New Brand Alert: Kiko Cosmetics

I, like most beauty bloggers, love finding new makeup brands to talk about. There's just something exciting about writing about a brand or product that others might not have heard about or seen anything from. Kiko Cosmetics is a brand that I had never heard or or seen before until a couple of weeks ago when I came across it in Westfield London. There I was, minding my own business, when my eyes caught a glimpse of the freestanding Kiko Cosmetics store and before I knew it, I was walking over and leaving my mum behind.

The store isn't actually that big but they have A LOT to offer. From a huge range of nail polishes to brushes to bases to skincare to lipstick to eyeshadow... It was beauty blogger heaven. What's better is that all the products are so cheap considering the quality that I can almost guarantee that I'll be going back in there soon.

I could have easily splurged and come out with half of the store but I had to control myself because my mum was with me and would have given me "The Look" for buying more makeup so I just picked up a few bits.

How good am I?? 2 nail polishes and 1 lipstick is a bloody good achievement for me, let me tell you. 

I had a brief chat with one of the MUAs in store who told me that the brand is huge in Italy and launched here about 2 months ago. At the moment, they only have 2 stores which are in Westfield London and Westfield Stratford. They are also planning on opening another 8 stores all over the U.K over the next year which means that the products will be available nationwide-ish. The MUA also told me that the products are so cheap, compared to MAC and The Makeup Store, because they do not advertise to they are able to keep their prices low. Now, when I say 'cheap' I mean, cheap compared to other beauty brands that have freestanding stores like the brands already mentioned. The nail polishes are about £4.99 each and the lipstick was £6.99 (I think) which is quite similar to the price of L'Oreal or Max Factor products.

I am loving matte lipsticks right now so picked up this Mat Lipstick in 208 from Kiko:

It is very similar to NARS 'Mayflower' from their SS11 collection but a matte version which is one of those 'my lips but better' kind of shades. Having always been a pink lippie kind of girl, stepping away from the shades I'm more familiar with to use colours that complement my skintone better is a big step for me and one that I am definitely glad that I took. I did try and take a photo of the lipstick on my actual lips but none of them looked nice so I just went with a good ol' back-of-the-hand swatch. 

Nailpolish in 345:

When I saw this shade in store, I knew it was going to mine. It is a murky pastel green nail polish that immediately caught my eye because I knew I had nothing like it. Although I do have many mint-green nail polishes, there was something about this product that drew me in and after seeing it on my nails, I knew that it was love. I actually tweeted this photo after I had painted my nails and received a flurry of tweets asking which brand it was and where it could be purchased - Well now you know, ladies!

 

Nailpolish in 336:

I had been after an electric blue nail polish for a while but was struggling to find the right kind of shade so was excited to find the shade in the Kiko store. A gorgeous blue with just enough eye-catching qualities, the polish applied smoothly and only took 2 thick coats to get an even finish. Both nail polishes lasted my 5 days with no chips and very minor tip wear which is amazing considering I spend most of my day tapping at a laptop or computer. I know I could have gotten away with 7 days but I get bored with one colour on my nails for more than 3-4 days so I had to switch them up.

I definitely recommend Kiko Cosmetics and can't wait to explore the brand in more detail when I am in Westfield next. I spied some pretty blushers in store so I plan on looking at those carefully and maybe even having a look at the skincare products too.

Have any of you heard of Kiko Cosmetics before? A few of you said that you had seen the brand on holiday but hadn't really tried any of the products before but now that you've read my two cents worth, are you tempted to check the brand out?

Until next time...

Keep swivelling those hips in your