From a young age I have been brought up to appreciate buying quality shoes over cheap ones that only last a couple of weeks. The logic being of course that whilst quality shoes are more of an investment, they will last longer and provide comfort to my feet. By and large this has meant that I mainly buy leather shoes (although do occasionally buy the odd pair of canvas ones) and therefore like to keep them clean to look as good as new and also to look smart in the office job that I work in.

As a result of the above, a staple product that dwells in our shoe cupboard is a tin of Kiwi Parade Gloss Shoe Polish in black. Whilst it does not get out much, it is a very useful tool for those important meetings or simply when I have an interview or special occasion and want my shoes to gleam.

==The Product==

This shoe polish comes packaged in a small tin which houses 50ml of black shoe polish. The tin is simply presented, with a black lid and shiny metallic base. The text is clearly visible across the lid illustrating a gold banner branded with the words 'Parade Gloss'. The tin houses a small metallic clip on its body which serves to flip off the lid. Inside the polish looks matt black in colour and has quite a thick consistency which reminds me of a paste. It is the smell of the polish that I love as it conjures up memories of my childhood and this smell I can only describe as being consistent with the smell of leather and polish.

The beauty of this product in my opinion is that it is said to provide a number of qualities to the leather which include cleaning it, protecting it, nourishing it and giving shine. Kiwi state that this polish can be used on both smooth and grained leather for the same effect.

==Price and Availability==

This shoe polish can be bought from a number of supermarket stores as well as those that sell just about anything and of course shoe shops. I bought my tin from Tesco around a year ago where it is currently stocked for £1.85. Having done a bit of research, I have found that you can expect to pay around £1.80 to £2.20 for this product which makes it a bargain considering the amount of times it can be used.

==Application and Use==

This shoe polish can be used in a variety of ways however I am a big fan of using the brush and cloth technique as this was how I was bought up to clean leather. I start out by ensuring that I have a liberal covering of newspaper over the floor as this can cause a mess if not. I then dip the ends of a stiff bristled brush into the polish and rub quite roughly into the outer leather of my shoes. I like to provide quite a liberal coating of polish over one shoe before leaving the first shoe to sit for a couple of minutes and turning to coat the other shoe in the same way. I like to believe that this allows the polish to have sufficient time to soak into the leather before it is rubbed off especially in shoes which are highly scuffed.

After the shoes have sat, I take a soft cloth, the microfiber ones being particularly good for this purpose and rub the leather until it is smooth and does not have any residue on it. I also add here that coming from a military family; I do like to do the old spit and polish technique as I find that it makes my shoes gleam. The end result of this process, my shoes look as good as new, the leather is soft and supple and my shoes have a high shine which is noticeable when you remember what the shoes were like before cleaning.

==My Summary==

I have found that my tin of Kiwi shoe polish has been a crucial product in our home as it has restored my black leather shoes when they look scuffed and tired. I have used my polish on a number of different pairs of shoes, ranging from my black pumps to stiletto court shoes to my partners black loafers and have had the same excellent results each time. In addition to this being an effective touch up, it also has kept my shoes going for longer, is an easy way to clean shoes as it takes a matter of minutes and does not cost much to use. However, I would add that to prevent little black marks in my shoes cupboard where the polish brush gets moved around I have now invested in a little basket to store my cloths and brush.

This is a quality product that means my shoes will probably look new for many years ahead. As a result I would recommend it to anyone who wears black leather shoes on a daily basis. This product scores an excellent five stars out of five from me.

Thanks for reading! x