A little KIKO haul

My closest friend lives in Stratford, which means I often end up doing the odd tour of Westfield shopping centre on my way to or from the station there. The other day I wandered into the KIKO store and decided to treat myself to a few bits. (Here are said bits.)

Firstly, a single powder eyeshadow with a super-interesting pseudo-liquid texture and a surface design that makes it look like it's been swatched by a giant's thumb. Its official name is "Water Eyeshadow". This stuff is made out of very slippery particles - must be some kind of silicone. It's a cool taupe with a dark base. The finish is lovely - richly pigmented, pearly and multi-faceted. It cost £8.90. I can't help putting my thumb on it.

Secondly, an Eyebrow Marker (great descriptive product name). This was a bit of a gamble as basically all eyebrow colours, whether they're liquid, powder, pencil or anything else, tend to look reddish on my skin. This one is pretty good - it's a greyish, cool light brown. The payoff is very very light, meaning that there's little danger of terrible Sharpie-marker eyebrows. You can wear it very subtly. It cost £5.90.

Finally, a liquid eyeliner (Super Colour Eyeliner). It's a black base with bottle green shimmer. The formula is polymer-based (i.e. it flakes or peels off, rather than smudging). It's a bit on the thin side, and doesn't produce an opaque line on the lid. This was on sale for around £4, but its full price is £6.90.

Swatches. Are you feeling that taupe?

Assembled together on face:

I'm really happy with these, especially the brow marker. KIKO is one of those wildcard brands - I never know whereabouts on the mass-to-prestige spectrum it's supposed to sit, although the packaging and the quality I feel are quite similar to MAC. Not that I've bought any MAC in quite a long time. But then it sells nail polish for just £2.50, suggesting it's a bit more drugstore.

In the UK its distribution is too small for it really to have an established market niche. There are 2 KIKO stores that I know of in London, one in each branch of the Westfield shopping centre (Stratford and White City). I don't know where it sits in its native Italy in terms of price point.

What's your take on KIKO, if you've tried it?

This post originated at www.londonbeautyreview.com. If you're reading it elsewhere, it's been stolen, violating our copyright.

Superdrug Haul - GOSH and Elite

I did a haul.

I couldn't help it. The multi-purchase offers made me do it. Elite cosmetics were 2 for 1, and GOSH (as it so agreeably often is) was 3 for 2.

GOSH Eyeshadow Collection 01 Smokey Eye (LE) £8.99
Elite Secret Cheeks Blush £6.85 (much more pink and less orange IRL)
GOSH Extreme Artliner shade 18 £6.85
Elite Repulp! gloss 07 Golden Pink £6.85
GOSH nail polish Wild Lilac £4.89

I feel guilty, but gleeful, like a child who has scampered away from the kitchen with cheeks stuffed with stolen chocolate cake.

I know you'll all be interested to take a look at the GOSH LE palette, so here are some swatches and pics. It is of course designed to help you create Ye Olde Smokey Eye, which as we all know has been "in this season" since the dawn of time, and so is a useful set of staple shades for any collection.

The palette has quite a solid, sleek construction, and the shades are a pigmented low-shimmer finish that I really like. Once I've binned those foam applicators I think I am going to have fun with it. There are nice thorough instructions on the box too, and they even suggest a nail polish shade to complement the look.