At Beauty Bible, we’ve always felt a bit mean about spending loads on evening wear, when it so rarely gets an outing. The whole ‘cost-per-wear’ thing. And we kinda feel the same about spending a lot on party make-up, which might only be used a few times before it’s consigned to the make-up drawer for another year.

So, this week, we’re sharing the details of a little pre-Christmas season splurge at KIKO Milano, the incredibly affordable Italian make-up line not only sells via the internet, but has actual stores in places like Brighton, Cambridge, Birmingham and Bath, as well as central London (where we had our mini-spree).

You can use this to glam up your everyday make-up in a flash, or – with the luxury of time (and when did we ever have that, pray?), to create a glam look from scratch.

Blue Me Natural Look Lip & Cheek/£9.99. Brilliant for smooshing into cheeks for an instant pick-me-up of weary-looking skin as you head from desk to dinner; a dab is all you need (our preferred shade is 03 Rose). It’s a moisturising formula, delivering a healthy-looking sheen rather than shine, and we prefer this for cheeks than lips. NB The website says this has low quantities available, so you might want to step on the gas.

Smoky Eye Pencil/£6.99. As good as many pencils four times the price (we kid you not), this is really charcoal-black, gliding on smoothly and non-draggily for a crisp line (if you keep it sharp), or smudgeable with the brush tip.

3D Hydra Lipgloss/£9.99. An astonishingly good lip gloss, for the price: not sticky, really lip-quenching, long-lasting and only very lightly flavoured. So fab, actually, that Jo went back for a second shade after first buying Shade 15 (a sheery cherry red); Shade 10 is a deep strawberry pinky-red, shot through with very party-ish gold shimmer. Impressively, 29 shades altogether.

Joyful Holiday Metal Power Nail Lacquer/£5.99. Again, make it snappy: this slightly downsized nail polish, in 02 Red, is selling super-fast. (There’s a shimmering cranberry and a pale gold, too.) Definitely a Christmassy choice, going straight on our toes for a party-worthy pedicure, this has amazing depth of gleam, and a single coat offers exceptional coverage. (The gold ball comes off, revealing an easy-to-hold lid, while the brush is generous and covers in a couple of quick strokes.)

So, we SHALL go to the ball – and we won’t be breaking the bank, to do it.

kikocosmetics.com

Prize Draws