I recently lost myself in their flagship store in Regent Street and picked up a few goodies (including some bits for my dear Mum for Mothers Day) and I've already planned my next visit.
Firstly, I picked up their full coverage concealer in the shade '01' which is the lightest shade in the range and priced at £7.99.
Shade '01'
Loving
- Texture
- Colour
- Packaging
- Staying power
- Price
It comes in a little black pot with a lid, a bit bigger than a £2 coin, and a cute mirror inside. The packaging is suspiciously similar to MAC, but at a fraction of the price, KIKO is definitely a more affordable dupe. The creamy compact concealer is impressive and definitely offers full coverage. I find it goes on best using my fingers and the staying power is superb.
Next up, the 'Ultra Glossy" Lip Pencils in the shades '602', which is a pinky-nude and '607', a bright red.
Shade '602'
Left (above) '602', Right (below) '10'
Loving
- Texture
- Colour
- Fragrance
- Staying power
- Price
Not loving
- Design - a retractable pencil would have been better.
These are fantastic, creamy and leave my lips feeling moisturised. They smell rather delightful, too! I found these worked just as well for an all over colour, or as a liner and at £1.99, they are cheaper than some of the best highstreet versions.
To match the nude pencil, I picked up a "Pencil Lip Gloss" in the shade '10', the chubbier sister version of the Lip Pencil, but more of a matte finish and a slightly softer application. The colour is so pretty and it stays on well. Refreshingly, I found the lid stayed on brilliantly too. After all, there is nothing worse than finding a half crumbled lip crayon in your make-up bag!
Shade '10'
The only drawback to these pencils are that you can't be too far apart from your pencil sharpener! A retractable design would be more 21st Century, but wouldn't detract me from repurchasing.
I couldn't leave without grabbing at least one of their eyeshadows (believe me, it was hard to limit myself to just 1!) but I decided to go for one in their "highly pigmented" range in shade '131' which is a medium-matte brown and can be used (wet or dry) as an eyeshadow AND as an eyebrow powder.
Shade '131'
Loving
- Everything!
This probably has to be my favourite purchase and I will definitely be purchasing more colours from this range. The eyeshadow lasted all day even without a primer and the colour blended easily.
The singular eyeshadows range between £2.90 - £4.90, but they are so highly pigmented, they will last years.
I know they also offer eyeshadows that you can make up as part of a palette, starting at £2.50 (plus the eyeshadows) which is sure to rival MAC where the cheapest palette is about £25.
Now, whatever goes on the face has to come off, so I didn't leave without purchasing the KIKO Cleansing Micellar Water, 200ml, for £6.99.
Loving
- Gentle & light on the skin
- Fragrance
- Packaging/Design
- Price
Not loving
- Ever so slightly greasy
- Didn't totally remove eye make-up
I really like this cleansing water, its refreshing, light and gentle on the skin and has a slight rose water scent to it. I especially liked the spray pump - just press on the pump with a cotton pad to disburse the product - 1 or 2 pumps is enough for the whole face. It did make my skin feel just a tiny bit greasy and it didn't do a marvelous job at getting stubborn eye make-up off, mainly my mascara.
The KIKO Experience Overall?
In 1 word? Perfection!
The best part about KIKO make-up? Its super affordable and good quality. You could be forgiven for walking in and doubling the price of each item in your head.
Secondly, you are able to test all of the products before you buy, including skincare, so less chance of disappointment when you get home and realise you don't like a product after all. I am genuinely happy with all of the products I purchased and I've already planned my next visit.
Have you tried KIKO? What did you think?
