Kiko Moon Shadow Water Infused Eyeshadow: A dupe of Chanel’s Stylo Eyeshadows?

When I saw the Kiko Midnight Siren collection (limited edition) in store, I immediately zoomed in on the Moon Shadows, because they reminded me a lot of the Chanel Stylo Eyeshadows that came out in their last summer collection. So, of course, I had to get one shade to test it and see if the two products are indeed dupes!

„Bright eyeshadow stick that feels fresh and clean, thanks to its water-based formula. The velvety, light texture delivers gorgeous tones of the dazzling colours for hours on end. The eyeshadow adheres perfectly to the eyelids and can be blended immediately after application. Thanks to the stick’s tapered point and the smooth texture, the product glides on easily. Available in four colours with a pearlescent finish.“ (Kiko PR)

I’ve worn my shade, Glamour Gold (01) a few times this past week and I like it a lot. The description by Kiko ticks all my boxes for an eyeshadow that is basically a one-sweep-wonder for those lazy days when you want to do an easy eye look that nevertheless looks polished.

Let’s move on to a closer comparison between both products! When I had a look at Chanel’s description of their Stylo Eyeshadows, I found that it’s very similar to Kiko’s description of their stick eyeshadow: “The best-loved eyeshadow stick returns for the season in five shimmering, long-wearing shades. A lightweight, water-infused formula glides on effortlessly and cools lids at the touch for instant comfort.”

So both products promise a formula that cools upon application, a long-wearing texture that is simultaneously lightweight and can be applied easily.

Application

There is no dragging or tugging on the lids with Kiko’s Moon Shadow, because they indeed glide on easily. You’ve some time (not loads, though) to blend out edges, which I do with my fingers. Basically I sweep those across my lid a couple of times until I’ve reached the level of pigmentation that I like and blend a bit – DONE! You can easily use the Moon Shadow as a base and apply some powder eyeshadow on top of it, but I like the colour and sparkle so much that I tend to wear it solo with some liner and lots of mascara. It does feel indeed cool to the touch upon application, which comes from the high water content of those shadows that then evaporates. Literally very cool! In comparison to the Chanel Stylo Eyeshadows I can say that the Kiko Moon Shadows apply very similar, down to the pleasant glide and cool feeling.

Texture

All four shades basically have a base colour with different coloured fine glitter. Nevertheless, the texture feels smooth and light, never heavy or sticky. I didn’t experience any glitter fall-out either. All in all a very nice texture to wear! Again here the Moon Eyeshadows have a very similar texture to Chanel’s Stylo Eyeshadows. The glitter amount in Kiko’s eyeshadows though is higher than this year’s Chanel release – I can say that one of my older Stylos from 2013, Moon River, has a similar (high) amount of glitter than these Kikos.

Longevity

A very pleasant surprise – for me, and over my usual Urban Decay Primer Potion, the Kikos out-perform Chanel. Especially with the last Chanel release of the Stylos I need a primer plus a base and, for the best result, a powder shadow for the crease. The Moon Shadow holds up on its own for about 10 hours easily without any creasing. The base starts to fade a bit around the 8 hour mark.

Colour range

Both Kiko and Chanel eyeshadow sticks are limited edition and somehow limited in their colour range.

Kiko has the following line-up:

01 Glamour Gold

02 Mysterious Chocolate

03 Attractive Plum

04 Glistening Turquoise

The latter three have the aforementioned dark base. Mysterious Chocolate is a brown with golden glitter, while both Plum and Turqoise have a blackened base with purple and blue glitter respectively.

Glamour Gold is by far the lightest of the bunch, a whitish gold that sometimes seems nearly green on my skin. Its glitter though, is a light pink. It reminds me a lot of a-england’s nailpolish She walks in Beauty or Maybelline’s polish Gilded Rose in eyeshadow form. For me (NC15), it’s a quite subdued but striking colour, while on Astrid (NC42) this beauty really pops.

Ingredients

After buying Glamour Gold, I raced home, pulled out my next Stylo Eyeshadow and compared the ingredients. As you can see, they are very, very similar. (Click on pics to make them bigger!)

Conclusion

For me, Chanel’s Stylo Eyeshadows and Kiko’s Moon Shadows are indeed dupes. The formula is nearly indentical, the packaging is very similar (while Chanel’s is black, Kiko’s is purple), the amount of product is nearly identical, and both are made in Italy. The colours, of course, are very different. While I think the Kikos with the blackened base not original at all, I adore the colour I chose, Glamour Gold. I’ve never seen anything like that in eyeshadow form before.

But no matter if dupe or not, I can wholeheartedly recommend Glamour Gold. Both Astrid and I got it, and Astrid’s even considering a back-up! I like not only the unusual colour, but also the ease of application and it’s longevity. Also, the price is hard to beat.

Availability

The collection in which the Moon Shadows are featured, Midnight Siren, is a limited edition. The Moon Shadows are 7,90€/£7.90 and are available either in Kiko stores or Kiko online. It’s already come out in Europe and the UK. To find out more and check the availability in your country, go to www.kikocosmetics.com.