Kiko Cosmetics is an Italian makeup brand that is very popular in Europe and it’s just gaining it’s popularity in the States. It’s a reasonably priced brand but with quality that’s comparable to most higher end brands. The pricing is almost drugstore and you’re getting the packaging and quality of a higher end brand which is pretty unique. Every year they do LE summer collections which I’m pretty excited about because they always have the prettiest packaging and great products for the summer.
This year they teamed up with the world famous futurist designer Ross Lovegrove who created this amazing gold packaging for the Kiko Summer 2016 collection. The line has everything from bronzers, baked blushes, lipsticks, lip oils and much more. If you’re lucky enough to have a store near you I would recommend going there and seeing the collection in person but if you’re like me there’s always online shopping.
I settled on six items from the collection and picked up the following items:
Desert Dunes Baked Bronzer in 200 Warm Melange
Desert Dunes Trio Baked Blush in 03 Impulsive Mauve
Free Spirit Lips & Cheeks in 102 Wild Guava and 103 Free Flamingo
Mirage Lip Stylo in 14 Bohemian Sienna
Heatwave Lip Oil in 03 Grapefruit (it seems that it’s sold out on the website)
The Kiko Desert Dunes Baked Bronzer was the first product that caught my eye, what can I say I’m a sucker for bronzers. The bronzer is huge! You get 20gr of product settled in this beautiful gold compact with a big mirror. It’s a baked bronzer with two shades that are supposed to give you a natural looking bronzed look. I got the lighter shade in 200 Warm Melange which works perfectly for my light to medium skin tone.
Since the bronzer is baked it has a very silky finish and it’s very pigmented. The finish is not matte but also doesn’t contain any shimmer, it just gives a natural luminous finish to the skin. Like with most bronzers for the summer it’s on the warmer side but doesn’t appear orange or red on my skin.
The Desert Dunes Trio Baked Blush is a baked blush that combines three shades in a single product for adjustable effect. The three shades can be used individually or swirled together for a customized shade. The formula of the blush is the same as the bronzer so very silky and pigmented. It also doesn’t contain any shimmer but it’s not matte, it just appears as a natural luminous blush on your cheeks. The line has three available shades in Lust Coral, Gypsy Pink and Impulsive Mauve. I really wanted the coral shade but it was sold out so I settled for Impulsive Mauve, a beautiful pink mauve shade that can be combined with every makeup look.
Both the bronzer and the blush are enriched with Jojoba Oil and Vitamin E and have a delicate scent of Vanilla which just smells like summer but it’s also not overpowering.
Swatches L to R: Desert Dunes Baked Bronzer in 200 Warm Melange, Desert Dunes Trio Baked Blush in 03 Impulsive Mauve swatched individually and swirled together
The Free Spirit Lips & Cheeks pencils are a lip and cheek product with a semi matte finish. The formula is enriched with Vitamin E and it’s very creamy but still has a comfortable matte finish. There are six available shades in the line and I picked up the shades in 102 Wild Guava, a pretty light peach and 103 Free Flamingo, a true red shade. The jumbo pencils all come with a sharpener which is pretty nice considering you don’t always have a jumbo pencil sharpener in handy.
The formula is very pigmented, you get full pigment with one swipe so just have that in mind when you use the product for the cheeks. You only need a tiny bit of product to get that natural looking flush of color. The pencils both work really nicely for the lips and cheeks which comes rarely with products like these.
The Mirage Lip Stylo is a bold colored lipstick with a shiny finish. It offers medium pigmentation with a very comfortable to wear shiny and creamy finish. This is the type of lipstick I prefer to wear in the summer months since I like something more hydrating but a lip color that still has good pigmentation. The shade that I picked up in 14 Bohemian Sienna is a very pretty pink terra-cotta shade that is perfect for every day wear. The line has eight available shades and I have my eyes on 01 Canyon Rose and 03 Fired Earth Pink which look like the perfect shades for summer.
And the last lip product from the line, the Heatwave Lip Oil is a nourishing lip oil with a coconut, vanilla and grapefruit scent. I got the shade in 03 Grapefruit thinking that it would be the brightest of the bunch but the lip oil actually doesn’t provide any color, it’s just a nourishing lip oil with a clear finish. It feels very nice and hydrating on the lips so I use this on days when my lips feel dry and need a little more care. I have to admit that I was a little bit disappointed that the product didn’t have at least a little bit of color since I like at least a little flush of color in my lip products. Aside from the color I think this is a nice lip oil if you’re looking something nourishing for your lips.
Swatches L to R: Mirage Lip Stylo in 14 Bohemian Sienna, Heatwave Lip Oil in 03 Grapefruit, Free Spirit Lips & Cheeks in 102 Wild Guava, Free Spirit Lips & Cheeks in 103 Free Flamingo
All in all I really like the Kiko Lovegrove Summer Collection. If I have to pick favorites I would go with the Desert Dunes Baked Bronzer and the Trio Baked Blush. I think those two products are pretty unique and products that you can’t really find in other brands plus the gorgeous packaging, I would say those two are a must.
You can find Kiko Cosmetics online at kikocosmetics.com or you can check their website for stores near you.