It’s been a while since I last tried KIKO’s base makeup. I’m not big on second chances, and my previous experience was not amazing, but KIKO seems to have matured in that department, so why not? I decided to let it show me if it truly changed, and so I set up a date with their Dolce Diva Powder Foundation in the shade Light Beige.
I will own up to my shallowness and confess that what pulled me in was the weaving pattern this compact has. But the SPF 50 was a point in its favor as well. I think technically this is limited edition, but “limited” for this brand means that it’s available for about two years. The Dolce Diva collection came out Summer 2021, and in true KIKO fashion the entire shade range is still available and for sale for 40% off currently.
I used this foundation both as such and as a setting powder. I chose shade Light Beige and it’s a tad dark for my sickly pale complexion, but I can make it work. It should be better over the Summer, and that’s a good thing (due to the SPF 50). The finish is matte, plain and simple.
When I used it as a foundation, I applied it with a wet Beauty Blender sponge over just moisturiser. I was able to build it up to a medium coverage (as you can see in the picture above), and it did not cling to dry patches – in fact, it smoothed out my pores – but it sucked all the moisture from my face, and I could feel my skin tighten like it was about to find out if it got into it’s first choice college. I was expecting the foundation to crack throughout the day because of it, but it didn’t.
Apart from my undereyes looking drier than typical, the blurring effect on the skin remained like so, and I had some fading around the cheeks and the nose area after about 8 hours (with no primer and no setting spray) and some creasing around the nose.
As a setting powder, I used it dry over liquid foundation. For the picture above I used it over a light coverage foundation so you can see how it evens out skin with a light base coverage. The difference in the photos is very subtle, but you can see the little marks on my forehead are more faded with the light layer of powder. Also to be noted, had I applied the powder foundation with a wet sponge (or just keep adding more layers) on top of the foundation, I would have been able to get full coverage. Using it this way, I did not feel my skin getting dehydrated, but the finish the powder gives is still pretty matte. I felt that this way my makeup had better longevity (10 hours with minimal nose fading, and I wore a mask for some of that time).
This is supposed to be water and sweat resistant. I can’t really confirm or deny because I hardly sweat and considering it’s winter, the way I could test the water resisting claim is to go out in the rain – and I’m definitely not that devoted. But given what I know about the foundation, it definitely seems like a great option for summer, because it controls oil pretty well without looking too powdery (and the SPF 50, of course).
It’s 9 grams of product, and the compact has a mirror and a compartment for a touch-up sponge. Practical for on the go, as they claim. They also claim it has a coconut scent, which I agree to a point – there is a hint of coconut but the main note is sweet and vanilla-y. It’s not overpowering though, I can’t even detect it when applying the product, I have to put my nose up to the pan to catch a whiff of it.
Overall, it’s a solid product. It applies well over liquid foundation and gives a slight blurring effect to the skin. My only gripe with it is longevity, because it could be better, but I think that’s a non issue if you add primer and/or setting spray, or use this just as a setting powder.
