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KIKO Skincare - Anti Spot Skin Trainer Review

Happy New Year everyone!

I obtained these bad boys in that infamous Black Friday haul...easily the most expensive products I've ever purchased from KIKO.


For some reason, the Skin Trainer serum is a red box encased in a silver box...strange packaging choice, but OK.

The anti-spot serum is a thin-ish liquid with an SPF of 20. Leaves no white cast or what have you on my dark skin. Also, it absorbs extremely quickly, very important when I'm in hurry in the morning. I've been using it in the mornings (not in the evenings although twice daily application is recommended) since Black Friday, (so a month and a bit now) and my skin seems more even toned and smoother, although I have recently started using a Foreo rip off and occasional AHA so they could also be responsible. I've had two spots since using this product. Annoyingly, my nose is still pretty oily, though that too has reduced somewhat recently...I'm more inclined to credit my skin trying to adjust to the colder/drier weather than this product though.


Skin Trainer is the white liquid on the extreme left.

I have slight (but noticeable) dark discolouration on both of my cheeks which has definitely faded since I started using this product. It's still there, but definitely improved which is a massive bonus.
The serum is hydrating, but not hydrating enough to skip moisturiser for me personally. I use this, then moisturiser (currently trying Clinique's Moisture Surge) followed by the CC Blur and then the KIKO BB cream.
After application, skin looks a little brighter and more refreshed but I wouldn't say it works miracles like it implies on the box.

All in all, I'm really pleased with this serum! Would recommend to anyone interested to at least visit the store and enquire about it and whether it'd suit your skin's needs. As promised on the packaging, it reduces dark spots (also red ones if anyone is prone to those), makes me appear a little more radiant and makes me look more even.

Has anyone else tried this? I find it hard to find English-language reviews for this product so would be interested to hear your views!

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Christmas Countdown Giveaway - Thursday's Prizes

Happy Christmas Eve!



Prizes:
Revlon 'Love is On' gift set 
  • 'Perfect Pair' gel envy nail polish
  • Colorstay 16 hour eyeshadow palette
  • Photoready 3D Volume mascara
  • Lip Butter (doesn't say which one is included, I guess it's a 'nude' shade) 
KIKO 'Skin Trainer - Anti Spot' SPF 20 serum
Clinique Sculptwear Lift and Contour serum for face and neck
OPI 'Avojuice' coconut and melon hand and body lotion
Barry M Gelly Nail Paint in 'Sparkling Ruby'
Mini BedHead Manipulator hair styler putty gel thingy
Multiple random skin care samples

Rules:

 Must enter through the Rafflecopter widget below and be a follower of this blog on Bloglovin'.
Unfortunately I can't accept any responsibility for lost or damaged items in the post :(
I'll contact the winner by 27/12/2015. If a respnse is not received after five days then I'll have to choose another winner.
Giveaway ends midnight on Boxing Day!

GOGOGO 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Christmas Countdown Giveaway - Tuesday's Prizes

The plan: five days of giveaways, all open internationally, all products purchased by me. All entries will close midnight on the 26/12/2015, London time.

Today's prizes: 




KIKO Angel Kiss Set (lip scrub and lip balm) in 'Champagne and Strawberries'
KIKO 'Innocent Desire' lipgloss pencil trio
KIKO 'Creamy Lipgloss' in shade 109
KIKO '3D Instant Volume' lipgloss in shade 216
Shampoo and Foundation samples

Rules:

 Must enter through the Rafflecopter widget below and be a follower of this blog on Bloglovin'.
Unfortunately I can't accept any responsibility for lost or damaged items in the post :(
I'll contact the winner by 27/12/2015. If a respnse is not received after five days then I'll have to choose another winner.
Giveaway ends midnight on Boxing Day!

GOGOGO

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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KIKO 'Skin Evolution' Concealer in Shade 07 Review

Let's ease into this marathon reviewing session with a concealer. Sounds good, right?



This is the third darkest concealer shade in Kiko's 'Skin Evolution' range. Nine shades, all numbered. I was actually really impressed with how good a match this is for my skin, as I usually struggle to match my undertones with high street brands.


 It's very reasonably priced at £5.50. I ended up paying less than that for it as I was shopping during their Black Friday sale, making it even more of a bargain. Also, Kiko do some weird thing where you essentially have a loyalty card app on your phone, but you rack up points fairly quickly. You seem to get them for social media interactions (i.e writing reviews or liking their page) as well as in store/online purchases which is pretty decent, and the discounts once you reach 2,000/4,000 points aren't bad at all.
This concealer matches my skin so well that I don't even need to powder on top (obviously I do for longevity reasons, but not for colour match reasons). So I really, really wanted to like it...
Admittedly, poor Shade 07 (aka 'Cognac', didn't realised Kiko gave it's concealers names as well as numbers) has a tricky job. About two months ago, I cracked the side of my mouth really badly, and now have a grim black (hyperpigmentation) mark at the side of it which I refuse to leave unconcealed if I have to leave the house. While I work on various skincare 'fixes' to even out the marks, I need a reliable concealer to maintain the illusion of evenly pigmented skin.

Still, even application is a bit tricky with this concealer. Too much concealer and it all pills up and looks very obvious as soon as powder is dusted over the top. But any less and the marks are still visible. Doesn't really set once applied, so isn't the longest lasting concealer. It certainly can't handle a 9-5 uni day with lunch, and I have to take it with me to reapply throughout the day - not a problem I had with my previous concealer, which was ironically a a highlighting one designed for the undereye area!

 As always, your mileage may vary with this. It's cheap, gorgeous colour match (and fantastic colour range - nine shades is nothing to be sniffed at) but unfortunately can't live up to expectations, performance wise.

 Has anyone else tried this concealer?

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Black Friday, or why I have no money (The KIKO Haul to end all Hauls)

Black Friday 2015 left me with around 50p in my current account, no exaggeration. I'll explain.
In life, some people have willpower, and others really don't. I fall into the latter category. And in my university town, there is a huge shopping centre that my village raised-more-sheep-than-humans mentality struggles to comprehend at the best of times. In the newly opened KIKO store, they were offering a massive buy three get three free deal (basically everything half price but cleverly locking you into buying shitloads of product) and that was the beginning of the end for me and my bank account. Various online deals sealed the blow. 

Major culprits:

ASOS (damn you for stocking Illamasqua)
Jack Wills 
Superdrug
Lookfantastic
Cult Beauty
Microsoft (in all fairness, I've been saving for the Surface 3 all year)
Apple (complete impulse)
And Boots' 4 for £10 on Revlon Just Bitten Balm Stains finished me off. KIKO started it though. You shoulder most of the blame. Erm, and me and my lack of self control. 

Just to remind you guys of the damage:

 
 That's not even all of it. Let me know what you guys would want to see reviewed first.
 
 Superdrug:



Impulse Primark buys:
Reviews for all coming soon.

Please comfort me with your own Black Friday purchases in the comments?

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