Over the past month and a half, I have come to realize that my favorite affordable makeup brand is not at all convenient to procure. Walking into their store on Oxford Street in London and browsing their products was an experience in itself. I managed to pick up a good variety as to get a good feel for the brand I think.
I would let you know what I thought of the nail polishes, but sadly didn’t pick any up other than the ones I grabbed as gifts. I have heard from the lovely ladies I passed them along to that they paint on nicely though.
After spending probably too long in the absolutely crowded and bustling store, I chose the Soft Touch Blush in 103, the Lipstick in 913, and the highlighter in 01. Just look at the swatches, oh how beautiful they are.
The soft touch blush is this great peachy rose color, absolutely perfect for spring/summer. Did I really need another rose gold-esque blush? Nope. Did I get it and absolutely love it? Totally. The compact is a little on the smaller size for a full size, but the mirror is great and the mirror doesn’t collect powder residue like some compacts. The blush itself is long-wearing, blendable and doesn’t get that cakey look. The lipstick is amazingly creamy, a great my lips but better color, and pretty pigmented. Unfortunately it wears off pretty quickly, so you’ll need to keep it on hand for touch-ups throughout the day. The highlighter is absolutely lovely, and I love the multi-tones of the sheen, but use a light hand with it, because this one does look a bit cakey if you go overboard. I’ve also read that this is possibly a dupe for the Guerlain Météorites Compact in light, though having not used it before, I can’t corroborate that.
In my haste, I accidentally grabbed the pro gel mascara in clear. I honestly thing that is my only complaint about the brand at all, is that it’s hard to figure out which color is which when you’re shopping. As mascara is quite possibly my favorite product to try out, I was pretty bummed to have missed out on this product. Next time I’m totally double checking the color before leaving the store.
Next up in the we’ve got the Long Lasting Stick Eyeshadow in 05, the Ultimate Pen Long Wear Eyeliner, and the Precision Eyebrow Pencil in 04 – the lightest of the colors that were available.
I don’t normally like too sheeny of eyeshadows, but the browny-bronze color is amazing. It’s blendable within the first couple moments of applying, but then it becomes a bit harder to budge. Easy enough to apply, even though I still suck at applying cream based shadows. The liner though? All kinds of amazing. I actually like it better than the Soap & Glory Supercat eyeliner. It’s a little bit longer lasting and doesn’t wipe off of oily lids as easily if you are an accidental eye-rubber like myself. The true winner and most used product of the haul though? The eyebrow pencil. I love that it’s so narrow tipped (and comes with a small sharpener) and fine so that you can fill in brows like individual hairs (if you’re so inclined). My brows are pretty on point when I use this, for the whole day.
Mostly I really wish Kiko had a store here on the West Coast. I mean, I’d also like to work at that store, but I’d totally settle for just having a store that’s within driving distance for me to occasional stock up at. Get on that, please? Thanks.
Have any of you been lucky enough to get your hands on some Kiko goods? What did you think?
♡Em
