Cuckoo for KIKO | KIKO Milano High Pigment Shadows

This will be one of my first non pregnancy and parenting related post in what feels like a long, long time and it's no coincidence. It has taken me quite a while to get back into anything of a beauty routine after my first trimester knocked me for six and therefore a while to discover any new or exciting products that I felt I could rave about, scream from the rooftops and of course offer pride of place among some of my firm favourites. 

KIKO Milano are a brand that are relatively new to Aberdeen. They arrived in my favourite shopping complex, Union Square, a little bit before Christmas and I have found myself only able to go in quite recently so I could swatch and shop to my hearts desire. Given their relatively low price point I wasn't expecting too much from KIKO, at only around £4.80 for a 'high pigment' wet and dry eyeshadow I wasn't expecting fireworks, so after a couple of swatches and a rake in their bargain section I came away with 3 of their high pigment shadows one in a matte purple shade one in a subtle metallic pink /purple hue and finally a shimmery beige colour - perfect for an inner corner highlight. What I got however wasn't simply fireworks but an entire bonfire display in terms of quality, pigment and longevity!

I haven't yet been brave enough to use these 'wet' however I have dowsed my brush in some fix plus to apply them at times and I have been thoroughly impressed. They aren't kidding when they say 'high pigment' and I do get quite a bit of kickback - particularly on the matte shade I went for. A little really does go a long way and you've got to be careful to only dip your brush in else you'll be pink, purple and beige all over, and of course ruin your base if you're prone to doing your base first.

If you haven't already I would highly recommend popping int your local KIKO store to have a swatch of these shadows, I would definitely go as far as today they're better than any MAC shadows I have tried previously - even better than my much loved neutrals palette.. swatches don't lie! Since falling in love with these about a month or so ago I've bought a few more in some similar 'Spring' pink shades and I'll undoubtedly go back for even more shortly. All I wish is that they did some large palettes so I could decant the shadows into and they fit nicely instead of me fiddling about with about 10 different pots, maybe they do and I'm just being blind but KIKO if you're listening I need an empty palette for your pigments!

Have you ever tried anything by KIKO Milano? As you all know I also fell in love with their SPF Primer too which you can read my thoughts on here, otherwise I'd love to know what other gems you have found in KIKO. Be sure to leave your comments, thoughts and suggestions below, come share them with me on Twitter or if you'd just like to see more reviews, life musings and me in general you can find me on Bloglovin and Instagram.

Until next time,

H.Elizabeth x

Blogging Pet Peeves | Beauty Edition

You may remember back in the times of yore when I wrote a post ranting about my biggest blogging pet peeves. From overly obvious tweet and social media scheduling to auto DMs and of course straight up stealing images and fellow bloggers work to further your own blogging platform, there is a great deal to be peeved about when it comes to blogging in general. However, recently I have found myself becoming increasingly annoyed by the beauty blogging community so today in order to therapeutically cleanse myself of these thoughts, feelings and annoyances and maybe pass some of them along to you!

No swatches

More often than not I'm quite drawn to blogs with beautiful imagery. I am a sucker for a good, well lit product shot despite having never quite mastered the art myself, but there is one thing a beauty blogger can do when taking photographs that will make me instantly click off, unlike, unfollow and never return again. No. Swatches. It's all well and good telling me how amazing the pigment on your new eyeshadow is or how a lipstick's colour has changed your life, but if you don't show me then... it's all lies!!! Admittedly this is something that new beauty bloggers are perhaps not used to doing, however for seasoned pros surely this is just good practice?

'I was kindly sent this by Too Faced...' 

Psst...you forgot to add - 'in exchange for the money I paid for it,'

When this comes from a brand new beauty blogger with a small following you've got to know they're pulling your leg. I have seen countless young girls trying to draw folks in by saying, Anastasia Beverley Hills got in touch with me to review this product... yeah via an advert on Beauty Bay!

Review your damn hauls

I love a good haul post. I like a good nosy in my peers baskets, particularly when it comes to beauty and fashion. However some follow up would be great - or at least a little test of the product before posting your haul, else it's really just, 'hey guys I bought this,' and cue the crickets! 

Ever found yourself guilty of the above? Probably - I know as a beginner in both beauty and blogging I have been guilty of more than I would really care to admit - it's a learning process that is never ending.

What are some of your blogging pet peeves, beauty, lifestyle or otherwise? Be sure to share your peeves and comments in the box below, come share them with me on Twitter, or if you'd just like to see who I'll write another peevey post about next then make sure you're following me on Bloglovin.

Until next time,

H.Elizabeth x

Killer Kyshadow | Royal Peach Palette Swatches & Review

When I heard Kylie Cosmetics were releasing a 'Kyshadow' and 'Kyliner' range, I was skeptical to say the least. Despite falling head over heels for the lip kits last year and building up quite a substantial collection (about a dozen or so and counting...) I just felt that branching into eyeshadows, liners and goodness knows what else was getting a bit gimmicky, you've found your thing, stick to it. So I held back and waited. I waited for the terrible reviews courtesy of the worlds biggest and best beauty gurus, I waited for critiques ever lack of pigment, patchy, slippy shadows, something, goodness anything! Nothing ever came.

What did however come were more and more eyeshadow palettes, more and more rave reviews, swatches and glowing endorsements from some of my You Tube favourites. Naturally I caved. I recently purchased a Kyshadow bundle which offered the relatively new Royal Peach palette alongside one of their newer lip kits in the shade 'Apricot' for $65 (which is about £52 ish) which considering how much I have previously paid for just an eyeshadow palette it really isn't bad.

Top L - R
Sorbet, Seashell, Peachy, Royal, Queen Bee, Duke
Bottom L - R
Duchess, Sandy, Mojito, North Star, Crush, Cinnamon

The palette boasts 12 shades in a variety of matte, metallics and satins- mainly metallics however you pretty much get the only matte shades you would ever need to create a warm smokey eye in this palette so no complaints there. I have swatched all of the shades down below for you to check out the colours and just what they each have to offer. The shades are all highly pigmented though when you go into the palette with a brush you get quite a lot of fallout from a couple, namely the matte shades as opposed to the metallics. The only shade I can say was quite disappointing would be 'Sorbet' which didn't deliver a great colour pay off, however used as a base or light transition colour it works quite nicely. My favourite shade so far has to be 'North Star' as I'm going through quite a big pink / purple girly phase when it comes to my make up North Star has been right up my street and is great as an inner corner pop of colour and metallic, glittery goodness.

I feel like you can get this sort of quality from other brands such as Too Faced, Urban Decay and of course Make Up Geek so if this is a little out of your budget (particularly when you factor in customs and postage fees) then there are plenty of 'dupes' on the market. For me this has been worth the money as I will use literally every shade in the palette, perhaps not for regular clients and brides but it certainly fits my personal aesthetic. I can't see myself buying another Kyshadow palette any time soon unless of course something is done to DRAMATICALLY reduce the customs fees (not possible I know but a girl can dream!)

Have you ever tried anything from the Kylie Cosmetics range? Be sure to leave your thoughts and comments (good or bad) below, come share them with me on Twitter - oh and as a side note if you've ever created any looks with this or any other Kyshadow products be sure to direct me to your Instagram!

Until next time,

H.Elizabeth x

Make Up Geek | Manny MUA Eyeshadow Palette Review

Before we jump in today I wanted to just give you a quick look at the inner workings of my mind, all in the name of getting to know me that bit better and you know understanding just why, WHY do I keep spending money?!? At first I wasn't going to buy the Manny MUA eyeshadow palette, despite being a fan of Manny, his You Tube channel, his fierceness and make up artistry skills I wasn't too worried about getting my hands on his palette when he collaborated with Make Up Geek earlier this year. That was until...Manny said the fateful few words that sealed my destiny.. and bank balance....'Selling out' and 'limited edition'.... I had bought the palette two days later and had it by the third....(if it were socially and bloggily acceptable I'd use the face slap emoji right here!) No matter, in the words of Lady Macbeth, 'what's done is done, now where my shadows at?!' (so I may be paraphrasing just a little)

Now despite what that length opening paragraph may have you believe I in no way feel remorseful about my purchase, it only took 2 minutes and one swift flick of that palette lid to dispel any feelings of the sort because....oh...my...god...how beautiful are these colours?! Made of a mix of pure Manny and a couple of Make Up Geek favourites I fell in love, head over heels if you will for some of the more unique shades. The first for example being Mars, a deep, matte, true red with a luxe look to it, the second being Insomnia, which is an existing Make Up Geek duo chrome shade that is a mixture of metallic reds, greens and blues which I cannot wait to use in a number of looks in the future.

Bottom left: Insomnia. Bottom Mid: Mars

Having now used the palette a couple of times I must say I have not been disappointed. Layered over the top of a cream base like a nude maybelline cream shadow, these colours really pop and don't crease after a few hours wear. Mars did not disappoint! Though it has a bit of kickback (as is the case with almost every highly pigmented red shadow) and I was very impressed with Insomnia (it's lovely as a dark, gothic halo eye) My only criticism would be that they stained my darn brushes, that's how pigmented I'm finding them! Seriously though I have had to wash my brushes after every time I use the shadows because otherwise they just transfer to my others. But hey, if that's my only qualm so far, I'll take it!

L-R: Artemis, Beaches & Cream, Luna, Cosmopolitan, Sora, Frappe, Insomnia, Mars, Aphrodite

Have you tried the Manny MUA palette or even shadows by Make up geek before? I would love to hear what you thought of the quality of their shadows and of course any colour or finish suggestions you'd like to throw my way! Hopefully you've enjoyed hearing how I have found the product and maybe it'll inspire you to go out and become a shopaholic I could be proud of! Of course you can catch me and my new palette on the usual channels, Twitter, Instagram and more from the blog on Bloglovin.

Until next time folks, feeling Manny marvellous.

H.Elizabeth x

Kylie Cosmetics | 22, Posie K & Exposed Swatches

Eight! I have bought eight Kylie Cometics lip products to date. The cost of these little suckers doesn't even bare thinking about, but what can I say? I'm OBSESSED! Not with the Kardashians, not with the Jenners, hell not even with Kylie's lips, I'm simply obsessed with these products. These lip kits are hands down the best liquid lipstick forumlas I have ever tried. Their lip liners, as I mentioned previously really deserve a post of their own given how creamy and easy to apply they are and just how well they prepare your lips for the coming products. Their lipstick companions just complement them so, so well and I can now say that I have bought every colour I have wanted in the collection (so far) having completed my lip kit fam with 22, Posie K and Exposed (in addition to a metallic and a gloss which I'll post about separately.

When I first saw some of these shades such as 22 and Exposed I was a bit like, 'nah' 22 is a deep orangey-red colour which I just wasn't sure would suit me. But when I saw those swatches.... lordy I needed one! 22 has actually earned a place with one of my favourite lip colours ever and I have been rocking this shade these last few weeks when I've been feeling particularly summery with a pared back, neutral eye and fluttery lashes. Exposed grew on me once I saw Kylie herself wearing it in an instagram post, it looked very much like a nude I didn't have in my collection (I was wrong) Exposed is very much a toffee coloured lip colour which admittedly I was a bit disappointed with as all of the online swatches made it look significantly lighter, but it's still a gorge colour all the same. Posie K I KNEW wasn't going to be the colour as all of the swatches I had seen online but I had expected it to be quite a bit darker than my other love Koko K, I was right. Posie is a deeper pink / purple shade that is gorgeous for making a look that bit more girly. I've been loving pairing this one with a defined vintage eye using a brown gel to make the look a  bit softer.

And guys, now I feel fully justified in my purchases. In total I now have 8 Kylie Cosmetics products including 6 of the highly sought after lip kits - if you want to read my first impressions review of Koko K, Dolce K and Mary Jo K click this link right here for swatches and musings and all sorts. Otherwise and yet again I hope you have enjoyed, perhaps found this helpful and got more of an idea of how these kits look on the palest of pale. Tell me have you bought any of these kits? How have you found using them? Love to hear your thoughts, opinions, experiences and brain farts in the comments section below. Otherwise you can catch me on the usual channels Instagram, Facebook, Twitter etc.

Until next time folks, EIGHT!

H.Elizabeth x