Beauty Focus: KIKO.

I first discovered Kiko in Venice, Italy of all places. I was on a school trip and our teachers had given us a couple of hours to roam the streets, take in the sights and probably do something cultural like take photos of gondolas. But when you give a group of teenage girls free reign you can bet your bottom dollar they'll end up shopping somewhere. And we did. My and one of my friends went absolutely insane in Kiko - the combination of fairly cheap makeup and the abundance of euros our parents had supplied us with for, you know, eating etc meant that we left with a really good haul and trust me, if I'd had my blog back in late 2014 you would have heard about it. 

But the thing that made me fall in love with Kiko as a brand is not only their stunning packaging and high end look but the genuine quality you can get for a fraction of the price of some higher end brands like MAC. So for today's post I wanted to share with you all a few of my favourite pieces because I feel like this brand is super underrated and deserves a little more hype.

Firstly I briefly wanted to mention their nail polish. Unfortunately it doesn't feature in these photos as I didn't bring it to uni with me (I drew the line at sixteen Essie ones) but the formula is absolutely tremendous and the colour equally so. I only own one in a sort of greyish blue that's perfect for this time of year but I'm seriously considering stocking up on more as they're inexpensive, look beautiful and don't chip all that easily. 

Next up is undeniably my favourite Kiko range: the eyeshadows. I have two, both in fairly similar champagne shades that double up as stunning highlighters. I would compare the formula of these (particularly the round one) to MAC in terms of pigmentation and shimmer but of course at a fraction of the price. The packaging even feels high end and the design of the wavy, square eyeshadow is just stunning. If you're ever near a Kiko I would highly recommend taking a look at their eyeshadow range because I honestly cannot recommend it enough. 

Now onto lips. I do only own one lipstick from Kiko in a stunningly ostentatious coral red which is perfect if you're looking for an intense pop of colour. I have to say that I rarely reach for this - it's a very 'I'm feeling super confident today' lipstick but if that's your thing then girl, rock it! Despite this it's wonderfully moisturising, and leaves a highly pigmented sheer finish. Definitely a great summery bold lip but there's nothing to say you can't rock this in the winter time as well. Again despite the price this lipstick juts feels high end, the packaging and the formula are truly second to none. 

And lastly I wanted to talk about an iridescent brown eyeliner. Now I actually bought this thinking it was an eyebrow pencil and until I tried to use it (and ended up with shimmery brows) was super excited. However it clearly wasn't and I had a sparkly brown eyeliner on my hands. Personally I don't wear a lot of brown eyeliner as I've got quite striking eyelashes and I prefer to go all out with a good black wing. However my mum (who's fair skinned and blonde) does use brown eyeliner and I imagine that she'd really like this. The pencil is quite creamy - very easy to smudge and create a warm, softer look, and the actual colour is lovely. 

I hope you enjoyed today's post and do let me know if you've ever tried anything from Kiko and what you thought of it!