KIKO Milano

From One Artist to Another: An Overview of the Kiko SS16 “The Artist” Collection

April 27th, 2016 by Anna Oh 15 Comments

kiko face chart — Kiko “The Artist” Collection Face. (I made a download available of a full face chart below.)

Kiko Milano is one of my favorite beauty brands because they create such superb products at nominal prices. I first heard about them through a friend who had traveled to Italy, and I’m excited to see their stores popping up stateside! Now I don’t see a Kiko store coming to my neck of the woods in Atlanta anytime soon, but ordering online makes it just as easy.

For spring 2016, Kiko presents “The Artist” — a limited edition collection to inspire you to become a canvas of your own. The packaging is minimal and clean and was inspired by an artists’s tools. I’m pleasantly surprised by the attention to detail.

kiko artist foundation brush — The Artist Foundation Brush ($15)

kiko artist glacial light soft sifter foundation — Kiko Artist Glacial Light Soft Sifter Foundation ($15)

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The Best in Beauty From the Boot, Vol. 7: KIKO Milano

April 20th, 2016 by Carolina Braina 31 Comments

KIKO Milano Italian Makeup — It’s KIKO time! 🙂

The grass is always greener on the other side, isn’t it?

Well, it’s actually not always greener on the other side, but I think it’s human nature to want what we don’t have and take for granted what we do have.

Look at me for example: I always lust after makeup products I don’t have access to, but often ignore those I have within easy reach.

You know, like, KIKO stores here in Italy are literally everywhere, and I can easily walk past them without even entering (sometimes, LOL). But if, say, a ColourPop store magically appeared in my local mall, I’d get as excited as when I heard there would be a Gilmore Girls revival on Netflix (any fellow fans out there?). That is, super. Freaking. Excited. Bordering hysterical. 😉

Which, you know, is totally unfair to KIKO, since they actually make some truly kick-*ss products, like the ones I’m showing you today, for example. Definitely worth getting very excited for!

KIKO Gossamer Emotion Creamy Lipsticks in 106 Mauve & 117 Papaya ($12)

KIKO Gossamer Emotion Creamy Lipstick 117 Papaya 106 Mauve — If you click the golden button at the top, the tube comes out the bottom… NICE!

KIKO Gossamer Emotion Creamy Lipstick 106 Mauve Swatch — KIKO Gossamer Emotion Creamy Lipstick in 106 Mauve (which to me doesn’t look mauvy at all)

KIKO Gossamer Emotion Creamy Lipstick 117 Papaya Swatch — KIKO Gossamer Emotion Creamy Lipstick 117 Papaya

The gorgeous packaging is what first drew me to the Gossamer Emotion Creamy Lipsticks, but I was delighted to find out that the formula is not half bad either. Their texture is creamy in a non-slippery way, so that they’re comfortable on the lips, but you don’t need to worry about getting lipstick all over your face and teeth.

Shades 116 Mauve and 117 Papaya are nicely pigmented and pretty long-lasting, but I’ve heard that some colors (the range features 30!) are sheerer and have a shorter wear time than others.

Actually, now that I think of it, I also have 130 Black, which I used for my 2015 wearable Halloween look, and it definitely is sheerer. And, by the way, if you want to go black (or any other very dark shade) on the lips, I’d recommend opting for a matte formula, so that you don’t need to worry about it smearing or getting on your teeth. Just saying…

KIKO Flawless Fusion Bronzer in 03 Cinnamon ($18)

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One Wash Wonders: 4 Eyeshadows You’ll Love if You’re Lazy or Busy

March 29th, 2016 by Carolina Braina 14 Comments

KIKO Long Lasting Stick Eyeshadow 06 Golden Brown — KIKO Long-Lasting Stick Eyeshadow in 06 Golden Brown on my eyes and MAC Velvetease Lip Pencil in Lover’s Lane on my lips

One Wash Wonder Eyeshadows — My favorite One Wash Wonders. Clockwise, from top left corner: Burberry Eye Colour Wet & Dry Glow Shadow in 002 Nude, Essence I Love Nude Eyeshadow in 04 Sweet Like Chocolate, Maybelline Eye Studio Color Tattoo Leather 24hr in Creamy Beige, KIKO Long-Lasting Stick Eyeshadow in 06 Golden Brown

Can we all please take a moment to thank the Beauty Gods profusely for creating One Wash Wonders?

Those magical neutrals that look amazing on their own, don’t require any makeup skills, and cut down the time you spend on your eyes to a handful of seconds are definitely the types of shadows I’m most grateful for.

In case you need a little inspiration for your first (or tenth) OWW purchase, here are my all-time favorites!

The Budget Buy: Essence I Love Nude Eyeshadow in 04 Sweet Like Chocolate (€3.19/$3.56)

Essence I Love Nude Eyeshadow 04 Sweet Like Chocolate — Wearing Essence I Love Nude Eyeshadow in 04 Sweet Like Chocolate last summer…

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An Insider’s Guide to Makeup Shopping in Italy

March 1st, 2016 by Carolina Braina 77 Comments

I don’t know about you, but being the beauty lover that I am, whenever I travel to a foreign country I’m always on the hunt for makeup products I can’t find back home. No fridge magnets for me; lipsticks are my favorite souvenirs! 😉

Follow me today on a little virtual shopping spree of Bologna, so that the next time you visit Italy, you’ll be perfectly capable of finding your way through the Italian beauty jungle on your own.

Let’s go to the old town then, shall we? Since there’s a lot of variety in terms of stores, it’s definitely the best place for shopping, and we can do a bit of sightseeing too… I’ll see you by the Neptune Fountain, Bologna’s most popular meeting point.

Neptune Fountain Bologna Italy — Neptune Fountain and Piazza Maggiore, the main square, in the background

If you’re interested in high-end cosmetics, we should go to a profumeria (beauty store). Most profumerie belong to big retail chains, like Sephora, Limoni or Douglas, but quite a few independent stores still survive. Some of these are called bioprofumerie and only carry natural and organic products. Would you like to check one out?

Limoni Beauty Store Bologna Italy — This Limoni beauty store used to be a church, and it was built in the 18th century. Can you see the décor inside? Pretty cool, eh?

Tortellini Pasta Bologna Italy — Tortellini on display, one of Bologna’s many specialties

Oh, you’re saying you’d rather go to a makeup counter? Well, actually, here we don’t really have makeup counters. Our department stores are usually smaller than those in the US, and most of the time their beauty departments only have self-service aisles instead of counters.

If you’re looking for what you’d call ‘drugstore makeup’, we can’t go to a drugstore.

Why, you ask me? Well, because our drugstores (farmacie) are very different from American ones and don’t sell much else other than medicines. The only beauty products you can find there are French pharmacy skincare (Bioderma, La Roche Posay, Avène, and the like), so if you’re interested in Maybelline or similar Italian brands, we should go to a supermarket instead.

Here, all supermarkets have a beauty corner where you can find products in the drugstore price range. The same types of products can also be found at Acqua & Sapone or Tigotà, two retail chains that specialize in cleaning supplies and personal care items.

I don’t know if you have something similar in the US, but they kinda remind me of drugstores, minus the drugs!

Italian Drugstore Bologna — A farmacia (drugstore) on a pedestrian street in Bologna’s old town

KIKO Store Bologna Italy — In the old town there are nearly 25 miles of porticoes, which will keep us sheltered from any kind of weather

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