Kiko Cosmetics

This week I discovered Kiko Cosmetics which is an Italian brand who have recently opened stores in the UK. They offer affordable products whilst not slacking on quality.

In their shops you will find makeup , nail polish, skin care and beauty accessories such as false eyelashes and makeup bags. 

I visited Kiko's London store which is on Regent Street and I also visited their brand new store in Oxford in the Clarendon shopping centre. 

First off, the store inself is beautifully laid out and has a very 'high end brand' feel. The products are presented clearly and things are easily accessible. 

The store in London was much bigger as you'd expect and they had two floors for you to explore. 

The staff in both stores were very helpful and friendly , I'd never visited Kiko before so found their advice very useful.

Whilst I was shopping I also noticed a few staff offering free (I think?) makeovers which is always helpful if you want to try out something before you buy.

Onto the actual products and what I think of them so far. I made my own 9 piece eye shadow pallet which turned out to be a great deal as they had offers on all single shadows and a second deal where if you buy a certain amount of shadows , you get a pallet for free. 

The 9 piece pallet is pretty chunky therefore I can't see it being great for travelling considering my MAC 15 piece pallet is only a little bit bigger than the KIKO one; however the eye shadows themselves are much bigger than MAC therefore you get plenty of product for your money. 

I've found the quality of these shadows to be very good although the bolder colours have a much better pay off than the lighter shades. 

I noticed that the majority of the eye shadows KIKO had to offer were shimmery so if you're really into matte shades then these probably aren't for you. 

Overall I was very impressed with the KIKO eye shadows because they are great value for money, the quality is very nice and they apply well. If I could ask for any changes I would prefer a bigger colour range, slimmer pallets and better pigmentation in lighter/pale shades.

Shade numbers from top, left to right:
410, 245, 270
279, 293, 402
236, 233, 219

(My favourite colours are 233, 270 and 245)

I'm always changing up my lipstick so I like to have lip liners in various colours to match.
I love MAC lip liners although they're quite pricey for what they are so I thought I'd try out one from KIKO. I got the Smart Lip Pencil in 710 which was around £2-3. 

I absolutely love this product and think the quality is amazing- almost as good as MAC (although not quite!) and it worked really well paired with my MAC Media lipstick. The formula is soft and it doesn't pull on the skin which makes it easy to draw a perfect edge. 

I'd really recommend these lip liners from KIKO and I know that I'll definitely be buying more in the future.

Next I decided to buy this Smart Eye Pencil in 802 which is a dark brown, bronze colour.

I've not tested this out properly yet although I don't like the feel of it on my skin as it feels chalky and it doesn't glide on smoothly. The colour is nice and I think it would make a nice change from black liner although I'm not too impressed with the formula.

My final purchase was the Face Make Up Fixer which claims to gently set makeup in place using natural ingredients that will not irritate the skin. I've wanted to try something like this for a long time however I've found it difficult to tell if this product actually works or not. I think it would be fantastic if you want a very long lasting face of make-up that will last all day with a matte finish however if you're after a dewy finish and suffer from dry skin then this may be something to stray away from. 

I'm still testing this out so I don't have a final opinion on it yet although I'm sure it will pop up somewhere in a future post if I love or hate it. 

Overall I am very pleased to have discovered KIKO cosmetics and would recommend anyone to have a look around if they're ever nearby a store.

Have you ever tried anything from KIKO? What did you think of the brand and products ? Let me know in the comments! 

London , February 2015.

I've just returned from a few days away in London where I ventured out and did a little exploring. 

I've been to London a few times before however I decided that this time I would only visit new places that I'd never been to before. 

Our first stop was Oxford Circus and Regent Street where I found lots of shops that I'd heard about but never visited, such as And Other Stories and Kiko Cosmetics which I loved mooching around.

Kiko was my favourite discovery and I ended up going back the next day to buy more eyeshadows because I loved them so much (and they were on offer so even cheaper than usual!,) stay tuned as I am planning to write a post all about the company and their great products.

Library's is a beautiful old fashioned department store with a brilliant beauty hall. I found lots of brands that are hard to get hold of and the experience was amazing- a definite visit for any beauty addict like myself! 

Carnaby street is home to many quirky shops with lots of character. 

Here you'll find Brandy Melville which is a great shop with brilliant quality clothes and a really cool vibe! I bought a striped top but I also fell in love with everything else in the shop although couldn't quite afford their heavy price tags:( 

You'll also find Monki here and The Makeup Studio which both had some great offers on when I visited. 

The next day was pancake day and we had a lovely breakfast in a pub near our hotel where I had some mini pancake kebabs with banana, Nutella and strawberries. Yum!! 

I've been to South Kensington before although it's hard not to go again when the place is so beautiful and has some fantastic little gems. I almost felt like I was on a holiday abroad whilst walking around.

I've heard so many people rave about The Good Life eatery which is a tiny healthy cafe situated on Sologne Avenue and I couldn't not visit whilst I was nearby. 

The cafe is tiny and easy to miss although the staff are super friendly and the food is outstanding- definetly my favourite place to eat in London from now on!

To eat I had a chicken sunset sandwich on seeded bread and some sweet potato dip as a side. 

I also picked up some chocolate peanut butter cups for a snack during my train journey home later thay evening - they were soooooo good! 

My mum had a bowl with chicken meatballs and quinoa which she really enjoyed, her earl grey latte was also really good- I wish I'd ordered one too! 

My meal was really tasty , I especially enjoyed the sweet potato dip, although next time I'd probably order one of the salads which looked mouthwatering!!!

Unfortunately we weren't in London on Saturday which is when Portobello Market takes place and I've definetly got it on my list of to dos for next time as I'd love it have a wonder around all the stalls.

Notting hill was non the less still a great visit and I loved the quickly shops and found one that had a stack of old vintage t-shirts for just 50p each!!! Amazing 

Covent Garden is very touristy although they have lots of individual makeup stores such as Chanel and MAC pro. I have my MAC pro student card so decided to take advantage of my discount and buy a new lippy and an eyebrow pencil that I've been meaning to pick up for a while. 

Our train home was late on Tuesday evening so we decided to go out and explore Leicester Square and China town considering Chinese New Year is around. 

The decorations in China town were so colourful and the atmosphere was fantastic! 

I hope you've enjoyed this travel post from me. I had a brilliant time and I can't wait to go back soon :) 

Have you visited London? Where did you enjoy visiting? Let me know in the comments 

My Favourite Dugstore Foundation

I finally feel like I've finally found my two staple favourite foundations in my makeup collection, one high end and one more affordable (drugstore).
Today I'm going to be reviewing my favourite affordable foundation which is Rimmel Match Perfection Foundation and I'll be talking about my favourite high end foundation in a future post.

Rimmel claim that this foundation will give you your perfect match in any light.
"This light perfecting radiance foundation gives an even finish that makes skin look perfectly flawless under any light."
Including SPF 18.
£6.99 in Boots

It can be difficult to find a foundation in the drugstore that has very fair shades on offer so I was pleasantly surprised when I saw the great selection that Rimmel had to offer- I own the shade 100 Ivory which matches my skin perfectly.
Unfortunatly I can't imagine that their darkest shade will work for even darker skin tones than 'Bronze' (as they call it) and this is where they disappoint me.

This foundation will give you a light coverage and I personally see it as my 'good skin' cover.
Stay away if you're after a full coverage as this foundation leaves a very natural and dewy finish which is what I personally prefer, think of it as a little more than a tinted moisturiser. If you want a dewy finish but need more coverage, I'd recommend using this foundation then simply apply a good, high coverage concealer, for example Collection Lasting Perfection to cover any imperfections.

The texture feels very light and runny and I find it applies best with a brush like the Real Techniques Buffing Brush. I find this foundation sits very nicely on the skin and doesn't cling to any dry patches.
Paired with a good primer and setting powder, this foundation will last very well although without these two products I can't see it having a long lasting power.
I use Smashbox Photo Finish Primer and Boujours Healthy Balance Powder and it gives me a beautiful and even finish that lasts all day.

Overall I am very impressed with this foundation and I think it suits my skin perfectly.
Have you tried the Rimmel Match Perfection foundation? What did you think of it?
Let me know what you think in the comments!

My 18th Birthday Special Occasion Makeup

I turned 18 this weekend and I had a great time celebrating with my friends and family.

I love makeup as you may already know so I always love having the opportunity to make myself up for a special occasion, especially when quite a few of my presents were new, fancy makeup!:D 

I went out two nights to celebrate but wore very similar makeup looks on both nights-  here's what I came up with. 

Base & Cheeks

To make my makeup last all night I used the Smashbox Photofinish primer which has a gel like formula and smooths softly over the skin to give an even finish ready for the foundation to sit ontop.

This YSL Touche Eclat foundation was one of my birthday presents and it has been on many wish list's of mine in the past. It's a pricey foundation but I've always lusted over it and been waiting to try it for ages! So far, I'm really impressed- it applies really well and gives a dewy, healthy looking finish. The coverage is also great- one pump can give a very natural finish although I was also able to build it up to give myself a medium- high coverage for my special occasion. 

To give myself that extra glow I used my MAC Prep & Prime highligher in Light Boost on the tops of my cheekbones, down my nose and on my cupids bow. 

I've recently found that applying powder before bronzer, powdered highligher and blush works best and ensures the following products stick better to the skin. 

To mattify my T-zone and set  my makeup into place, I used the Rimmel Stay Matte powder in Transparent, another great alternative is Boujours Healthy Balance powder. 

I then used the Sleek Face Contour kit in Light to sculpt my cheekbones and give my face more definition. I'm no pro at contouring so I tend to do this very light handed until I'm happy with the result. 

MAC Skinfinish in Soft & Gentle is a beautiful shimmering highlighter which look's amazing gently sweeped over the tops of cheekbons. I always love using this for a special occasion. 

Brows 

I tend to get many compliments on my eyebrows which always makes me smile however truthfully I don't do much to them at all.

A staple brow product for me is definitely MAC's eyebrow pencil in Stud which I always use to gently draw out my brow arch and carefully draw in the hairs. 

My brows are pretty bushy and always need taming so I can't go anywhere without setting them into place- I use a cheap clear mascara from Collection. 

Finally, to give myself a really neat and sharp brow, I get a small concealer brush and the pink toned corrector in my MAC concelear pallete to outline my brows to give a neat finish. 

Eyes

I've wanted to try Urban Decay eyeshadows for a long time after hearing so many people rave about how good they are and my brother surprised me with this Naked Basics 2 pallet for my birthday present (Thank's big bro- I know you read this sometimes;')) and I decided to try it out. 

The shades are very neutral and you can easily create a natural smokey eye, the quality is also very good- the colours applied very well without a base and lasted all night without any fall out. 

I used a bit of all the shades and really liked the finished look. 

To give my eyes more definition, I used the Collection Fast Stroke liquid liner which I absolutely love and think is great for creating a neat, fine line which was just what I wanted. 

I've always strayed away from false lashes for some unknown reason; I'm really good at applying them on other people however when it comes to myself I am clueless! 

Although I had these Tanya Burr Girl's Night Out lashes which looked really nice and fluttery. 

I managed to finally get them on without poking myself in the eye with tweezers or glueing my eye lids together and I actually really liked the finished look they gave. 

They're quite dramatic however I loved how light and fluttery they felt. 

For a finishing touch I applied a coat of the Benefit Roller Lash mascara to give some extra definition and thickness. 

Lips 

I didn't want to wear anything bold on my lips so I decided to simply apply some Elizabeth Arden 8hr cream to hydrate and 'glossify' my lips:') 

I think that's everything I slapped on my face this weekend!!! I hope you enjoyed this post, what are your staple special occasion makeup products? 

Oh, before I go, did you notice my nose piercing in the photo? I randomly decided to get that done on my birthday .... Oh to be 18!!! hahaha