Kiko Smart Lipstick No.908 swatches and review

Kiko Makeup Milano is a drugstore brand from Italy. Dear Lunaface from Lunaface The Flintstone Loves Pretty picked this up for me during her epic trip to Europe. It makes me happy to know that someone is thinking of me during their trip, thanks Luna!

I think it is an absolutely great idea to gift makeup addicted friends with more makeup especially stuff you can't get in your own country.

Knowing me very well, Luna picked a red lipstick. One can never have enough red lipsticks in my opinion.

(Taken from the Kiko Website)

Rich, nourishing lipstick. Full colour, total comfort.

Dense, nourishing texture with an ultra-silky and immediate smooth-gliding quality. The extreme sensoriality and soft consistency enhance the application experience and the resulting feeling of comfort. Thanks to the large drop-shaped lipstick tip, the colour is easy to apply and immediately adheres to the lips, defining them with precision. The adaptable intensity of the colour allows for a careful control of the finish and an immediately intense, long-lasting coverage.

The combination of cutting-edge ingredients in the formula makes the texture comfortable, velvety and emollient. The extremely radiant polymers guarantee a pure, radiant effect, while the delicate vanilla fragrance makes it pleasant to use.

The design is simple and elegant in terms of colours and shapes. The ergonomic shape of the lid, with an upper hollow, facilitates pack closure.

Available in 24 shades, from the most natural and delicate to the brightest and most intense, with 3 different finishes: full, satin and pearl.

Hypoallergenic = formulated to ensure minimum instance of allergic reactions.

Paraben free.

The black no frills plastic casing is sturdy yet light.

No. 908 is a pretty warm cherry red. I love how it looks on my lips. It is emollient and applies smoothly on my lips without drying my lips out.  It is also pigmented and gives great colour in one swipe. For 2.50 pounds what a great steal!

I don't normally wear white because I hate how transparent white can be but I wanted to try out my new white T-shirt. I really love how red lip stick instantly glams up a simple white T-shirt. I generally like to keep my eye makeup simple but I cannot leave the house without my eye liner. 

Anyways, you got to pick up a Kiko Smart lipstick if you are in Europe. For its price, it is a great lipstick.

Ratings: 5 lipsticks

I leave you with some food porn. These were some of the dishes Luna and I ate when we met up. I love Cedele and I love pasta! Did I mention how we love our desserts.

Beef ragout pasta

Crab pasta

Earl Grey and Salted Caramel ice cream

Chocolate fudge cake

Nothing beats good food and even greater company.

Sunday afternoon girly lunch

I love girly outings with my gal pals and I've been so lucky to have so many through my blogging journey. I wish I could do it more often but it is difficult juggling work, dance classes and family commitments. Sometimes when I go out on Sundays, I feel guilty that I'm leaving my "boys" to their own devices. But I also see daddy and son time very important for them to bond. So I did not not feel so bad going out last Sunday to have a lovely lunch and window shopping session with dear Luna of Lunaface - The Flintstone Loves Pretty.

Here is a look I did with my new makeup toys. I will do a review of them much later though.

On my lips I have my much neglected YSL Glossy stain in No. 7 Corail Aquatique. 

I broke out my spanky new YSL Palette in Palette Avenue Marceau. I didn't care that the purples would clash with my green dress, I just had to use it.

I finally finished a bottle of foundation. One of my favorites, the Make Up For Ever HD foundation.  I'm promising myself not to buy another one until I finish another bottle.

We went to Sun With Moon to have our salmon fix. I simple love salmon sashimi.

The soup come is a quaint little teapot and we had to wait for the rice set to continue steaming in the container for about a minute. That's Luna in the background. Hey babe!

Look at that gorgeous unagi and tori rice. I love unagi too.

Dessert!

The fun thing about dining with bloggers is how fast we whip out our cameras to take food pictures.

We cannot forget dessert can we. I had my favourite Royal Pudding from Paris Baguette and Luna introduced me to this nondescript looking cheese cake. Heaven at first bite I tell you. This is a Camembert cheesecake. It is light and fluffy with a tang of saltiness. This is going to my growing list of must haves. Thank you my dear of introducing this little piece of heaven.

I realize that I'm quite set with my food choices. I always go for the same items because I know I will like it. I am very glad to have others introduce me to other food items though.

Are you adventurous with our food choices? What was the most out there food item you tried?

Bobbi Brown Rich Lip Color Old Hollywood

(Image taken from Bobbi Brown website)

Check out Katie Holmes' beautiful red lips. You know I cannot resist a good red lipstick right? Katie Holmes' is calling me with her uber sexy red lips.

What an apt name, Old Hollywood. The beautiful Rita Hayworth comes to my mind. I can imagine her wearing a slinky green satin floor length number and satin gloves and Old Hollywood on her lips.

(Information taken from Bobbi Brown website)

Bobbi's original formula treats lips to rich color with a soft-matte finish. Infused with Vitamins E and C as well as Beeswax, it also moisturizes and comforts lips.

Old Hollywood is described as a medium cool red. On me, it is a creamy blue red. It is opaque on one swipe. It isn't as emollient and creamy as my favourite lipsticks but it does the job of giving me a great red lip look. It is also not as hydrating but it did not dry out my lips. It feels lightweight on my lips but I do find that it doesn't fade gracefully after drinks and food.

Old Hollywood costs USD $28.

I prefer my red lipsticks to be uber hydrating and luxurious feeling on my lips so Old Hollywood fell short of my high standards. But as a red, it is a great face brightening colour that exudes old world glam. This would be a great mid range red if you don't want to shell out for a lux red.
Ratings: 3 lipsticks

Tom Ford 02 Cream Foundation Brush

I knew it was only a matter of time before I caved and got a Tom Ford brush. I had to see what the fuss was about. I have quite a few blush brushes already so I decided a foundation brush would be a good addition to my arsenal. I love having more foundation brushes, that way I ca hold off washing them just a wee bit longer.

The brush is a beauty. The heavy handle feels good to hold. It has a dark brown handle just like all of Tom Ford palettes. The gold ferrule looks luxe and the bristles are very soft to the touch. 

Not washed

After washing, you can see that the bristles are poofier and fluffier. It did not shed during washing.

The bronzer brush isn't mine but I got permission from Miaka of Miaka's Life and Loves to play with it. As you can see it is much bigger than the cream foundation brush. The bronzer brush costs US $115 (omg!) and the cream foundation brush costs USD $72.

Aren't they cute side by side?

Anyway, it doesn't say what kind of bristles they are just natural bristles so I suspect they are goat hair.

My Koyudo Fu Pa has more bounce so I literally can feel how dense it is when I use it. Whereas the Tom Ford brush is very soft. It gives a wonderful natural application. I dab my foundation onto my face and use the brush to buff it onto my skin. That way I don't waste foundation.

I like both of them very much, Tom Ford brushes are a real splurge and I feel that it is not a necessity. If you want a great natural bristle brush that is well made, a Koyudo Fu Pa is a better buy. That being said, the snob in me doesn't do regret one bit that I bought it.

Ratings: 4 lipsticks (just because it is s expensive)

NARS Eye Paint Iskandar and Snake Eyes

I love love cream eye shadows. I especially love the promise of a great gold shadow. After seeing the swatches of the new NARS Eye Paints especially Iskandar I knew I had to try it just to see if it will stay on my oily lids. You know me, I can't just buy one colour, I had to pick Snakes Eyes too because the black green just looks too awesome to resist.

So here you are, Iskandar and Snakes Eyes.

NARS Eye Paints come in little glass pots.

Just look at how gorgeous the swatches are. The Eye Paints are creamy and opaque. They don't dry that quickly so there is a little time to blend them. Iskandar is a brassy gold shade  with gold shimmer whereas Snakes Eyes is a black green with green shimmer. They are absolutely beautiful colours.

Here I used Iskandar as a base on my lids. I lined my eyes using Snake Eyes with my long neglected MAC 208 Angled Brow Brush because it looks like the NARS angled eye liner brush (I want that!). I really love the pronounced cat eye flick it makes. Loves! I also added a layer of my Chanel Illusion D'ombre in Convoitise for that gold shimmer effect.

NARS Satin Lip Pencil in Lodhi and GA Flash Lacquer

Snake Eyes smudged on me after 4 hours. Not very badly but I can see faint signs of it being transferred onto my lower and upper lids. My Snake Eyes line faded slightly too. Boo! 

Iskandar survived better on my lids. I wonder was it because it wasn't as obvious as a darker shade as Snake Eye or if the formula of Iskandar is slightly different.

I bought these two from Nordstrom for USD $25 each

I still like the two shades I bought, I think the colours are awesome so I will try my best to work these two even though I'm disappointed by their lasting power. Iskandar makes a great eye shadow for lovers of shimmery brassy golds. There is visible shimmer in it.  I really love Snake Eyes as a colour. It is different from your normal black eye liner and the colour is obvious. Great if you want to deviate from your normal black.

I bet if you don't have my oily lid issue, you will find these awesome.

Ratings: 3- lipsticks