This new K-Beauty drugstore makeup brand is surprisingly good
Just as KBeauty is starting to take a stronghold in the Philipines, we welcome another new KBeauty brand: L.O.C.K. Color Cosmetics! The packaging is fun and quirky, with anime-like characters and modern cityscapes adorning the matte black boxes; it looks like it was geared for a younger, hip audience.
Normally, expectations are lowered with this kind of marketing. Younger people don’t need hard-working makeup because they have better skin - that’s just fact. Still, every little swatch changed my mind and I can’t wait to tour you guys around the products!
The Base Items
L.O.C.K. It Good Water Gel Primer (P699 for 30g) is a water-based primer that has a bit of silicone in it. I love how the gel melts on to the skin, and the silicone content helps to blur my dry texture and fill in some fine lines. I love watery primers, so this was an automatic GO for me.
L.O.C.K. It Good Foundation in #6 Sun Beige (P699 for 30g) claims to have the "benefits of BB cream with the coverage of liquid foundation". I was dreading this liquid foundation because it was so dark on me, but after adjusting with shade adjustor drops, it was actually friggin’ amazing! This had me most confused, and I was suspiciously impressed with how the brand performed. A little digging shows they are from the same makers as Club Clio, a brand that also produces great coverage foundations. L.O.C.K. It Good Foundation has complete coverage in one application. The finish is plump, and not cakey nor flat. It’s one of my favorite items, given how I am into full coverage foundation these days.
L.O.C.K. N’ Tap Cushion Constrobing Pen in #1 Shimmer Gold (P699 for 5g) is a liquid highlighter in a cushion pen format. This highlighter is completely high shine, and I loved whenever the pearly/metallic sheen hit the light.
Cheeks and Lips
L.O.C.K. N’ Tap Cushion Blush in #1 Coral Pink and #4 Bronze (P649 for 5g each) are from the same line but functionally different. These are smaller cushions meant for spot application. I like how warm yet light Coral Pink is, while Bronze looks like it can provide a bright kind of warmth to the complexion. These come in screw-top jars and have a tiny rubicell puffs with them. So cute! Both have great color payoff, and the thick liquid formula help them blend easily on top of the Good Foundation.
L.O.C.K. It Velvet Lip in #10 Salmon Coral (P449 for 5g) is a liquid velvet lip color with a doefoot applicator. It has a moussey texture and has great color payoff. Like many velvet tints, it gives a cloud-like finish! Meanwhile, the L.O.C.K. It Cushion Lip Pen in #8 Nudi Pink (P499 for 3.8g) has a similar applicator to the Constrobing Pen. It has a velvet formula like the Velvet Lip, though the cushion pen applicator lets you apply a thinner layer of product. I think this is best for people who hate using fingers to apply gradient lips.
Eyebrows and Eyes
L.O.C.K. It Brow Auto Pencil in #2 Bronze Brown (P349 for 0.3g) is a regular circular auto pencil, not the sword-cut type. It has a spoolie on the other end, which is just non-negotiable for me when it comes to eyebrow pencils. It is pretty easy to draw with, and doesn’t clump up on my brow hairs. The shade Bronze Brown is too blonde on my current color palette though – I would suggest it for people who have colored hair.
I used the L.O.C.K. It Brow Mascara in #1 Natural Brown (P449 for 4g) to mask the black hairs that peeked through. #1 Natural Brown blends with the #2 Bronze Brown Auto Pencil, so it's again too light for me, but at least cohesive with the look. While the formula is waxy and volumizes my brow hairs without creating a mess on my skin, I found it difficult to apply in some areas.
L.O.C.K. It Waterproof Eyeliner Pen in #1 Black (P549 for 0.8g) is your standard brush-tip, pen-type liquid liner. The ink is an opaque true black and doesn’t smudge out. I like how the fine and easy-moving tip helps me draw precise lines.
L.O.C.K. It Boom Boom Mascara Volume x Curl (P449 for 7.5g) had so much potential. The super thin wand seemed perfect for my small eyes and hard-to-reach lashes. It also seemed to be a fiber formula because there were thin flecks separating out. However, once applied to my lashes, the formula seemed too dry and underwhelming.
L.O.C.K. It Eye Shadow Finger Pallet in #3 Sunset Play (P799 for 4 shadows with 3g each) is a palette that made me truly realize this was a Korean brand - I had started swatching before researching the brand or looking too closely at the Hangeul-labelled boxes. The light matte shade was a little chalky and barely showed up, which seems to be a universal problem with Korean palettes. Otherwise, Gentle Brown as a metallic dark brown was nice. The shimmers more than made up for everything else. Bling Bling Pink Orange and Special Rose Gold were so so so so lovely as textured glitters! BBPO was so nice that I just put it all over my lid on its own. It has a pink base with golden shimmers that translated nicely across my lid, while SRG is a millennial pink dream.
And of course, all these opinions are based not just on swatches but on an actual L.O.C.K. Color FOTD! I used all the products except for the L.O.C.K. It Cushion Lip Pen in #8 Nudi Pink. Both lip products were actually super promising, but I just chose the color that flattered the rest of my look. As for the L.O.C.K. N’ Tap Cushion Blush in #4 Bronze, I used it to emphasize my V-line instead of bronzing all over.
I have to mention that the eyebrows end up looking too light for my hair. Just in case you have colored hair, I wanted to show how the brow mascara in Natural Brown should help mask your un-dyed brows.
The photo below is an angle that really shows off the L.O.C.K. It Velvet Lip in #10 Salmon Coral. I really love this lip product! I think Koreans make velvet lips super duper well as the formula managed to hide the cracks in my lips while covering my pout in a super cute color!
The photo below shows off the L.O.C.K. N’ Tap Cushion Constrobing Pen in #1 Shimmer Gold and the L.O.C.K. It Eye Shadow Finger Pallet #3 in Sunset Play. I am also a huge fan of how Koreans do eye glitter and strobing. These are two really good products I can’t get out of my head!
The price point is not completely budget-friendly, but still not too expensive. I would say it sits in the middle and it’s well worth your money to try anything that interests you as the range is generally a hit. My absolute favorite and the must-try from this brand is the Good Foundation and any of the lip products. I was not really expecting much out of this youth-oriented brand but I was glad to be proven wrong!
L.O.C.K. Color Cosmetics is now available in select SM Beauty locations.
