Kiko Makeup Haul – Product Review and Swatches

This time last year I hadn’t heard of the brand Kiko but it seems to be doing the rounds on You Tube recently.  My curiosity grew with each time the brand was mentioned, so being the beauty addict that I am, I started doing some research. My research lead me to their store in Regent Street,London and my oh my was I in for a treat. It was only when I set my foot into the store that I realised the magnitude of this brand and believe me, they are giving the high street/drugstore brands a run for their money. Their pricing strategy puts them in direct competition with the likes of Maybbeline, Rimmel and Revlon.

I came to the store with two products in mind and naturally they came highly recommended by various beauty bloggers. The first was their Sun Lovers Blush, which as you might have guessed by the name, is a blush. The second was their Long Lasting Shadow Stick which is a crayon like eye shadow in the form of a slim line stick (think By Terry Ombre Blackstar but at a fraction of the price). Now I couldn’t help but get a lil swatch happy whilst in the store ( and if you’ve ever been to their store, you will know what I mean) going from one counter to the next. I love how their products are laid out, with each counter dedicated to one product type; one for eye shadows, another for lipsticks and so forth (you get the gist), and the array of colours available is bonkers. As a result, I walked away with a few more products than I had initially intended. Cutting to the chase, here’s what products found their way into my shopping basket.

Sun Lovers Blush in 02 Copacabana Coral £14.90

This blush is so, SO pretty! Housed in a round, gold compact, it opens up to reveal a beautiful blush and highlight split equally down the middle. The highlight side is a marblelised mix of peachy coral with a cool golden shimmer running through it, whilst the blush side is a straight up and more of a true coral powdered blush.I’ve actually been swirling my brush into both with a blush brush and applying straight onto the apples of my cheeks. The shimmer is very subtle and is barely there when mixed with the blush so theres no risk of looking like a disco ball. However, worn alone as a highlight, I’d probably stick to using it in the evenings as the shimmery particles is definitely more noticeable.  They have a selection of  four shades; 01 Ipanema Beach which is more of a red toned coral, 02 Copacabana Coral which is more of a true coral, 03 Brazilian Pink which is a blue toned medium pink and 04  Atlantic Camellia which is more of a peachy coral.

Long Lasting Shadow Sticks £6.90

I swatched a fair few colours on the back of my hand and really struggled to choose just one so I ended up picking two; shades no.06 and no.38. No.06 is lilac taupe with shimmer and no.38 is a cool toned metallic gold. These are super creamy in formulation making application a breeze as it glides on rather than drags. You have a little playtime with it so I tend to blend as I go along because once the product sets, there’s no budging. When I finally narrowed it down to just the two, I grabbed a tissue to wipe off the swatches, as you do, but there was no way on earth they were coming off. It was like I had it tattooed to the back of my hand. Luckily enough, Kiko provide makeup remover in the store (Boots/Superdrug/drugstores listen up!) but let me tell you that it needed some serious elbow grease and then some. I failed to remove all of the makeup and my poor hand looked like it had taken a good beating.

Having worn it a few times, I feel that they maybe aren’t as long lasting as I thought they are. As a swatch on the back of your hand, it will pretty much stay there the whole day (I did this as a test and it didn’t move all day), no problem! However, on your eye where your lids are constantly moving, opening and closing and where it can sometimes get oily, after a few hours the colour will fade and crease. This isn’t a problem if your not bothered about your makeup lasting all day but if you need your makeup to stay then I probably wouldn’t recommend it. However, the times I have worn them, I’ ve worn  it as a single wash of colour over the lid and blended around the edges so the colour looks seamless. For added definition, I usually grab a light to medium brown eye shadow and start blending away in the crease to enhance the contours of my eye. I also like to run the Kiko Long Lasting Shadow  Stick along the bottom lash line to balance the look out and help my eyes appear larger. With more that 30 different shades available, you are bound to find one that tickles your fancy.

Infinity Trio Eye Shadow £6.90

I bought the Infinity Trio Eye Shadow in a single pan but you get the compact packaging (along with inside mirror) for free if you want it. I guess this gives you the option of sticking it in your very own Z type palette at home if you wanted to. The shadows come in a circular pan and is divided into three; a light, medium and dark eye shadow. To be honest with you there wasn’t as many colour options available as there were with the individual eyeshadows but it was actually the formulation that drew me in. The shadows are so smooth in texture that they feel almost creamy but they’re definitely a powder formulation (without the powderiness if you know what I mean). The pigmentation is up there with the best of them and there’s  absolutely no issue with chalkiness or fall out. The palette I chose is a neutral one (of course) with a light sandy taupe shade (which works well as an all over base), a medium fairly neutral brown (great as a crease shade) and a cool toned dark brown (works well for extra definition in the outer V and along the lash lines.

Velvet-Mat Satin Lipstick shade 602 Natural Rose £6.90

I picked up the matte lipstick shade in 602 and I think I may have stumbled on the perfect nude  for me. I’ve mentioned before that I struggle with nude lipsticks because my lips are very pinkly pigmented. Shade 602 is  probably the closest MLBB (My Lips But Better) shade I’ve ever come across, a mix of the right amount of nude and and the perfect amount of pink. It’s a matte finish lipstick which usually terrifies the life out of me and I won’t usually buy it unless I’ve done some proper research. I took a chance with this because the swatch on the back of my hand looked so pretty and it felt quite creamy also, not to mention it was a mere £6.90. Now having tried it I can honestly say that the lipstick is extremely comfortable to wear. Made with K2 Repulp which stimulates the production of Hyaluronic acid, the formulation is on point. So whilst there is no hint of shine or shimmer, your lips feels lovely and moisturised, and the colour smooth and opaque.

I have to give a mention to the packaging also because whoever designed this deserves an award or something. It is so chic and glamourous that I think that it even gives the higher end brands a run for their money. I must admit that when I took it out the box, I was a little baffled as to how it opens up but have no fear, all you do is push the top inwards and bottom of the lipstick pops out the other end. You then pull it out all the way and ta-dah…you have your lipstick. I love the fect that the packaging consists of two different shades of gold with the outer part creating a rainbow effect when it catches the light.

Kiko Automatic Precision Lip Liner in 505 Red £5.90

I was quite curious about the liner because it comes with a detachable sharpener at one end. How brilliant is that?  Now I’ve mentioned before that I’m not big on liners but because I’ve been picking up a few darker lipsticks recently in various tones of red, I thought I’d pick up a red lip liner to partner up with the lipsticks in order to avoid the dreaded feathering effect. Also because on some occasions, I really struggle to stay within the contours of my lips. It’s fine when your wearing a light shade but theres no way on hell that you would get away with wearing red lipstick outside the lines unless you’re a professional. Shade 505 is a true medium red and it’s creamy formulation makes it easy to apply and feels really comfortable on your lips.

Have you tried any of the Kiko products? What are your thoughts?

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