One Brand Review - KIKO Cosmetics

For those of you who haven't heard of KIKO Milano Cosmetics, they are an Italian brand that are priced in between high end and drugstore. They have quite a few shops in the UK now but you are able to purchase products online in the UK if you don't have a shop near you. KIKO have a wide range of products, some more affordable and some at a more high end price point. For example, their Flawless Fusion Bronzer Powder is £10.90, but their Gold Waves Bronzer in their summer collection is £22.90. They often have sales both in the stores and online so it's definitely worth waiting until a sale to pick stuff up. Having tried this products for a while now, I decided to let you all know my thoughts on the items I've tried.

Gold Waves Blush - 03 Damask Mauve - £16.90
- This blusher is one of the most beautiful blushers I've seen in the pan, but it swatches and wears just as beautifully. I love a mauvey toned blusher on pale skin and this is no exception. It is slightly pricey for a blusher, but to me it is well worth it! It has a very slight shimmer to it, which translates into a 'glow from within' effect on the face. It blends out beautifully and feels soft to the touch. This is not overly pigmented, so you can apply it safely without looking like a clown. The packaging feels very high end, comes with a mirror and is obviously in the style of their summer collection. I will say, the packaging is quite bulky, so not great for travelling with. Overall, this is one of the best products I've found from KIKO, in terms of shade and quality.

Radiant Fusion Baked Powder - 01 Avory - £12.90
- I'm quite fussy with face powders, having tried so many now. I love a face powder that adds coverage, doesn't look cakey, is pale enough for my skin and keeps my oils at bay. This powder does all of those things for me. It does kick up a bit of powder when you swirl your brush in it, so it's worth using a relatively light hand if you're using a dense brush or using a fluffier brush to apply it. It did leave a lovely finish on the skin - not too matte and cakey, but it took away the tackiness of my foundation and still left the skin looking radiant and feeling soft. The formula of this does remind me of the Mac Skinfinish Powder, but for almost half the price. Again, the packaging feels very high end and sturdy and also comes with a mirror. You get 10g of product in this powder which is quite a lot compared to most drugstore brands.

Unforgettable Waterproof Mascara - Black - £7.20
- So this is a purchase I made based on a staff member's recommendation in one of the KIKO shops in Glasgow. She asked me what I was looking for in a mascara and I gave her my very specific criteria of very black, volumising, curling and lengthening... basically, I want it all! She recommended this mascara and told me it would give me all of that. I have to say, I wasn't blown away by this mascara. It does give some length and curl, but it isn't overly volumising and the formula felt quite dry. It didn't smudge down onto my under-eyes and it didn't flake off, but it didn't give me what I like in a mascara. I like the curved brush, but it is a more natural bristle brush instead of a spikey plastic brush which is my preference. Overall, it isn't a terrible mascara, but it didn't become a favourite for me (for reference, my favourite mascaras are the L'Oreal Lash Paradise and Bourjois One Seconde Volume).

Unlimited Foundation SPF15 - Warm Rose 01 - £14.90
- This was a foundation that I was wanting to try for the longest time and I had heard good things about it. It claims to be long lasting, lightweight, velvety smooth and provides medium-high coverage. The shade I purchased is a new pale shade, which swatched nicely in store, however, this oxidised like crazy on my skin, even mixed in with white mixer. The bottle itself feels very high end (a frosted glass bottle which comes with a pump), however, when I first used this I think it took about 50 pumps before I could get any product out. The formula is quite thick and it did look slightly cakey on my skin. In terms of longevity, it lasted well on my skin, but wasn't the most long-lasting foundation I've tried. The finish of this foundation is matte and it has good coverage, but isn't the fullest coverage foundation I've tried. You get the standard 30ml of product in this foundation. To me, this foundation is the same as the mascara in the way that it isn't a bad foundation, but it didn't blow me away.

Flawless Fusion Bronzer Powder - 04 Honey - £10.90
- Usually in bronzers, I go for the lightest shades, however, when I swatched these in store, the 04 Honey shade had the nicest tone of the bronzers - the lighter shades pulled a little bit orange on my skin. Despite the fact that it is darker, I don't think the shade 04 is too dark for my skin. The formula and shade of this reminds me a lot of the Too Faced Chocolate Soleil Bronzer but for less than half the price. It blends nicely on top of powder, it isn't too pigmented that you end up with brown streaks on your face and it doesn't kick up any powder when you swirl your brush in it. You get 12g of product in this bronzer, compared to 8-10g in most other bronzers I own. Overall, I think this is a lovely, good quality bronzer. The packaging feels high end and sturdy and it also comes with a mirror.

High Pigment Wet and Dry Eyeshadow - 48 Pearly Cocoa - £5.90
- This was the first product I'd tried from KIKO and it definitely did blow me away. This is one of the best single eyeshadow formulas that I've tried. These eyeshadows come in a huge variety of shades and they come in 'matte', 'satin', 'metallic' and 'pearly'. I've only tried the one shade in these eyeshadows but I will definitely be picking up more! This particular shade is a bronzey, rich brown shade and looks beautiful paired with green eyes. The eyeshadow is pigmented, has little fall out and applies and blends beautifully. I usually apply metallic eyeshadows with a damp, flat eyeshadow brush, (spritz with Mac Fix+) as I find that gives the most pigmented look and makes applying the eyeshadow even easier. As with the other products, the packaging is sturdy and feels good quality.

Overall, I think KIKO Milano Cosmetics have some amazing products and their packaging, without fail, feels very high end and good quality. My favourite products from KIKO are definitely the blusher, face powder and eyeshadow. In this case, I think the products are definitely worth the slightly higher price point as you get the quality to match the price.

Let me know what you think of KIKO Cosmetics in the comments section below!

Sarah (aka. Pale Princess) x