I have very pale, extremely cool toned skin (Hiro Space Balm in the lightest shade, Altaira, is still a shade too dark and slightly too yellow for me) so I have trouble finding lipstick that flatters me. I'm a classic Winter but can wear some Summer colours, probably because I was white blonde as a child. Pictures online, even swatches on pale skin/white paper or on the lips of similarly pale women aren't very helpful and can be quite misleading as a result of my very unusual colouring. Purple shades are by far the most flattering lip colours on me ( though dark pinks and cool reds look good too), and I look better in darker shades than lighter ones. Light colours just look bad, as do any warm or brown shades.

This lipstick colour is described as a 'deep blackberry', which I think implies a purple-based shade. In reality, it is a dark cool toned red with a lot of black, a little brown and a little purple/blue. I was hoping it would be mostly purple with some black and red...the brown in this, though it is only a tiny amount and probably not noticeable on others with warmer colouring, makes the colour look somewhat muted. I'm not a fan of muted colours, I like bright, dramatic makeup instead and feel that it looks better on me. But for those rare occasions when I wish for more subtle look, Kapow is a good choice. I prefer to apply a medium amount on top of a nice lip balm like Hurraw, as applied heavily it is a bit too gothic looking and the red tone isn't visible.

The formula is quite nice; the ingredients are extremely high quality AND organic and the pigmentation is very rich so a little bit goes a long way. Unfortunately it is not very moisturising (as is usually the case with very pigmented lipsticks), but it is a bit more moisturising than most natural lipsticks I've tried (100% Pure Semi Matte Cocoa Butter and Kjaer Weis lipsticks are much drier). It is not as moisturising as my Holy Grail of moisturising lipsticks, Nudus, however. Overall, in both colour and texture, Kapow is extremely similar to Nui lipstick in Tiare, but Tiare is more moisturising and a tiny bit less brown/muted and more purple. Kapow applies very evenly though while Tiare is a bit patchy and requires a lip brush to look good. I like the packaging which allows me to see the contents and the price is very fair. The smell is soft and pleasant, as I prefer.

I am not sure yet if I will buy this again, but I am interested in trying more Hiro lipsticks in other colours. Unfortunately there aren't many shades that appeal and work well with my colouring, so I really hope they add more colours. Bam looks likely to be pretty muted and similar to Akona by Nui, and Roarr is lighter than I prefer my reds and very similar to Aroha by Nui - and I own both those Nui lipsticks already plus Tiare. I love mixing Kapow or Tiare with Ahora to create a beautiful, deep bordeaux red, so Roarr would probably work well in place of Aroha for that purpose. I actually prefer my 50/50 mixed bordeaux red to any of the lipstick colours above on their own. I wish I could find a dark blue lipstick to make more purple toned colours! So far I have not found any true purple lipsticks, they all look magenta at best on me, even ones that look purple on everyone else!