Kate Moss’s wellness range: ‘Looking for the most effective skincare for €140? Look elsewhere’

Louise McSharry was dazzled by the supermodel at her beauty collection launch in Dublin but disappointed with her products

Kate Moss's Cosmoss skincare and wellness range

Cosmoss Sacred Mist, €140 via brownthomas.com

Cosmoss Face Cream, €110 via brownthomas.com

Cosmoss Face Cleanser, €60 via brownthomas.com

Cosmoss Dusk Tea, €24 for 20 tea bags, brownthomas.com

Cosmoss Dawn Tea and Dusk Tea, €24 for 20 tea bags, brownthomas.com

Kiehl's Ultra Pure High-Potency Serum 9.8% Glycolic Acid

Alpha-H Liquid Gold Exfoliating Treatment, €33.45 via lookfantastic.ie

Kate Moss's Cosmoss skincare and wellness range

Cosmoss Sacred Mist, €140 via brownthomas.com

Cosmoss Face Cream, €110 via brownthomas.com

Cosmoss Face Cleanser, €60 via brownthomas.com

Cosmoss Dusk Tea, €24 for 20 tea bags, brownthomas.com

Cosmoss Dawn Tea and Dusk Tea, €24 for 20 tea bags, brownthomas.com

Kiehl's Ultra Pure High-Potency Serum 9.8% Glycolic Acid

Alpha-H Liquid Gold Exfoliating Treatment, €33.45 via lookfantastic.ie

Kate Moss's Cosmoss skincare and wellness range

Louise McSharry

March 03 2023 04:00 PM

This week I had to pose the question, ‘What do you wear when you’re going to meet Kate Moss?’ Kate Moss, fashion icon, beautiful woman, one of the most famous models of all time was coming to Dublin, and I was going to be sharing oxygen with her.

In the end, I went for what I thought was cool and casual. A grey marl sweater, some black pleather trousers and a cool pair of runners. Makeup was clean-girl chic, not an aesthetic I usually go for, with a single shade of warm brown on my eye and healthy glowing skin (at least that’s what I was going for). What’s the point in trying too hard when everyone will be looking at Kate Moss, I figured.

When I arrived at the event, everyone I encountered shared their own personal ‘what the hell do you wear to meet Kate Moss?’ crisis. Looking around the room, her influence was clear via pops of leopard print, long chic scarves and 70s, rock-inspired maxi dresses. But Kate wasn’t here to talk about fashion, she was here to talk about beauty.

Cosmoss by Kate Moss is the beauty and wellness brand launched by the model last September, but newly available in Brown Thomas. The line, described as ‘self-care created for life’s modern journeys’, is inspired by the ‘extraordinary life experience of Kate Moss’.

There’s a lot of wellness-speak on the website about celebrating each day, opening doors to balance and restoration, and references to ‘rituals’ rather than routines. This is well-worn territory in 2023, when wellness appears to have replaced religion in many people’s lives. But what are the products actually like?

Cosmoss Face Cream, €110 via brownthomas.com

The full Cosmoss range currently includes three skincare products, a fragrance, and two teas. The skincare elements are Face Cream, an anti-ageing moisturiser (€110 via brownthomas.com), Golden Nectar Face Oil (€120 via brownthomas.com), and Face Cleanser (€60 via brownthomas.com).

Cosmoss Sacred Mist, €140 via brownthomas.com

Sacred Mist, the fragrance (€140 via brownthomas.com), is a room and body spray which promises to boost the mood and calm the mind. It smells lovely, with head notes of orange flower and bergamot and hearty notes of jasmine, tuberose and geranium.

Dawn Tea and Dusk Tea (€24 for 20 tea bags) promise to energise you and soothe your soul. If you’re thinking it all seems very expensive that’s because it is.

Video of the Day

Cosmoss Dusk Tea, €24 for 20 tea bags, brownthomas.com

In my opinion, there is nothing about these products that will change your life. The formulations of the skincare aren’t game changing, and frankly, no one could ever convince me to spend €24 on 22 tea bags. Having said that, these are physically beautiful products. The packaging is luxurious, and feels expensive in the hand. They would look beautiful in your bathroom, or if you were, say, doing a shoot for Architectural Digest and needed some aesthetically pleasing tea bags for an open shelf.

Cosmoss Face Cleanser, €60 via brownthomas.com

For some people, that will be enough. We all spend our money for our own reasons, and are entitled to do so. If you want to fill your life with aesthetically beautiful things that will please the eye, Cosmoss could be for you. If you absolutely adore Kate Moss and want to channel her chic, beautiful energy into your day, Cosmoss could be for you. If you’re looking for the most effective skincare you can get for €140, then I’d look elsewhere.

Something old….

Alpha-H Liquid Gold Exfoliating Treatment, €33.45 via lookfantastic.ie

Texture has become quite the buzzword when it comes to skincare routines and products themselves. We’re all striving to banish any bump or blemish, and to instead present the world with a face like a baby’s bottom. Of course, that’s not actually possible, but you can improve the skin’s smoothness with various skincare products, a category of which is acids. Alpha-H Liquid Gold Exfoliating Treatment (€33.45 via lookfantastic.ie) has long been in my arsenal. This ‘treatment’ with 5pc glycolic acid is a liquid applied to the face via a cotton pad. It assists with exfoliation, resulting in clearer and brighter skin. With any acid like this, it’s wise to build up to regular use, starting with once a week and then to a routine to suit your skin.

...Something new

Kiehl's Ultra Pure High-Potency Serum 9.8% Glycolic Acid

The new Kiehl’s range of high-potency serums aims to deliver intense results with minimally formulated products. The highlight for me is Ultra Pure High-Potency Serum 9.8% Glycolic Acid (€35, via brownthomas.com from April 5). This gentle serum is formulated with seven ingredients and aims to improve the skin’s texture and give you the smooth face you’ve always dreamed of. Pores? It wants you to forget all about them. Glow? It’s gonna give it to you in spades. Glycolic acid’s effectiveness comes down to its ability to boost skin renewal, meaning old, dead skin makes way for new, fresh skin.

Lost in Translation

‘Underpainting’ is the biggest makeup trend on TikTok right now thanks to makeup artist to the stars Mary Phillips. She works with clients like Hailey Bieber and Kendall Jenner, and demoed the technique on her channel of late, and now everyone’s doing it. Simply put, underpainting means applying contour, blush and concealer before applying foundation minimally, only where needed. The result is a fresh and young and camera-friendly, and much more natural than a heavy layer of foundation, hence its popularity.