So...
before Christmas, dashing around Westfield getting all my last bits and bobs for everyone I wandered into what I will now describe as a magical grotto full of all the things I love. And it was called Kiko!  Haha, basically its a little shop that is full of beautiful make up bits and pieces, the range of products and the actual shop are on par with MAC.  But here's the extra amazing bit - the products are, dare i say it, better than MAC! Shock!  My MAC story is that I was obsessed with them at first, but now am down to 2foundations, 2 lippies 2 paint pots, and a 4-pan palette, because frankly, I find the pigmentation of their eye products just do not show up on my skin, and many of their lippies just aren't forgiving at all on my perpetually dry lips.  
Anyways, back to Kiko.  On that first trip, as a Christmas promotion, all eyeshadows were down to £3! So I picked up 118 - a very light, very shimmery gold that I use on the inner corner of my eye, under the brow bone, and as a face highlighter.  It is incredibly pretty, and so soft, buttery and pigmented, and looks amaze balls when MAC Constructivist Paint Pot is used all over the lid, and 118 is used as the inner colour.
118, 178, 180
Next up is 178, a very dark charcoal-cum-black with teeny tiny silver and dark purple iridescent sparkle running through it.  Now unlike a lot of people, my everyday eye always has black in it - I find the shape of my eye requires a lot of definition in the outer corner, and find that a lot of blacks just don't cut the mustard.  This eyeshadow has all the amazing properties 118, with the added extra of sparkle! This also is amazing over MAC's Blackground Paint Pot for amazing, forget-me-not night-time eyes, with lashings of mascara and eyeliner!
118, 178, 180
The last of my single eyeshadows is 180, a matte carbon black, again with amazing colour pay-off.  I use this nearly every day, as my crease and outer corner definition, but it also applies incredibly well on a wet brush as an intense eyeliner.
I came across a kind of bargain bucket, where I chanced upon a load of beautiful quad palettes.  I purchased a nude one for my sister, and to be honest, I want one myself!  But for some reason I ended up being a bit of a daredevil and purchasing a more colourful palette for myself!  So I picked up the 'Color Fever Eyeshadow Palette - Luxurious Gold and Plum.'  
The packaging of these palettes is just wonderful, they come in a box, and when you open it up a little suede/velvet-type pouch falls out (very similar to a Guerlain one I used to own), and when you finally pull it out, the actual compact is a bronzey-goldy colour that it just lovely.  So, onto the colours: I generally use nudes, browns and blacks, but occasionally I like to add a little pop of colour (dark-toned colour) onto the inner third or middle third of my lid, and sometimes under the lower lash line.  
This quad has in it a series of gorgeous dark-toned, rich colours, and to be honest, is everything I wanted my (much more expensive) Guerlain palette to be.  Top left is a Champagne-gold, top right is a dirty olive gold, bottom left is a mid to dark purple, and bottom right is my obligatory black.  The top two are full of very fine shimmer, and are very, very buttery and pigmented.  The bottom two are more matte, with sporadic shimmer, and are slightly chalkier - although don't get me wrong, pigmentation is still incredible!  The palette has a full sized mirror, and clicks shut very satisfyingly! I can't guarantee that I will wear all these shades, after all, I am a creature of habit, but I am ridiculously pleased with it!  I can't remember how much these were anymore, but they were definitely under the £10 mark.
Next I wandered over to the lip section of the shop and ended up picking up the Kiko Pencil Lipglosses in 07 and 09.  These lip pencils are very much between a lipliner, a lipstick and a lipgloss.  They are in the form of a pencil, apply very smoothly, last about as long as a lipstick on the lips, and have a shine like a lipgloss.  07 is a milky pink, such a beautiful colour, very like my Nars Turkish delight, and 09 is a light beige-nude, which is effortless for day-to-day, and brightens the face!  I also picked up a darker nude for my mother, which she loves! On my second trip to Kiko, being pleased with the two I already had I picked up another one in 02, a shimmery bronzey-nude, which I have been wearing non-stop! And my mother decided to pick up another one for herself, being so impressed with the first one!  From what I remember, these were £3.90
Double Glam Eyeliner, Gloss Pencils - 07, 09, 02
Double Glam Eyeliner, Gloss Pencils - 07, 09, 02
The last of my second Kiko haul was an eyeliner that was on sale - the Double Glam Eyeliner in 09, a dark chocolatey brown, and a dark plummy colour.  I think it was about £3.90 in the sale, and frankly, I love this product!  I think the only way to describe this is if my Avon Supershock eyeliner had a child with an Urban Decay Liner.  It is buttery, it is pigmented, the colours are gorgeous AND the wear is ridiculously good, and completely smudge-proof!  I am definitely going back for more!
Double Glam Eyeliner brown and  purple, Gloss Pencils - 07, 09, 02
Double Glam Eyeliner brown and  purple, Gloss Pencils - 07, 09, 02
So there is my Kiko haul, and thoughts on it - hope you found this interesting, and maybeeeeee you'll venture away from MAC to try out these cheaper, but in my eyes, better products!
Love A.x