Kiko Velvet Mat Lipstick 612 Strawberry Pink

I placed my Kiko order not long after I found Bourjois's Nude-ist, which was an experimental shade for me and it turned out to be fantastic. I wanted to further expand my collection by get off the beaten tracks once again and in the immense amount of Kiko's lipsticks in different shades as well as formulas, I decided on a medium natural shade called Strawberry Pink from the Velvet Mat range. For the longest time I wasn't sure about this shade on me, but yesterday I put it on and though: "Hey, I think I finally actually like it".

Strawberry Pink is a warm medium natural pink-rose-brown shade that is several shades darker than my lips as well as a bit warmer, so I don't think I can pull it off as a my-lip-but-better-shade, instead it's more of a deeper version of a nude lipstick on me. It has a tiny bit of a gold shimmer, but it's not visible on the lips.

The formula is light and creamy, also not matte. The finish it gives is that of a classic creamy lipstick, so don't be fooled by the name. Because it's a light formula, there are occasions when I find this shade a bit tight on the lips, especially after a prolonged wear, but in the first hours after application it's very comfortable to wear.

I don't know why it looks like it settled into every line on all full face pictures I took, but in real life it does not look like that.

Staying power is average and I mean average for a creamy lipstick, not a matte one. It lasts perhaps four or so hours, it depends on how much you talk, eat, drink or touch your lips. When you eat it leaves a ring of colour, so it needs to be reapplied.

The packaging is just awesome to me. You need to press the bottom part, so the lipstick pops out, which is so cool. The peach outer layer has a holographic shine, while inside it's a mix of gold and silver colour, which obviously gather fingerprints like crazy as you can see from the pictures.

The lipstick has a sweet vanilla scent.

It took more than two months for this shade to grow on me, but I think I finally like it. I don't see myself wearing as often as Nude-ist, though. This would be a lovely nude on medium skin tones, especially if you have a warm skin tone. The description of the formula is very deceiving just to warn you and also if you tend to have dry lips, this might make them feel tight, despite the creamy texture.

Have a great day!