Italy Haul: Kiko Cosmetics!

All my Kiko purchases!

When I was in Italy for 3 weeks I really wanted to find makeup that I couldn't get back home. Visits into Sephora didn't turn up much, it was mostly the same product. On my daily walk to school I saw Kiko Makeup Milano Cosmetics. Kiko was a great place to pick up everything from mascara (I bought a purple one for less than 6 euros), Nail polish (they were having a sale, 2.50 euro each!), lipstick (2.50 euro) and eyeshadow (4.90 euro). At such great prices I slowly built up a collection. I didn't go too crazy (my roommate bought 6 nail polishes by the end!) but I did pick up enough to get a feel for the brand. Kiko is available in Spain, Italy, Germany, France, Portugal and the UK. The quality was great for such cheap products, the nail polishes went on smoothly and dried super quickly, great pigmentation in the eyeshadows and lipsticks as well.

A closer view of the eyeshadows and lipsticks I got

I got a lovely grey-taupe colour that is a great all over shadow, as well as their blackest black which I`m currently using as a liner. I was boring with my lipsticks and stuck to coral-pink tones. They had a BB cream out, but by the time I went to go purchase it they were sold out.

Lipsticks and Eyeshadows swatched

If you are ever in Europe looking for cheap but good cosmetics I HIGHLY recommend this line.

Mini Haul

Went to Marshalls today and was pleased to see this wish kit from Smashbox for $19.99, originally retailed for $56. The soft-lights bronzer itself is worth $36 and I get to try out the photo finish primer, their Photo-Op under eye brightener, the O-Gloss in gold, and the Jet Set waterproof gel liner. I'll write reviews for these after I've had a good while to test them out.

They also had the Sally Hansen Salon Effects in this cute heart pattern for $4.99 so I snatched it up to give it a try. I was really impressed with the selection at my Marshalls, they had tons of Bliss products for the face, some nice bamboo makeup brushes (I have my eye on some sephora ones at the moment), some Pacifica body butters and most of the China Glaze Hunger Games polishes. I'm definitely going to keep visiting to see what other goodies I can scoop up at a steal to test out and review.

Last but not least I got a new case for my Kindle. This Verso Marrakesh cover was waaaay out of my price range at $70, but Chapters.Indigo had it on for 50% I could justify it. My old hot pink case was getting a little worn and this is simply gorgeous, even if it does seem a touch pretentious.

Italy Packing: Nail Polish

I took a small selection of nail polish to Florence. I ended up leaving the glitter top coat at home as it's a pain to remove. I brought my sally hansen top coat, OPI's Strawberry Margaretta (the perfect Barbie pink), Essie's California Coral and their Sugar Daddy (my go to pale pink colour). I kept the colour selection simple to make it easy to match to my outfits while away. I ended up buy a really pretty purple and teal colour from an Italian cosmetics line called Kiko, which I'll be posting a haul of what I got soon!

Summer Soundtrack: Sphynx - Orbs

Every week or so I'll post a song for your summer soundtrack. Something upbeat and fun that is perfect for listing to in the car/at the beach/while hanging out with friend. Enjoy!

Review: Body Shop Eyeshadow and Blending Brushes

I've been wanting to add a back up eyeshadow and blending brush to my brush kit for a while and when the Body Shop had one of their buy 2 get 2 sales on I picked up the blending and the eyeshadow brushes from their line. The prices weren't bad, $15 for the eyeshadow brush and $18 for the blending brush which is quite affordable when compared with my favorite MAC brushes.

These brushes however don't stand up well at all when compared to the more expensive MAC brushes. I love my 239 and 217 brushes, the 217 is perfect for blending and applying concealer so that it looks natural and feels soft on my sensitive under eye area. The Body Shop version feels scratchy and doesn't apply nearly as smoothly as the 217. I've tried washing it/using my MAC brush cleanser on it and it still has really stiff fibers.

The eyeshadow brush has longer bristles than my 239 brush, and while it's OK at putting colour on it takes much more time and product to achieve the same look that I would get with my 239 brush.

I'll keep these brushes for now as backups and for doing other peoples makeup, though I think I might save up and get another 217 brush from MAC so I can have one for blending and one for concealer once school starts up again.

Overall rating: Save your money, for $10-15 more you can get the MAC brushes which in terms of quality you just can't beat.

Summer Soundtrack: Sticky Fingers - Freaking out

Every week or so I'll post a song for your summer soundtrack. Something upbeat and fun that is perfect for listing to in the car/at the beach/while hanging out with friend. Enjoy!

Review: Simpatico no 8, Solid Perfume

Smooth, creamy and sweet, this delectable blend of sugar and cream is nested in a bed of freshly shaved coconut made to comfort and envelope you in layers of bliss.

I tend to not wear a ton of fragrance, mostly because I forget to apply it after getting ready! This solid perfume from Simpatico travels easily so I like to put it in my purse so when I do finally remember that I meant to put perfume on, I have one that's easily accessible!

The scent of this perfume is very sweet coconut, perfect for summer. I don't find it too cloying which is nice because it could very easily fall into the too sweet category. The scent lasts for about 2-3 hours on me before fading completely and stays very close to the body the whole time. This is a super reasonably priced product, just $12 at Chapters/Indigo book stores which is where I picked up mine on a whim.

I'm for sure packing this little guy in my carry on for when I travel, as it won't make a mess (like liquids that leak sometimes do) and its super portable.

Lust List: Big Gold Watch

I've wanted a large sized gold watch for years now, but haven't been able to find the perfect one. This one by Kate Spade seems great, not overly expensive at $225. I haven't seen this watch in person yet, but when I get back from Italy I'll make the trip to Holt Renfrew to try it on.

Also on the list of possibilities is this gold Micheal Kors watch. It's more expensive than the Kate Spade one above at $300, however it is cheaper in the US ($250) and when you shop at Macy's as a non-US citizen you get a 20% discount. I've liked Micheal Kors watches for years now, and own one already.
I'm in no rush to pick out a watch, I'd rather wait a bit and get the perfect one that will last me for years than rush and get something I end up getting tired of. I've asked for a watch for my birthday present in September so hopefully I can decide by then!