Kiko Colour Fever Eye Shadow Palette

Kiko have launched their Limited edition colour fever palettes available in four colour options.
 Each quad contains a baked eyeshadow formula producing a metallic finish to the eye.
 The compacts are similar to Bobbi Brown in style with a mirrored lid.

 

 We think these quads are such great quality considering they are only £13.90 each. The colour payoff is good although the darker colours take a little building up. I didn't find that they dropped and they blend nicely. What more could you want!

Palette No 100 in Unexpected Rosy Taupe is a beautiful combination of colours.

 

It's hard to show off the multi coloured sheen that comes off of these shadows. The top left colour is similar to Vex from MAC in that it has a slight lilac undertone. The top right colour is similar to MAC Satin taupe. A soft taupe but with flecks of subtle green and gold glitter.

 Bottom left is a shimmery white gold and bottom right is an almost black plum with a lilac glitter.

Top Left and top Right shade.

Bottom Left and bottom Right shade.

Palette No 101 in Coral Burgundy is a more dramatic colour palette that makes for an alternative to the standard brown smoky eye.

 The rosy warm tones may not work on all especially if you suffer from under eye darkness. These shades do make a blue eye look turquoise bright though and also look stunning on a darker skin tone.

Top Left and top Right shade

Bottom Left and bottom Right shade

Colours don't come out quite as pink as they look in the palette. The bottom left shade looks very peachy in the palette but a delicate soft champagne on the skin.

* Thanks to one of our subscribers for flagging up that if you are purchasing Kiko online there is a minimum order amount of £25.00 which makes a bargain palette not so much of a bargain unfortunately.

Get hold of these palettes for a limited time only from Kiko on the link below...

http://www.kikocosmetics.co.uk/make-up/eyes/eyeshadows/Color-Fever-Eyeshadow-Palette/p-KM00309001

Clarins Opalescence Spring Collection

 This collection includes a limited edition face and blush powder. The powder is pressed into a gold compact with a light reflecting lid reminding me of bubbles!

To follow the bubble theme there are circles of different colours incorporated into this powder. The main bulk of the powder is a natural peachy toned powder which could be used all over the face (on a lighter skin) as a regular matte powder.
 The warmer taupe and peach/pink can be used on the cheeks. There is a flash of gold through this powder which does transfer onto the rest of the powder giving it a fine golden glitter. This gold streak is only superficial though and doesn't run all the way through so once you have used this a couple of times the gold will be gone. I prefer it matte anyway so it's no big deal that the gold disappears.
This compact is £30.00.

Also for the cheeks are four different cream blushers. Although these are cream they go on with a matte texture and leave a more velvet finish rather than a creamy, gloss finish.

Top (L) Peach (R) Candy, Bottom (L) Grenadine (R) Rosewood

The colour payoff is not very strong and takes a bit of building up. Great for people who like a really natural tint to the cheeks or for those with a very fair skin tone. These are £18.00 each.

We sampled the single eyeshadow in this collection called Smoky plum. It's a mineral eye shadow so it has a high reflective finish. A cross between a grey and a lilac with a silver fine glitter pigment shot through it. This is £17.00.

The lipsticks are my favourite of the collection. The colours are all vibrant and super glossy. They feel comfortable on the lips but due to the moisturised finish they do wear quickly. Colour transfers onto the lips much more natural than it looks in the tube so don't be put off by the vivid colours. These are £18.00 each.

Coral Tulip, Pink Orchid, Tropical Pink

If the lipsticks are not glossy enough for you then check out the two glosses in this collection.
 One is a totally clear gloss with a creamy texture and the second is a peach shot with a fine gold.
 Lovely texture and smell like Hubba Bubba chewing gum. They are £17.00 each.

 Clarins launch their Opalescence collection this February 2014.
www.clarins.co.uk/‎ 

Ciate Flower Manicure

It is particularly cold outside today but Spring has sprung here at Pixiwoo.

 Ciate have done it again and delivered us a beautiful manicure kit ready for the Spring/Summer season.

A little bit of a hippy at heart I adore this manicure kit. 

Available in two colour options each kit contains a 5ml nail polish, fast dry top coat, nail file, tweezers and two pots of coloured dried flowers.

Kit in Bada Bloom contains an icy baby blue nail polish along with a mixture of purple, turquoise and red dried flowers.

Shape your nails using the included file and the apply two coats of the nail colour ensuring each layer is dry before moving on. I have particularly ridged nails so I needed three coats to make my nails look even.

Colour included is called Ferris Wheel

Next assemble the flowers that you want to use so that you are ready to start applying them.

Apply a layer of the fast dry top coat and whilst this is still wet start laying your selected flowers onto the nail.

Once the flowers are in place apply another coat of the top coat and leave to dry. You can then move onto the next finger.

 

After all fingers are dry simply use the file to buff off any over hanging edges.

The second kit is called Strike a posy.

This set includes a bright pink nail colour and two pots of dried flowers in turquoise, yellow and white.

 The pink nail polish adds a beautiful contrast to the yellow flowers.

This colour is called Candy Floss

 

This kit is more vibrant and clashing but equally as gorgeous.

You can layer different flowers up onto your nail, opt for one flower on each finger or simply apply flowers to an accent finger.

 Once sealed and the edges buffed off these will last on your nails for around 2/3 days if you're careful with them.

 These types of kits are always a little fiddly and it will require patience and a delicate hand to get them to lay how you want without damaging the petals. If you enjoy getting creative with nails and have time on your hands then give it a go.

These kits are available this spring and are £18.00 each.

 http://www.ciate.co.uk/nails?page=1&showall=true

Balance Me Congested Skin Saviour

There is nothing worse than feeling a little bump under the skin knowing that in a couple of days it will be a spot so big you can see it from space.
 Sometimes if you're lucky it will go back down again but to help it back on it's journey to where it came from give this serum a go.

It's in a handy pump style 15ml bottle and the actual serum has a really light gel/lotion texture.
One pump dispenses quite a bit so pump with caution.

I generally tend to use this on spots as soon as you feel them coming. When the skin starts to look red and hot gently massage in a small amount before your moisturiser.
It feels instantly cooling and brings a welcome calming sensation on a frazzled skin.
It doesn't sting, doesn't dry out the skin leaving unsightly dry patches around the blemish and also helps to reduce down any swelling.
 It smells totally natural with a zingy fresh, calming scent.

Whats inside..
99% natural with no mineral oil, silicone's or parabens.
Chamomile, Lavender, Spruce knot and Aloe Vera calm and soothe whilst Lemon, Eucalyptus and May-Chang act as an anti bacterial ingredient.

This is so lightweight it will dry really quickly with no greasy residue so pop it into your bag, re apply throughout the day and after a few seconds you can dab concealer over the top if need be.

It's not going to get rid of your blemish over night but it will certainly calm the situation down a lot when your skin is having a freak out.

This is £16.00 and available from

 https://www.balanceme.co.uk/face/product-family/skin-saviours/skin-saviours-congested-skin-serum/

Kiko Hair Shadow

When it comes to hair, we are pretty boring. Always envious of ladies with a funky hair cut and a vibrant colour.
 Recently there have been lots of celebs rocking a lavender tinge or a baby pink wash to their locks.

 Looks fab but makes me a little nervous on my own hair.

Well if your new year resolution is to step out of your hair comfort zone then check out Kiko's new hair shadow.

  I love the packaging for these. 9g plastic spheres with a twist off lid revealing a domed pad of coloured powder.

The size makes these an easy product to slip in your bag for touch ups and the spherical shape makes it easy to hold in your palm.

The powders are a temporary colour that you can add to you hair to change up your look to match an outfit or your makeup.

They come in these three colours of neon pink, deep lavender and bright blue.

The pigments are strong as you can see but if the vibrancy is too much you can simply put less on and it will be more subtle. Likewise you can layer it up and it will be a strong wash of colour.

Grab a section of hair and run the colour along the lengths or just at the tips. Colour powder comes off easily onto the hair. I would pop a towel around your shoulders just to catch any powder drop down.

 If you twist the lock of hair over the colour it will pick up more pigment.

I applied a layer of the lavender to the tips of my ponytail and then brushed a comb through it to soften.

 

Excuse the dry ends, I need a hair cut!

On a dark hair colour you may need to build the colour up a little more. On highlighted hair be aware that it may need a couple of washes to get it all out as highlighted hair tends to absorb colour more.

On coloured hair I would advise testing a discreet section first to make sure you are happy with how it washes out first.

 Each colour is £8.90.

I'm not sure how this would perform in a British downpour (it's only a powder after all). Getting caught in the rain may result in looking like Jason and his technicolour dream coat.

To avoid this Kiko recommend their hair fixer (£7.90). It's a 75ml bottle of hairspray really. This will fix the hair, lock in the pigment and makes it rainproof although I haven't had an opportunity to try it in the rain yet.

 After looking at the ingredients in this I can't see any reason why it would be different to spraying your bog standard hairspray over the colour.

I really like these. A bit of fun to brighten up January and if you don't like it, just wash it out.

 Get hold of yours from www.kikocosmetics.co.uk

HealGel Face

We have been a fan of the Heal gel intensive cream for ages. Nic used this over her Cesarean scar and it dramatically reduced the redness and kept the skin supple.
Healgel was created by a team of plastic surgeons and a dermatologist who wanted to create a cream that would be safe and effective for use post surgery.

 As we step into the really rubbish weather here in the UK we were keen to try out Healgel Face.
 Firstly it's nice to see a no frills box(at least we know we are not paying extra for packaging). It tells you what it is, when to apply it and lists all the ingredients.  

 

Glycerin is a good ingredient to see at the top. We know this moisture magnet will be drawing moisture to the skin.

 Rice Bran oil will help to soothe itching and reduce inflammation, an essential for this time of year.

 This cream is packed full of omega oils which will nourish, plump and help hydrate the skin. 

 Also present is our old favourite Salicylic acid. This helps the skin to shed dead skin cells and is a god send for a congested, oily skin.

When I think of replenishing, healing creams I always imagine them to be too rich and greasy however this product is more likened to a lotion and absorbs instantly. It is suitable for all skin types although a very dry skin may need to layer up a little more.

 

 Great for people who have scarring, dehydrated skin and whose skin suffers in the winter.
50ml pump action tube is £48.00 which I know is fairly pricey but with all these fab ingredients inside, you know it's going to cost.

Check out Healgel face and other products on their site http://www.healgel.co.uk