable. The High Intensity shades were definitely higher coverage and typically ran semi-opaque to opaque.
The consistency was creamy with moderate slip and felt like a traditional cream brush (wet to the touch, emollient, and thin). They applied well to bare skin as well as over foundation for the most part, though a few shades could have been more foolproof to work with over base products. The more shimmery shades (like highlighters) felt slightly more emollient compared to more cream-finish shades (like blushes).
As they're a creamier product, they sheer out and blend quite well during application, so one often needs to pat on a second layer to amp up the coverage (rather than applying more heavily) if higher coverage is desired (less necessary with High Intensity shades).
The formula dried down for the most part but didn't look totally flat or matte. As a result, they didn't slide around too easily during wear on my skin. Most shades started to show signs of fading after seven to eight hours of wear, which is average most cheek colors for me.
Browse all of our Kosas Cream Highlighter swatches.
Ingredients
Prunus Armeniaca (Apricot) Kernel Oil, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Mica, Polyhydroxystearic Acid, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea) Butter, Polymethylsilsesquioxane, Isononyl Isononanoate, Microcrystalline Wax, Zea Mays (Corn) Starch, Ricinus Communis (Castor) Seed Oil, C10-18 Triglycerides, Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Wax; Caprylyl Glycol, Commiphora Myrrha Oil, Ethylhexylglycerin, Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Extract, Limnanthes Alba (Meadowfoam) Seed Oil, Oryza Sativa (Rice) Bran Extract, Rosa Canina Fruit Oil, Rosmarinus Officinalis (Rosemary) Leaf Extract, Sclerocarya Birrea Seed Oil, Silica, Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba) Seed Oil, Tin Oxide, Tocopherol, Tocopheryl Acetate, Vitis Vinifera (grape) Seed Oil, [+/ -: Titanium Dioxide (CI 77891), Iron Oxides (CI 77491)]
Disclaimer: Ingredient lists are as available by the brand (or retailer) at the time of publishing. Please always check product packaging, if it exists, for the ingredient list applicable to the product you're purchasing, or the brand or retailer's website for the most up-to-date ingredient list.
I love the blush colors for all these but the highlighter sides haven’t thrilled me. That would keep me from buying bc I hate having superfluous product.
I bought this after seeing people rave about it on Youtube as a bronzer for fair skin but it’s just too orange for me to look like sunkissed skin :/ the formula is nice though! Like the velvet melon but seems unnecessary to get multiple similar highlighters :/
This duo is beautiful, especially for summer! I would get it in a heartbeat but I have Flower Beauty Cinnamon and UD Now’s The Time. Never thought to pair those two together before. Now I will!
Now this one looks lovely – quite muted shades and both work well together.
I adored this duo last year when I purchased it and I had a teeny tan! The sad part was the “bronzer”/blush oxidized over the winter and it just won’t work anymore 🙁 I am panning the highlighter (which is amazeballs; formula/texture is perfect for glass-skin looks!) and it still looks beautiful. Super sad over the blush/bronzer because the formula was stunning.