This Powder Instantly Brightened My Face After Just 5 Hours of Sleep—and It’s on Sale

Concealer can only do so much to hide the dark circles I’m plagued by thanks to the recurring bouts of insomnia I unfortunately experience. But a concealer and powder combination might do the trick. I was immediately intrigued when I heard about the new Kosas Cloud Set Brightening Powder, with the hopes that it could help me look as if I wasn’t just tossing and turning the night before. Even better, you can shop it on sale for $29 instead of $36 during the sitewide Friends and Family Sale that’s running through Tuesday, October 1.

The new Kosas powder is a brightening version of the brand’s best-selling Cloud Set Setting Powder. It still boasts the same skin-first ingredients, like pore-minimizing peony extract, skin-softening bamboo extract, and smoothing passion fruit extract and also comes in three different brightening color options. The brand sent me a free sample of the pink "Candy" shade to test since my dark circles veer on the greenish-blue side. The other shades are “Buttery,” a yellow hue to cancel out purple dark circles, and “Peachy,” which is best suited for blue-ish dark circles. 

Kosas Cloud Set Brightening Powder

You can sweep this over “anywhere you need a lift,” but I like to focus the brightening powder on my undereye area. I start by patting on a lightweight liquid or cream concealer, and if I need a lot of help brightening up the area, I use Real Technique’s Miracle Makeup Setting Puff to pat the airy setting powder over my blended concealer. (Otherwise, I opt for an angled fluffy brush.) Either way, I’m always happy with the results.

In the before image, you can clearly see my undereye circles crying out for attention. I didn’t apply any other products and just dabbed the area with some Kosas’ Revealer Concealer, following up with a mini powder puff to apply the brightening powder on top. The baked, ultra-light formula glides seamlessly, imparting a lifting effect. You can see in the after image that the smoothing effect is immediately noticeable.

I love that this is a pressed powder in a sturdy compact, unlike the traditional loose and messy setting powder, which is a nightmare to travel with. I’ve worn the Cloud Set Brightening Powder for up to eight hours without touchups, and my undereye area remains bright and blurred. I also haven’t noticed any creasing throughout the day, which is always a plus.

If you’re as tired as me and need a little help faking the wide-awake look, you can’t go wrong with Kosas Cloud Set Brightening Powder. And with the brand’s Friends and Family Sale happening, you can use the opportunity to save 20 percent off the powder—and everything else sitewide. For more personal recommendations, below are some of my favorite top-sellers.

Kosas Revealer Concealer

Kosas Blush Is Life Baked Blush

Kosas DreamBeam SPF 40 Mineral Sunscreen

Kosas Soulgazer Gel Eyeliner

Kosas BB Burst Tinted Gel Cream