I feel like I’ve very much neglected Kiko so far this year, and I’m not entirely sure why! As a fab cruelty free brand with a shop right in the centre of Leeds I’m just not sure why my love seemed to wane for them. However whilst browsing Instagram back in March I saw their Less Is Better collection,which was the first of seven collections to celebrate their 20th Anniversary . It was a collaboration with Italian hat and fashion designers Super Duper Hats who designed the packaging. And it is beautiful! It was all based around nude and natural shades. The eyeshadow palette was so pretty but it had sold out in the Leeds store when I managed to get there a few days after launch, so I picked up two Longlasting Stick Eyeshadows (£6.90) and a Matte Lipstick in 01 Silky Cashmere (£6.90) instead.
The shadow sticks impressed me , I like to use them as a base for powder eyeshadows and these are perfect for that as they are a great pearl colour with no glitter (yaaaas!). I went for shades 01 (Pearly Golden Ivory) and 02 (Pearly Quartz), I used to be obsessed with GOSH Eyeshadow sticks in pretty much these exact colours as they were perfect for a base to work on, so I was super excited when I saw these shades in this collection. The third is a rosy copper shade which I also wish I’d picked up now but seems to have sold out.
I’m not ashamed to admit I got carried away and the liquid lip shade looks terrible on me, it’s like dark concealer lips gone wrong. I am going to give it another try soon alongside another shade to see if it improves when it’s not all over my lips. I can say however that the swatch above lasted ages on my hand! I washed and washed and in the end had to scrape it off my hand, so if I can find a more suited shade I’ll be snapping it up as think it will last for ages on my lips.
Also as part of the 20th Anniversary collections if you buy a certain amount of each collection (this one was 3) you get a Kiko bracelet and charm, so I got the charm for this collection which was a hat! It’s super cute and the idea is you can add on the next charms from each collection as you go along!
After that collection I was then sent some bits from two new collections, the Tropic Heat and the Summer 2.0 Collections. In stark contrast to the nudes do the previous collection Tropic Heat is a blast of colour, scent and flavour of true summer goodness. The Nail Varnish in shade 03 Juicy Purple (£3.90)* has been my go to Pedi colour since I got it, it’s lasted so well and I love the strong colour, it’s really glossy too. It’s also another 20th Anniversary collection this time with packaging designed by two designers from the Leitmotiv brand. In this collection if you buy two items you’ll get a strawberry charm (I didn’t as they’d run out so be quick if you want one!) and another bracelet.
The Gel Highlighter in 01 Natural Gold (£6.90*) is a weird one, it gives a lovely highlight and the gel claims to have ‘memory technology’ that means it goes back into shape after you’ve dug your finger in the pot! I like a little gimmick and this certainly has it! It gives a lovely little sheen too which I’ll be rocking with a tan this summer (I hope!)
Finally I got to try the Eye Marker (£5.90)* in white, the tip of this is a strange shape that takes some getting used to I find. When applied it looks fab but when I checked later in the day it had worn off and only my black liner remained that I’d paired it with. I was gutted as it did look fab initially.
After this I also had to go and buy the Prime and Fix water- there’s 3 scents and I bought 2, (£7.90 each) and they smell fab! They aren’t the biggest but are the best smelling and most affordable fix sprays I’ve ever had! I can’t rate them just yet as they’re recent purchases so watch out for a little Instagram mini review coming soon.
The other collection Summer 2.0 is so beautiful. The rose gold packaging is designed by Ross Lovegrove who was inspired by nature for the textured surfaces across the range. I’ve been using the Summer 2.0 Baked Blush in shade Coral Bay (£16.90)* on days out , I only need a tiny amount to create a strong cheek colour and it lasts all day. Plus it looks fab in my handbag and when I bring it out to use the mirror to reapply my lippy too.
I haven’t tried the Lips&Cheeks product much yet, again I love the shade but I just haven’t reached for it that much to form an opinion on it . I have used the final product though and I blooming love it! The Summer 2.0 Eyeshadow is a liquid eyeshadow with a doe foot applicator, and the colour sparkling Champagne (£8.90)* looks fab on. Again I use it as a base for my powder eyeshadows with it peaking above the top of my shaded eye crease, for that little bit of metallic to peek through. Once on its really smudge proof so it’s perfect and really lasts all day, infact ive ditched the eyeshadow sticks and am just using this at the moment. There’s a lovely sage green colour that I’ve got my eye on next to get.
So overall I’m pretty darn impressed with Kiko right now and I’m feeling stocked up to create some great summer looks! Plus for the prices and quality it’s really good value. Have you got any Kiko Milano faves!?
*indicates product provided for consideration of review. As always thoughts and views are my own