There has been a lot of hype recently in the beauty blogging world about the By Terry Ombre Blackstar Cream Shadow Sticks and although I’m sure we would all love to own one, (or maybe two...), we can’t all afford to pay £28 for a shadow stick! So, today I’m going to share with you all a product from KIKO Make Up Milano, which is very similar and more affordable at just £6.90.
Firstly before we get onto the review, I thought I would tell you a little bit about KIKO. KIKO is an Italian drugstore brand that was voted as the 'Brand to Watch award' by beauty bloggers back in 2013 at the Cosmo Beauty Awards. KIKO sells makeup and skincare products such as face masks, cleansing milk and even sun protection and all the products are very reasonably priced and of a high quality.
Now onto the review. Let’s start with the packaging; the packaging is simple, sleek and practical with the colour shown at the end of the stick. The product itself is in a stick form and the end is rounded. They apply smoothly onto the lid without tugging and the formula doesn't feel heavy like other cream shadows, or sticks I have tried. The finish is one of my favourite things about this product; it looks a bit wet and has a beautiful sheen (I will have to show you on a possible FOTD post?). Oh, and did I mention there is 32 shades to choose from.
Both of these shades I have are sparkly (not glittery) neutrals and the pigmentation is pretty darn good! Rosy Brown (05), is rose-tinted taupe (LOVE IT!) and (07) Golden Beige, is a champagne colour. Golden Beige is perfect in the inner corner as a highlight and Rosy Brown in my opinion isn’t all that brown (the swatch doesn’t do it justice!) and is without a doubt my favourite of the two and looks b-e-a-utiful when worn all over the lid.
I personally don’t need to use a primer with this product and initially I liked to apply this product straight from the stick and then blend using my finger, but the colour wasn’t as intense as I would have liked (although this is perfect for everyday wear). I then realised you can build the intensity by applying a layer, letting it set and applying another and so on. I then like to blend out any harsh edges with a blending brush. Be warned though, although this product is blendable, it does set after a minute or so! It also looks really nice smudged under the lower lash line; I personally like to do this with the shade Rosy Brown for a grungy look.
Left To Right: (07) Golden Beige / (05) Rosy Brown
Unfortunately there aren’t that many KIKO stores here in the UK. Their flagship store is in Regent Street, London and they also have a store at Westfield Stratford. My one pet peeve about this brand is if you shop online, to qualify for delivery you have to spend a minimum of £25! And even then you don’t qualify for free delivery (annoying!). However when you sign up to KIKO you get free delivery on your first order. But saying that, it isn’t hard to spend £25 and I defiantly want to pick up a few more shades and try out some other products like their eyeshadow quads.
Have you tried anything from Kiko cosmetics?