Looking for good quality professional make-up at an affordable price?? Then read on!
I firstly only recently discovered this make-up brand when I was shopping in Nice, Cap 3000, shopping mall at Christmas time. I was desperately looking to replace some make-up items and had no idea what the mall had to offer as I had never been to this one before. I had never heard of KIKO or read anything online about this brand.
The store instantly caught my eye as I thought 'Is that a MAC store'?!.....It looked very similar.
Very striking, professional and full of cosmetics! I did start to have heart palpitations with excitement!
KIKO MILANO is an Italian brand of professional cosmetics that offers a wide range of make-up products aswell as face & body treatments. High quality and designed to suit people of all ages.
As you can see the stores really do look great and the layout is really simple so you can see all the products as you walk around and access them instantly with no need to ask a sales assistant to find you all the things you want to buy!
The most astonishing thing was the price!!!! I had to double check I wasn't being stupid and that the marked prices were actually in fact real?!!! €3 for a lipstick? €5 for an eyeshadow? ...... Whats the catch?!!! I was very skeptical, working in the cosmetics industry for over 12 years my initial thought was probably like most peoples, 'it must be quite cheap and cheerful?!' But after swatching many eyeshadows, lipsticks, bronzers on my hand the quality felt really nice.
The color selection of lipsticks, lipgloss, eyeshadows, nail polish, eyeliners etc is quite vast, perfect if you want to be different and try something new without spending lots of money.
There is also a wide variety of skincare which looked very nice but I personally have not tried any of this range as yet but I shall do possibly next time I visit a store.
I spoke to a friend of mine who lives in Italy who then told me she loves this brand and that it is very popular with all her friends too, so this is a well known European brand.
This is what I purchased for myself with my own money, I also purchased for friends and family as gifts but this was what I bought for my own personal use.....
(Almost every item does come boxed, in packaging similar to MAC, I just removed them to add into to my collection)
Left to Right: Frozen Nail Lacquer 05 €2.40,
Hologram Nail Lacquer 354 €3.90,
Nail Lacquer 326 Graphite Grey €3.90.
Left to Right: Nail Lacquer 271 €3.90,
Nail Care Base Coat 104 €4.90.
Swatch: Frozen Nail Lacquer 05 (x2 coats)
I love the base coat, it does help to harden the nail and provides a good smooth base for your nail color. I also love the silver sparkly nail lacquer 271, as a topcoat over a nail color rather than wearing it alone.
Left to Right:Super gloss 105 Pearly Salmon Pink €4.90
Super gloss 118 Pearly Fuchsia €4.90.
Swatches: Super gloss No.105 & 118
The superglosses I chose were more glittery than glossy, so if you don't like a slippery lipgloss than you shall love these as they are more of a shine. You can feel the glitter particles on your lips, which personally I am not a fan of but for the price its a nice simple glitter lipgoss.Automatic Precision Eyeliner Kohl 712, €5.90
I love this Kohl pencil! It is retractable with a smudger at the other end for a smoky eye look. I always buy kohl eyeliners as I like to wear them inside the waterline. Its a matte deep brown shade and very opague so the color stays true on the eyelid and inside the waterline. Again amazing price and a product I would definitely recommend and re-purchase again & in other shades.Swatches: Kohl 172 Wood Brown
Colour Sphere Eyeshadow 27 Sparkling Cobalt Green €5.90. |
Top: No27 swatches with a primer, Bottom: without primer.
As you can see from the above swatches using an eye primer under the shadow makes a massive difference to the color pay off. If you want a true color then you shall need to use one (I used Urban Decay Primer Potion) but I am sure Kiko make one. It shall ensure that the eyeshadow stays put all day/night as I found this did stay in place.I adore the colour, beautiful texture and no fall out when applied to the eyelid. I shall certainly be investing in a few more shades!
All Over Light:Face & Body Highlighter 06 Pink €7.50.
Swatch: Highlighter 06 Pink.
I am a massive fan of highlighters as I love my skin to look radiant and glowing! I went for a pink shade as I am very fair so this gives me a more natural looking glow to my skin. It does have a silvery glitter pigment to it so bear that in mind if you don't like glitter. This on the cheekbones and brow bone for a night out looks beautiful! Also on the body it makes a suntan really stand out. You only need a little as you can see it is very dewy looking! I love it! .......... Hello gorgeous skin!What do I think about KIKO?
Well first impressions - very impressed!
Fantastic brand, highly professional, good quality products and an unbeatable price tag.I thoroughly recommend you go try this brand. It is definitely up there with the other high end make-up brands such as MAC, Chanel, Dior, YSL etc and you can achieve the same results with key items.
A good make-up brand to try out if you are new to make-up and you want to experiment to find out what suits you as you can get a lot for your money unlike some other high end brands, which are fabulous quality but shall be more expensive to build up a collection all in one go.
Also great to top up your make-up collection with new colours and limited edition products! Thats what I shall be doing and add to my professional kit.I am sure there shall be some products in this line that may not live upto my expectations but I think thats true with most brands today, hence why I personally use many brands and not just stick to one.
BIG THUMBS UP!!
If you have a store near you or you want to shop online then do check it out!
KIKO is available online in the following countries - Spain, Italy, France, Germany, Portugal & UK.Click www.kikocosmetics.com for more details.
I have discovered there is now a KIKO Make-Up store at the new Westfields Shopping Centre in London, UK!Westfield London.
Have you tried KIKO Make-Up? What do you think?Is there a 'must have' product that you love?
Please comment below & tell me!