If you find yourself in Italy, you may want to know what typical Italian brands of make up and skin care we have here.
If you live in Spain, Portugal, France, Germany or the UK, you may know
Kiko Milano (or Kiko for short), which is an Italian brand with stores pretty much all over Italy and in the countries mentioned before. It is sold only through the
Kiko website or in-store. There are no resellers, so be careful.
Kiko has a
wide range of products, that goes from pigments to body lotion. The prices are quite accessible and Kiko often has deals on one particular product: for example, this month mascaras are 3,90€/5$. One of my favorite mascaras, the Super Color mascara in 04, is from Kiko so I'll be sure to stop by and pick up a spare!
Many products are dupes of or smetimes are sometimes better quality than several luxury brands. I'd say to check out the beauty blogs to see what people have to say about the specific product you are planning to purchase.
Otherwise, the aim of this post is to show you what Kiko products I consider outstanding and staple in my make up set.
1.
Eyeshadow. The single pan eyeshadows come in
81 shades that go from neutrals to outrageous. Most have a shimmery finish, but you can also find mattes, satin and glittery finishes. Except for the one with glitters, I have always found the shades I own pigmented and easy to work with. My friend S. is a fan of these eyeshadows and completed almost two 15 pan palette with them. On average the quality of these eyeshadow is good, with a few eyeshadows being near excellent. The strength here is the wide range of colors and the price, which is normally 4,90€ and 3,00€ during sales.
2.
Long Lasting Stick Eyeshadows are eyeshadow sticks. They are creamy and comes in
16 permanent shades, and occasionally in LE shades. They are creamy, easy to work with. They work both as a base and as stand alone eyeshadows. Some shades contain glitter, so be careful with the possible fall out. They are quite long lasting, but I prefer wearing them with a little bit of primer because of my lids. They are 6,90€ and so much better than the shadow sticks that sometimes MAC real eases with LE collections. During sale season you'll find the LE shades discounted.
3.
Lipsticks. Kiko offers a wide range of lipsticks in a variety of types (long lasting, with SPF, hydrating, etc.), colors and finish (matte, sheer, shimmery, etc.). The price goes from 2,50€ to 6,90€, according to collection, finish, properties. My advice is to pop in a store and swatch a bit to figure out what you like!
4.
Nail polish. Same as with the lipsticks.
Many colors (150), many finishes. The basic, permanent line is 3,90€, with the price dropping to 2,50€ during sales/special offers. Right now there is one kind of nail polish costing as low as 1€.
These are just a few example of what I consider highlights of the Kiko range. There are several other make up products worth mentioning but I'd write an excessively long post and overwhelm you uselessly. And I didn't even mention the skin care products Kiko has because I have no direct experience.
There are a ton of other products, so I suggest visiting the website to have an idea of what Kiko has to offer and what you may want to try once you step in one of the Kiko stores.
A warning though: Kiko stores are usually small and cramped, and full of teen girls, since the prices are so affordable. Try visit the store during school hours during the week to avoid this crowd. There is gonna be loud music and the sight (colors and so, so many products) will leave you breathless. If you are a makeup addicted like me you may want to find a little time to browse. Definitely do not take your boyfriend or your less make up oriented friends with you because they won't have the patience to wait for you!
