So starting off with Kiko, a store I now have in my local centre, I decided to pick up some things on whim. Lets start with the Everlasting colour precision lip liner in 402 (£5.90) - whilst the design is super cute, the packaging is pretty high end and it even comes with a sharpner and applicator (a rubber thing on the end, which is good for neating up application), I don't love to use this as an actual lip liner. 402 is faaaar too light to actually line my lips, however it can work all over the lips as a nude (though it is a smidge chalky looking). The formula itself is okay - I won't be rushing to purchase more shades in the future though.
What actually inspired this order was my search for the perfect mustard yellow eyeshadow, which I discovered was available from the kiko store thanks to Daria (a brilliant young woman who I’ve followed for a couple of years, love what she tweets about!). These are the Kiko high pigment wet and dry shadows and this is my first time trying them. They're currently £4.80 each (on sale), which is a similar price point to MUG, so it was a bit of a risk picking up five shades without swatching a single one. I’ve loved the water eyeshadows, with that golden one being a firm favourite (I have at least one back up), however this was an entirely new range to me. I’ve swatched their cheaper one in store and wasn’t impressed at all, definitely avoid those ones. These however are pretty darn great. They contain 2g of product per pan, which is 0.2g more than MUG. Also the shadows are removeable from the black packaging, which means you can take them out and put them into an empty metal palette - winning!
What actually inspired this order was my search for the perfect mustard yellow eyeshadow, which I discovered was available from the kiko store thanks to Daria (a brilliant young woman who I’ve followed for a couple of years, love what she tweets about!). These are the Kiko high pigment wet and dry shadows and this is my first time trying them. They're currently £4.80 each (on sale), which is a similar price point to MUG, so it was a bit of a risk picking up five shades without swatching a single one. I’ve loved the water eyeshadows, with that golden one being a firm favourite (I have at least one back up), however this was an entirely new range to me. I’ve swatched their cheaper one in store and wasn’t impressed at all, definitely avoid those ones. These however are pretty darn great. They contain 2g of product per pan, which is 0.2g more than MUG. Also the shadows are removeable from the black packaging, which means you can take them out and put them into an empty metal palette - winning!
The shades I purchased are:
57 - a rich cobalt blue, muted, yet still bright enough to be a pop of a colour. I had to purchase this because I literally have no blues in my collection - aside from a very deep one. I think blue shadows aren’t really the norm and I also know an eye shadow look with this along the lower lashline, or all over the lid and blended out with a warmer shade in the crease will look d-e-l-i-g-h-t-f-u-l.
19 - The very reason why I placed the haul in the first place, this is the perfect yellow shade and I've already posted an quick eyeshadow look using it on my instagram (@theblushinggiraffe). However you can get a sneak peak of the shade in the cover photo of this blog post here. The pigmentation of all the shades are really good, but this one impresses me each time I dip my brush in and pack it onto the lid! It definitely rivals MUG and ABH mattes, which is impressive for a drugstore shadow.
91 - Perhaps the only shade that I kinda regret purchasing? Only because its a pretty standard shade, and I own a bunch of golden colours already. Don't get me wrong its a good enough shadow, actually not as rich as the other four mattes - however I will try and get use out of it, or I'll pass it not.Definitely not a colour I'll be repurchasing.
38 - A medium toned pink shade which again screams summer to me. I do actually own a couple of pinks from MUG as it is, but nothing this vibrant. Whether I use this in the crease, or packed all over the lid, I know it'll look beautiful and provide a twist to the usual neutrals I can get stuck in a rut with.
71 - Well this definitely has to be the most out there shade of the bunch, because can you imagine me wearing such a aqua-turquiose?? I'm not sure I can either, but I definitely will be trying it out...I'm thinking this paired with a gold should look pretty sweet...or maybe even as a funky pop of colour in the inner corner - oh the possibilities!
Moving on to Anastasia Beverly Hills, I managed to purchase two of her refillable shades from the beautybay sale, where they were only £4 each, and there are still a section available! Now neither of these would be my go-to shades, however they both work really quite well. Especially the darker contour shade: Ash brown, which is one of the most perfect contour shades I've come across! It is pretty deep but leans towards grey, so a little goes a long way to recreate the shadow and add definition. The lighter shade is called golden peach and whilst I don't prefer it to a yellow shade, it works well for everyday.
I had to repurchase one of my favourite lip liners of all time, the Jordana easyliner in tawny (£4.00), unlike the kiko one above, the shade of this is spot on just a tad deeper than my normal lip shade so I can ever so slightly overline, without it looking obvious. Such an under-rated lipliner which more people should know about for sure!
And moving onto those stunning browns, I picked up three more MUG shadows because they're some of my favourites! I got a cute gift card from my lovely colleagues and just had to indulge in some of the newer shades from their line, ESPECIALLY BECAUSE THEY HAVE LOWERED THE PRICE AGAIN! Yaaay, no more ridiculous £6+ price tag, these are back to £4.95 and I couldn't be more pleased. Now in these swatches, the focus on my camera was a little off so excuse that, but left-right we have: Tan lines, pocket change and bake sale. The latter swatched the worst, but on the lid with a brush it is beautiful and has become a go-to on a day to day basis.
The three brushes, and final part of this haul, are all from Morphe. I WILL be posting a Morphe brushes collection, it is a work in progress because they have a pretty overwhelming selection! Some I adore and use every other day, others I hardly ever pick up, so I'm looking forwards to sharing that with you. However, for now the newer brushes I purchased are:
M575 (£6.00) : Honestly this is an eyeshadow brush I don't love too much. What drew me in was the tapered point, but the bristles are quite long and hard to control, however it is okay at blended out colour once it has been applied. Not sure how much use I'll get from it, but yes I'm going to be using it a few more times before I post a full review in my Morphe brush collection, so stay tuned.
E8 (£6.00): I'm a big big fan of this one! And the price point is fantastic, I'll be picking up a back up at some point too. The E8 is very versatile, you can use it to blend in cream contour or powder contour, concealer or powder under the eyes due to the size. I was watching Jaclyn's morphe faves the other day and, whatever you think of her, we must all admit that the girl has SKILLZZZZ, especially when it comes to eyeshadow! She said a makeup artist was using the E8 to blend in her foundation flawlessly, so that is something I will be trying out and reporting to back to you all, but all-in-all, I'm highly recommend you pick on up.
M164 (£5.50): Definitely on of the most unusual brushes in my collection, this small angled brush is basically going to be your best friend if you dabble in nose contour! It makes contouring the nose sooo easy and as the brushes are synthetic, it works great with cream contour as well as powder shades. Whilst I don't think this is a MUST have, if you are a fan of contouring and no other brushes are cutting it, this little guy for just over a fiver is an absolute bargain.
19 - The very reason why I placed the haul in the first place, this is the perfect yellow shade and I've already posted an quick eyeshadow look using it on my instagram (@theblushinggiraffe). However you can get a sneak peak of the shade in the cover photo of this blog post here. The pigmentation of all the shades are really good, but this one impresses me each time I dip my brush in and pack it onto the lid! It definitely rivals MUG and ABH mattes, which is impressive for a drugstore shadow.
91 - Perhaps the only shade that I kinda regret purchasing? Only because its a pretty standard shade, and I own a bunch of golden colours already. Don't get me wrong its a good enough shadow, actually not as rich as the other four mattes - however I will try and get use out of it, or I'll pass it not.Definitely not a colour I'll be repurchasing.
38 - A medium toned pink shade which again screams summer to me. I do actually own a couple of pinks from MUG as it is, but nothing this vibrant. Whether I use this in the crease, or packed all over the lid, I know it'll look beautiful and provide a twist to the usual neutrals I can get stuck in a rut with.
71 - Well this definitely has to be the most out there shade of the bunch, because can you imagine me wearing such a aqua-turquiose?? I'm not sure I can either, but I definitely will be trying it out...I'm thinking this paired with a gold should look pretty sweet...or maybe even as a funky pop of colour in the inner corner - oh the possibilities!
Moving on to Anastasia Beverly Hills, I managed to purchase two of her refillable shades from the beautybay sale, where they were only £4 each, and there are still a section available! Now neither of these would be my go-to shades, however they both work really quite well. Especially the darker contour shade: Ash brown, which is one of the most perfect contour shades I've come across! It is pretty deep but leans towards grey, so a little goes a long way to recreate the shadow and add definition. The lighter shade is called golden peach and whilst I don't prefer it to a yellow shade, it works well for everyday.
I had to repurchase one of my favourite lip liners of all time, the Jordana easyliner in tawny (£4.00), unlike the kiko one above, the shade of this is spot on just a tad deeper than my normal lip shade so I can ever so slightly overline, without it looking obvious. Such an under-rated lipliner which more people should know about for sure!
And moving onto those stunning browns, I picked up three more MUG shadows because they're some of my favourites! I got a cute gift card from my lovely colleagues and just had to indulge in some of the newer shades from their line, ESPECIALLY BECAUSE THEY HAVE LOWERED THE PRICE AGAIN! Yaaay, no more ridiculous £6+ price tag, these are back to £4.95 and I couldn't be more pleased. Now in these swatches, the focus on my camera was a little off so excuse that, but left-right we have: Tan lines, pocket change and bake sale. The latter swatched the worst, but on the lid with a brush it is beautiful and has become a go-to on a day to day basis.
The three brushes, and final part of this haul, are all from Morphe. I WILL be posting a Morphe brushes collection, it is a work in progress because they have a pretty overwhelming selection! Some I adore and use every other day, others I hardly ever pick up, so I'm looking forwards to sharing that with you. However, for now the newer brushes I purchased are:
M575 (£6.00) : Honestly this is an eyeshadow brush I don't love too much. What drew me in was the tapered point, but the bristles are quite long and hard to control, however it is okay at blended out colour once it has been applied. Not sure how much use I'll get from it, but yes I'm going to be using it a few more times before I post a full review in my Morphe brush collection, so stay tuned.
E8 (£6.00): I'm a big big fan of this one! And the price point is fantastic, I'll be picking up a back up at some point too. The E8 is very versatile, you can use it to blend in cream contour or powder contour, concealer or powder under the eyes due to the size. I was watching Jaclyn's morphe faves the other day and, whatever you think of her, we must all admit that the girl has SKILLZZZZ, especially when it comes to eyeshadow! She said a makeup artist was using the E8 to blend in her foundation flawlessly, so that is something I will be trying out and reporting to back to you all, but all-in-all, I'm highly recommend you pick on up.
M164 (£5.50): Definitely on of the most unusual brushes in my collection, this small angled brush is basically going to be your best friend if you dabble in nose contour! It makes contouring the nose sooo easy and as the brushes are synthetic, it works great with cream contour as well as powder shades. Whilst I don't think this is a MUST have, if you are a fan of contouring and no other brushes are cutting it, this little guy for just over a fiver is an absolute bargain.
And that is the end of this haul! Expect another one coming up soon exclusively focused on Anastasia Beverly Hills, but I hope that you enjoyed reading this and perhaps got some inspo for your next makeup splurge 🙊
Thank-you for reading ♥
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