Our Skincare-Savvy Editors Put Drunk Elephant’s New Serum Foundation Drops to The Test

5 min readThere was a time—a simpler time, perhaps—when Drunk Elephant was the only skincare brand that anyone was talking about. Their products were clean, with a list of ingredients they wouldn’t use (the ‘Suspicious 6,’ they called them), effective, and, most importantly, fun. Bright packaging, quirky names (the C-Firma Fresh Day Serum, the A Passioni Retinol Cream), and throngs of loyal fans made the brand unstoppable.And despite a much publicized (and not entirely planned) stint as the brand de rigeur for the Sephora kids, Drunk Elephant pretty much stuck to that formula. Yours truly was one of the first beauty editors to cover the brand when I featured their sadly discontinued sunscreen, Umbra Sheer Mineral Cream SPF 30 in 2014, so I have a long and loving history with this brand. I still think their products are fantastic—T.L.C. Sukari Babyfacial and T.L.C. Framboos Glycolic Resurfacing Night Serum are legendary—so I was surprised and excited when I learned that they were planning something very different for their latest launch.Drunk Elephant was entering the makeup game.ProsExcellent coverage and just a tiny bit is requiredInfused with ingredients that improve skin over timeFeels weightless on skinConsSome testers felt it didn't live up to the 12-hour wear claimDrunk Elephant’s latest product—a buildable medium-coverage foundation—is infused with peptides and hydrators to improve skin instantly and over time. You can mix it in with your daily moisturizer or apply it directly to skin.The launch wasn’t entirely out of left field—a skincare-meets-makeup foundation that could be used on its own or added to your daily moisturizer for a sheerer wash of color—but it was different enough to get the entire Women’s Health editorial team excited about trying it.And try it, we did. An intrepid group of 13 women—a diverse mix of skin tones and types—put the new Drunk Elephant Kamo Triple-Peptide Multi-Use Serum Foundation to the test for a week. Now, their reviews are in.Here’s how our discerning team felt about DE’s latest drop and what you can expect if you click “add to cart.”What is the Drunk Elephant Kamo Triple-Peptide Multi-Use Serum Foundation? Is it a true foundation? Is it a tinted moisturizer? Honestly, it’s a bit of both. You could certainly dab it on straight from the tube for buildable medium coverage. But Team Drunk also gives you the option of blending a few drops of one of the twenty-five adaptable shades in with your daily moisturizer for a sheer, natural wash of color. It’s this versatility that makes the product so easy to use. True full-coverage foundations can be intimidating—even half a shade point off from your natural skin tone is noticeable—and some tinted moisturizers aren’t strong enough to stand up to a pulsating pimple or that dark spot from Dante’s ninth ring. Kamo is the best of both worlds.The secret are unique amino acid-coated pigments, which help the formula disperse more evenly over skin, providing better coverage and more flexible wear at the same time. The brand promises 12-hour-coverage and a creamy formula that won’t settle into tiny creases or pores.Of course, it’s Drunk Elephant, so Kamo’s skincare bona fides are strong. A four percent peptide complex firms skin with long-term wear and a blend of plant oils (marula, green tea) and squalane provide antioxidant protection. Plus, a hefty dose of hydration in the form of glycerin gives makes this moisturizing and comfortable on skin.But how does it wear? Let our testers tell you.Shop the new Drunk Elephant Kamo Triple Peptide Serum FoundationWhat our testers liked about Drunk Elephant Kamo Triple-Peptide Multi-Use Serum Foundation.According to our guinea pigs, there’s lots to love about this versatile product. Here are some of the highlights from staffers’ road testing:The coverage is solidFor something that feels comfortable and lightweight on skin, Kamo provided great coverage, agreed most of our testers. “I only had to use about half the amount of product I normally would, and all my imperfections were gone,” lifestyle director Lindsay Geller, raves. Design director Gillian MacLeod agrees: “It successfully covered the redness around my nose and cheekbones and helped fix the discoloration under my eyes,” she says. “I liked that it wasn’t super-shiny or super-matte but left my skin with a nice dewy finish.”For testers who mixed Kamo in with their daily moisturizer, they achieved a similarly spectacular effect: “I found the coverage to be incredibly comfortable, and my skin tone appears naturally even,” says managing editor Laura McLaughlin. “And I love that I can adjust the amount of coverage by adding more product into the moisturizer.”It feels weightless on skinMost of our staff testers waxed poetic about how airy Kamo was. “I really liked how the foundation provided coverage but didn’t irritate my skin or feel heavy,” shares deputy features editor Carina Hsieh. Like Hsieh, social media editor Alyssa Cruz loved how Kamo played well with her daily. “I layered this foundation over moisturizer, and I loved how light weight and hydrating it felt,” she says.There’s a Goldilocks-like finishNot too matte. Not too dewy. Just right. “On my skin, the finish felt natural—not overly dewy or matte,” says social video producer Rianna Cafaro, who used it as she would a typical foundation (no moisturizer mixing here). MacLeod also loved that this one didn’t take her skin too far in either direction.Shop the new Drunk Elephant Kamo Triple Peptide Serum FoundationWere there any drawbacks?The biggest point of difference for our group of testers was in the wear of the foundation. Some, like designer Leanne Mattern, would rate it 10/10. “After sweating all day, the product stayed on and honestly, looked more even and glowy afterwards,” she raves. “It was then easy to remove with a regular oil cleanser.” Cruz had a similarly good experience with Kamo’s longevity. “I was going to an event that was chaotic and humid, and I felt like the foundation held up the entire time,” Cruz says. “It settled into my skin nicely, while still being visible. It was also very easy to remove at the end of the night, and my skin didn't feel irritated at all.”Others were less enthusiastic about its staying power. After just a few hours of wear, Geller noticed patchiness in the form of tiny dots forming on her face. “It ended up making me look pore-y,” she says. Cafaro concurs that the 12-hour wear promise fell a little short for her as well (keep in mind, these are the dog days of August). “The wear time was solid overall, but toward the end of my eight-hour workday,) I noticed slight separation in my usual problem areas, especially around my chin and over my acne,” she says.Shop the new Drunk Elephant Kamo Triple Peptide Serum FoundationBottom line: Is Drunk Elephant Kamo Triple-Peptide Multi-Use Serum Foundation worth it?It’s tough to find a product that checks every box, but this one check most, which is a huge win IMO. It’s versatile, boasts solid coverage, and has great skincare benefits. If you have a lot of texture on your skin, it may not be for you, says associate editor Olivia Luppino, but if you want a product that can effortlessly even out patchy discoloration, look no further.For dry types, Kamo may be especially helpful. It’s decidedly not matte texture means dehydrated skin won’t feel even more like mask-like with this on. Plus, the skincare ingredients will nurture your complexion (several of our testers—even those with problematic skin—noted that Kamo was completely non-irritating to their typically cranky outer layers. All in all, ease is the name of the game here.So, if you’re in the market for an unfussy complexion-evening product, get glowing with Kamo, sisterBrian Underwood is beauty director at Women’s Health, where he oversees content strategy for the brand across all platforms, including digital, print, and social. Underwood previously served as beauty and wellness director at Oprah Daily and O, The Oprah Magazine. During his tenure leading beauty content for the Oprah brand at Hearst, stories Underwood commissioned were awarded the Skin Cancer Foundation Media Award and a Fragrance Award for Editorial Excellence (his second). He was the launch Beauty Director of Dr. Oz THE GOOD LIFE, and has held additional editorial positions at Fitness, Organic Style, Good Housekeeping, Life & Style Weekly, and Woman’s Day and has written for Self, Shape, Seventeen, Redbook, Cosmopolitan, and many more. Underwood previously served on the Skin Cancer Foundation’s gala committee and as partnerships director of the Trans Beauty Clinic, a New York-based charitable organization that provided beauty services and workshops to the city’s trans community.