First Glimpse: VIVO Cosmetics

If you've taken a stroll down the makeup aisle at your local Tesco lately, you might have spotted the Vivo range sitting unobtrusively in a corner.  Designed by the budget beauty brains behind MUA Cosmetics at Superdrug, Vivo is positioning itself as a sort of reasonably priced MAC.  Not sure how a small, supermarket only brand can really try to align itself to an established brand like MAC, but hey... let's take a look at two of the products.

First up - single eyeshadow in Aqua Marine.  I like the big, flat pan, and I particularly like the embossing, which adds a little bit of detail which goes a long way to stop it from looking overly cheap.  The price point for this product is a staggering £1.50.  Swatched, you can see that there is indeed a decent amount of pigment to be had - and you can also see that much like other cheaper shadows, the pigmentation and finish are achieved with a slightly oily base.  This can make the shadow a bit difficult to apply smoothly - but seriously, if you're going to spend £1.50 on an eyeshadow, you can't expect pigmentation, a pretty finish, and a texture that applies itself.  

I've saved the better product for last, here - this is the Baked Bronze in Sun Kiss (shade 1).  It's a very softly milled, fine powder which swirls easily onto a brush, and doesn't scatter powder all over the place like some baked products can do.  I'm usually fairly terrified of bronzers, being super pale and scared of being orange, but I found that applied with a light hand, this bronzer gives a light glow and a touch of definition without the tangerine factor.  I also like the finish - it's got a tiny amount of sheen to it, but it's much more of a natural glow, making it a very good compromise between matte and sparkly.  At just £5, this is a bit of a bargain bronzer - and it makes me want to peruse the equally pretty looking Baked Blush range next time I go down to Tesco for my weekly shop.

Thus far, I've been impressed with what I've seen of the VIVO range - you get entirely decent pigmentation and a good selection of shades for just a few pounds, and the range doesn't feel super cheap - just functional. Definitely worth considering if you're looking for an easily accessible budget treat.  VIVO Cosmetics are available exclusively at Tesco now.  What do you think?  Spotted these in your local store?  Let us know in the comments!

Disclosure: PR samples