Kiko: First Impressions Friday
Kiko is one of those brands that I've been dying to try for forever, but Kiko is kind of tough to get in the US, so I haven't been able to try it...until now. The other day, I was at the Oculus Mall in the World Trade Center, and they had a Kiko store there. I almost died of excitement (I mean, not really, but you know what I mean).
Anyway, if you don't know, Kiko is an Italian cosmetic brand with fairly reasonable prices. Their products range in price from Wet n' Wild level to NYX prices. I picked up a few of their products while I was at the Kiko store, and today, I want to give you my *first impressions* (although, let's be real, I've been using this stuff for more than a week).
Smart Nail Lacquer in #27 (Pearly Light Blue) - I'm back on the nail polish wagon after I fell off for a while, and I'm enjoying my return to makeup mountain. Kiko had their Smart nail polishes on sale for like $2, so, of course, I had to pick up some of their polishes. I will always love blue polish, so I grabbed this one, #27. I love the color, but this polish was really tough to apply. It did not self-level very well, and it's a quick drying polish, so you really don't have much time to manipulate the polish on your nail. It's also pretty sheer, so I eventually had to do three coats to get everything even and opaque (and it probably would have benefited from four). On the positive side, it did last four whole days on my nails without chipping. I actually took it off before it started to chip, so it probably would have lasted longer. Four days without chipping on my nails is UNHEARD of. That being said, it was a pain to apply, so I probably won't reach for it.
High Pigment Wet and Dry Eyeshadow in #46 (Matte Mauve) - You guys know that I never pass up an opportunity to buy eyeshadow. I'm an eyeshadow hoarder for sure. I picked up this particular shadow because I thought it would be a nice, warm transition shade, and it definitely is. I like this particular shadow but, when I was in the store swatching shadows, I noticed that the pigmentation was quite inconsistent. Some of the shadows were very creamy and pigmented and others were dry and patchy. So, I recommend going to the store to swatch before your buy. Kiko also has other "lines" of single shadows with different price points, and some (the more expensive ones) are better than others (the cheap ones).
Extra Sculpt Waterproof Mascara - This was the Kiko product that I was most excited to try. I've been listening to KathleenLights rave about this mascara for a long time, so I've been dying to try it. It happened to be on sale when I was at the Kiko store, so, of course, I had to buy it. The first time I tried this mascara, I had mixed feelings about it. The wand is HUGE and really difficult to maneuver, so it's tough to apply. However, after trying it twice more, I was in love with this mascara. It's just volumizing and lengthening, and it makes your lashes so dark. Two coats of this mascara makes you look like you're wearing fake lashes. Seriously. Once you get used to the larger wand, you will fall in love with this mascara.
Overall, I'm decently impressed with Kiko. I wouldn't say it's my favorite brand or anything, but I would definitely buy more Kiko products in the future.
Anyway, if you don't know, Kiko is an Italian cosmetic brand with fairly reasonable prices. Their products range in price from Wet n' Wild level to NYX prices. I picked up a few of their products while I was at the Kiko store, and today, I want to give you my *first impressions* (although, let's be real, I've been using this stuff for more than a week).
Smart Nail Lacquer in #27 (Pearly Light Blue) - I'm back on the nail polish wagon after I fell off for a while, and I'm enjoying my return to makeup mountain. Kiko had their Smart nail polishes on sale for like $2, so, of course, I had to pick up some of their polishes. I will always love blue polish, so I grabbed this one, #27. I love the color, but this polish was really tough to apply. It did not self-level very well, and it's a quick drying polish, so you really don't have much time to manipulate the polish on your nail. It's also pretty sheer, so I eventually had to do three coats to get everything even and opaque (and it probably would have benefited from four). On the positive side, it did last four whole days on my nails without chipping. I actually took it off before it started to chip, so it probably would have lasted longer. Four days without chipping on my nails is UNHEARD of. That being said, it was a pain to apply, so I probably won't reach for it.
Smart Nail Lacquer in #23 (Pearly Golden Lilac) - As I said above, the Smart polishes were on sale when I went to the Kiko store, so I had to pick up a couple. This one had the same formula as #27. It was difficult to apply, didn't level very well, and wasn't very opaque. I did two thick coats of this one, but it probably could have benefited from three. I'm currently wearing this polish; I've had it on for three days, and it hasn't chipped yet. I'm really impressed with the lasting power of these Smart polishes, but I probably won't reach for them very often because the formula is a STRUGGLE.
Extra Sculpt Waterproof Mascara - This was the Kiko product that I was most excited to try. I've been listening to KathleenLights rave about this mascara for a long time, so I've been dying to try it. It happened to be on sale when I was at the Kiko store, so, of course, I had to buy it. The first time I tried this mascara, I had mixed feelings about it. The wand is HUGE and really difficult to maneuver, so it's tough to apply. However, after trying it twice more, I was in love with this mascara. It's just volumizing and lengthening, and it makes your lashes so dark. Two coats of this mascara makes you look like you're wearing fake lashes. Seriously. Once you get used to the larger wand, you will fall in love with this mascara.
Overall, I'm decently impressed with Kiko. I wouldn't say it's my favorite brand or anything, but I would definitely buy more Kiko products in the future.
Comments
Post a Comment