Review: Pixi Lip Blush

PRODUCT: Pixi Lip Blush (No. 2 Purity)

CLAIMS: “Gives your lip color and shape a boost…Tints and tones your lips, creating a blushing healthy hue”

INGREDIENTS: Water, propylene glycol, alcohol, peg-30 glyceryl stearate, PVP, peg/ppg-14/4 dimethicone, phenoxyethanol, potassium sorbate, panthenol, frangrance (parfum), methylparaben, butylparaben, ethylparaben, isobutylparaben, propylparaben, linalool, benzyl alcohol geraniol. May contain: Red 28, Yellow 6, Blue 1, Red 22, Yellow 5, Green 3.

PRICE: $18 at Target

VEGAN/VEGETARIAN?: unknown

CRUELTY-FREE?: unknown

ECO-FRIENDLY?: unknown

[I am unsure about these last three questions, and I will try to update with answers.]

Lip Blush has a marker-type applicator.

Four shades of Lip Blush are available at Target, and two additional shades are available at pixibeauty.com. I chose Purity, which is depicted on the swatch, tube and box as a “nude,” brownish color. The box recommends that Lip Blush be applied to dry, clean, grease-free lips. They claim that it stays on for three to eight hours and that one tube lasts for 100-150 applications.

The Lip Blush tube is shaped like a marker and has a felt-tip applicator like one, too. This isn’t really a new idea; this type of applicator has been used for lip stains by Sephora, Bella Il Fiore, and Avon’s mark line, among others. But I do think this is a more effective way to apply a water-based lip stain than the brush provided with Benetint. This applicator is also the most travel-friendly kind of lip color I’ve found: It doesn’t leak, melt or break easily.

You may want to exfoliate your lips before application because any dryness or flakiness will be highlighted by the stain (use a lip exfoliator or just gently scrub your lips with a toothbrush or washcloth); this also helps clean oils and grease off your lips for better staining. Application is simple: Line your lips with the tip of the pen and then fill in.

After application, the texture is slightly tacky, which worried me. But after a minute or so, the tackiness disappears. I find lip stains like this (Benetint included) to be a little drying (especially when used immediately after exfoliating), so I usually top with gloss or balm, though the oil in a balm/gloss contributes to the stain wearing off more quickly. For comfort, smooth on a bit of Smith’s Rosebud Salve. For a longer-lasting stain, skip it.

Despite the color depicted on the packaging, Purity, on me, looks dark pink. My lips are naturally pink, so this enhanced my natural lip color. I appreciate the matte quality of the stain; it looks very natural. The Lip Blush smells like a fruity cocktail, but the smell dissipates within moments. I didn’t notice a distinct taste.

If I use balm, or if I eat or drink while wearing this stain, it disappears within two to three hours. I have not been able to test it past it much past those limits (I yield to lip balm use within the hour, normally).

PROS:

• Good applicator
• Travel-friendly
• Natural, matte color
• Reasonable staying power (2-3 hours)

CONS:

• Can be drying
• May need to exfoliate before application
• Color not as expected
• Expensive

VERDICT: Though the color wasn’t exactly what I expected, I still liked the result. I wear natural-looking makeup often, so I can see myself using this pen a lot. The dryness is easily remedied, and since the packaging is well-suited to pocket or purse, it’s simple to reapply. I would definitely buy this again.

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My Target Finally Has Jemma Kidd/Pixi/NP Set

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My Target Finally Has Jemma Kidd/Pixi/NP Set

Well, after my disappointment on Sunday (target.com said the new Jemma Kidd, etc. lines were available at my local Target and they weren’t), I found a Target in town that has these displays set up.

The Experience

The displays are quite attractive—backlit white translucent panels—and look distinct from the surrounding mass-market beauty lines. My Target had the Jemma Kidd items on the endcap (a good choice, I think), and the Pixi and NP Set items around the corner, in the aisle.

And, as promised, lots of testers. The only items that didn’t have testers available were the palettes in each line. Instead, open palettes were displayed in clear acrylic boxes. So if you were hoping to test any of the palettes, it’s not gonna happen. I think I was probably the first tester on some of the items (I know I broke the seal on the Pixi Eye Color Sealer.) And, boy, did I have fun—the back of my hand is still covered with trails of lipstick and shimmery eyeliner.

The testers really seemed to attract a crowd. At least five other women (and two little girls) stopped to test while I was making my rounds. It’s thoughtful of Target to include an eye-level combo mirror/Kleenex box/trash container with the display, so that one can clean up one’s hands and keep on testing.

What I Thought

Jemma Kidd

The Jemma Kidd eyeshadows were nicely pigmented and felt incredibly creamy for a powder shadow (reminds me of Shu Uemura eyeshadows). I was tempted by the colors Editor and Vintage but passed because I already own similar shades. I only noticed one matte eyeshadow shade; JK is big on shimmers, it seems. If you like Urban Decay’s liquid liner, JK has some great, boldly colored liners to check out. Another interesting product was the Lip ID Color-Adapt Lip Gloss. On the back of my hand, the gloss turned a delicate pink shade: it’s worth another look on my next visit. None of the stain/flush/blush concentrates really suited me, nor did the Sheer Vanity Gloss & Glaze—both seemed too sheer for me.

Pixi

I was more impressed with the Petra Strand’s Pixi line than I thought I would be. Online, the colors and products looked kind of boring, but they were better in person. The Illuminating Tint and Conceal appears to be not a sponge applicator, as I thought before, but a kind of pressed powder in a tube [CORRECTION: Upon a second, closer look, there is a dome of pressed powder on the cap, but when you unscrew the cap, there’s a tinted moisturizer in the tube.] I’m a fan of stains and washes, so I liked the cheek gels (three shades) and water blushes (two shades), and the lip blushes (four shades). Another nice lip choice was the Rose Lip Treat, a cross between a balm and sheer lipstick. Pixi had more palettes than the other lines, mostly of eyeshadows—but don’t overlook the Neutralizing Cover-Up palette (ignore the target.com description; these aren’t just eyeshadows), which is mixed in with the all the shadow sets. At $28, with eight shades of concealer, this seems like a better deal than the NP Set 5-Color Concealer Palette at $25. Unfortunately, I could not try either palette since there are no palette testers. Pixi had several other interesting items (Eye Bright kits, Lid and Line sticks, Brow Lift), and I will definitely be re-visiting this line on my next Target trip.

NP Set

The packaging on Napoleon Perdis’ NP Set line has a sophisticated/clinical look. But nothing in the line really stood out on this initial look-through, other than the dual-ended powder eye shadows. (Even then, I prefer the Jemma Kidd shadows.) The concealer set that originally intrigued me appears to be too red/pink for my complexion, though I was not able to test this palette. I noticed the same phenomenon in the blushes and lip products—they seemed geared toward women with red or pink undertones. But perhaps this was just my perception under the fluorescent lights. I will re-evaluate the NP Set line on my next visit, but my initial impression is indifference. [On a second visit, I determined that the powders and foundations seem appropriate for yellow undertones.]

What I Bought

In an earlier post, I mentioned several items that I thought looked promising, but the only one of those I ended up bringing home today was the Pixi Lip Blush in Purity. Working on a limited budget, I also chose JK Jemma Kid I-Tech Liquid Eyeliner in Abstract. In the discount store environment, surrounded by much cheaper cosmetics, I definitely felt that $18 was a lot to pay for each item. (I believe this was truly a function of the surroundings; I doubt I’d feel as troubled at Sephora.)

JK Liner in Abstract, $18

Pixi Lip Blush in Purity, $18

Look forward to a review of both of these items in the coming week, after I’ve had a chance to give them a good test run.

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