Back in August 2015 I declared my eternal love for Kiko Milano's Long Lasting Shadow Sticks:
"I'm not sure I'd be able to tell them apart from my beloved Caviar Sticks by Laura Mercier if they came as identical colors in non-marked packaging (both products are made in Italy, and your guess is as good as mine about exact manufacturing locations and specs). Kiko's version is just as creamy, pigmented and tenacious as Laura Mercier's. The colors are intense, give a full coverage, and once set (within less than a minute, depending on the primer underneath, not that one is necessary) they do not budge. Removing them requires an oil or a dual-phase cleanser and letting and a little soaking."Nothing has changed since. I have similar products from Laura Mercier, By Terry, NARS, and Bobbi Brown, and the only differences are the actual colors and finishes. Not application, performance, or tenacity. The six shadow sticks above are the ones I picked during Kiko's Black Friday sale (it was a "buy three products, get three free ones". Basically a half off sale as long as one wanted six products. And I did.Boy, did I).
The color I chose were great companions to the other sticks I have from various brands and work together or as stand alone eye shadows.
10 is an emerald green with the faintest sheen
11 is more turquoise than teal and dries down somewhere between satin and matte.
20 is matte black, which is an essential for those of us who like to layer a duochrome shadow over a cream black base.
28 is a cream ivory with a satin finish, great for layering, mixing, or just creating a flawless natural-looking eyelid.
39 is a murky dark coffee.
44 is my comfort color in the mid of a sad sad winter. One day it will all be over and will sit on a beach looking at the blue blue water Either that or we'll all be dead.
I've tested and timed the window for smudging and blending, and it came to six minutes for all of the shadow sticks. That's ample of time to create a look, sheer things out, do a one-and-done look or mix colors together. after the six minutes mark the eye shadows are set and become budge-proof to the extreme. That's why shadow sticks are third only to the husband and my iPad as my travel companions.
Bottom Line: There are still six or seven colors that I want to get.
Kiko Milano Long Lasting Stick Eyeshadow ($12 each, made in Italy) are available at Kiko stores at select malls (there's one at the Garden State Plaza) and online from kikocosmetics.com/en-us/. They frequently run sales or do a clearance on discontinued colors.
Good morning Gaia!
ReplyDeleteI found reference to your site while on Best Things in Beauty and am so glad I did. I have been looking over many of your posts and am delighted to be here. I almost fell over when I read this post though. Several years ago, I was in Italy and found a line by the name of Wjcon (now renamed to Wycon). I bought loads of goodies there but they do not have locations here or ship to the US. My purchases included some eye sticks almost identical to these. On a return trip to Italy last year, I saw the Kiko store but did not stop in there. Your review so encouraged me as I was really smitten with the Wycon line. Great products (and I mean eyes, iips, and face) and great prices. However, since Italy is not right around the corner from Arizona, I am tickled to find another line that may have similar offerings. Looks like a trip to the Vegas location may be in my future. Thank you so much for the post - you have another happy reader here!
Cheers!
I saw this post right before I took a business trip to NYC. My hotel was right across from the Westfield World Trade Center and guess what? They have a Kiko store. I had never seen one before in person so I had to stop in and pick up a few of these shadow sticks along with some other items. Thanks for the recommendation!
ReplyDeleteJust picked up a gorgeous glittery brown and planning to go back for the most regal of royal purples I've seen in a while :)
ReplyDeleteAh, Gaia, I am a fellow fangirl for these sticks - they really do stick! I am absolutely hooked on numbers 38 and 18 and use them SO often for work.
ReplyDeleteI just looked on the UK Kiko website and it doesn't look like they're still doing my favourite eyeliner, dagnabit! If they still have them in the US, check them out - it's Number 14 in the twist-up eyeliner in black packaging. Fantastic stuff.
I can't get over the quality of the Kiko makeup overall - really fantastic.
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