Hey guys! If you follow me on Instagram, you probably already saw the pictures I posted from the recent Pixi Beauty event here in Vancouver last week, where a bunch of Vancouver bloggers were invited to celebrate their launch at Shopper's Drugmart locations across Canada. Yep, that's right, Pixi is back in Canada, and surely much better stocked than it was at Target in that brief shining moment we were allowed our Target stores!
Anyways, as usual at these events, we were given bags full of goodies from the brand to take home and test out, so I thought I would share with you everything I got to try so you can ask for specific reviews of anything you're particularly interested in, and also so you can see some of the products that have already been included in my most recent makeup video.
I'm going to start with the makeup, because honestly that's always what interests me the most, but I did also receive plenty of nice skincare goodies, which will be featured below, and everything will have retail prices listed as well, for anyone curious. Where I've tried things, I'll try to pop in some early first impressions, but I do intend to do a larger review of these products in the future, so I'll save most of my thoughts for that post. So be sure to look forward to that!
The Makeup
Flawless & Poreless Primer — $30
Meant to smooth fine lines, disappear pores, and hydrate. My first use, I found it really comfortable, thick and hydrating, but easily blendable into the skin without feeling oily, greasy, or slippery (like silicone-y products). I like it so far, but am not sure if it really makes my foundation last or look better yet.
Lash Booster Mascara — $20
Curls, defines, lengthens, and thickens. Does it all, AND it's waterproof!! So far I have really liked this mascara. One coat is nice and natural and very black, and two or three coats adds tons of volume. Also, it does seem to last really well, and I didn't notice any flaking. The dense little brush is surprisingly good at defining the lashes.
Black Lacquer Lash Primer — $20
Plumps, preps, and protects lashes for your favourite mascara, or can be worn on it's own. The brush, or comb really, on this one is kind of weird. It's spiky on the concave and convex edges of the brush, but then there are two flat sides without teeth or bristles. The product can really collect here, and you can get tons of product on your lashes this way which really builds up a spiky, intense look that probably isn't most people's idea of a good look. Still, with a lighter hand, and care to use the toothed sides, not the flat edges, it does add an impressive amount of length, and is great under another mascara, especially one with a good defining brush.
Large Lash Mascara in Brown — $22
This mascara has a big bold brush that really works to volumize lashes. This isn't waterproof, but does claim to be smudge proof, and it did hold up surprisingly well when I went for a long walk the other day (playing Pokemon Go at the park... don't judge me!), though it did start to dissolve when the cool wind started my eyes tearing up, so I wouldn't wear this to anything that might be emotional! The colour is really nice, though; its a deep, dark rich brown that looks more natural than black on my golden lashes, but still adds some darkness, depth, and definition, so it's great for a more natural look. I'd actually love to try the Lash Booster in this shade!
Endless Brow Gel Pen in Medium — $11 USD (wasn't on my PR sheet! =S)
This pencil is meant to take the place of your pencil and brow gel in one step. It goes on ridiculously creamy and then sets itself into place, so I guess that is hypothetically possible. However, so far I've found it's much easier to over-do this product than it is to get the right amount in your brows. Maybe that's because I have to fill and reshape my thin, wimpy brows, but for me, it just isn't quite right. I like a firmer pencil that doesn't cake up as easily as this one does. It also needs to be resharpened more frequently because it goes down much quicker! That said, I have gotten some pretty, and fairly natural, hair-like looking brows with this pencil, so I'm going to keep trying it, but I do like to go over it with a brow gel to help set and break up some of the cakiness.
Book of Beauty Contour Creator — $34
They have several of these Book of Beauty palettes for different types of makeup, but I got to test out the contour palette. It has three bronzers or contour shades, and I guess you could call the other three highlighters, but one is a beatiful matte white, one is a slightly banana-like matte shade, and the other is a pale, sheer, shimmery pink that on me works as a beautiful soft blush, but could be a pretty pinktone highlighter on darker skintones.
The swatch of the white shade looks slightly chalky, but it blends beautifully on my pale skin and makes a beautiful matte highlight on my cheekbones, browbone, and inner corners! I like the yellow shade under the eyes, and the pinky blush shade is gorgeous. As for the bronzers, my favourite is actually the deepest one, which can be used with a light hand and blends easily into even my pale skin for a natural contour. It's a good cool tone, and doesn't go orange on me and I love it! The one under the white is also a good cool tone for a more subtle, natural highlight, or could be a good bronzer as well. For me at least, that middle shade is a touch too orange for contouring, but is still soft and blendable enough to make a good bronzer; it's very similar to the Too Faced Milk Chocolate Soleil.
Mattelustre Lipstick in Rose Naturelle — $16
This is supposed to be a full coverage lipstick with a plumping effect. I'm not sure I've personally noticed any plumping, there's certainly no sting or tingle. Also, this colour is pretty sheer, in my opinion, though it is a pretty close shade to my natural lips, so maybe it only appears sheer? As you can see from the swatch below, on my hand it looks like a warm, natural rose colour, as the name aptly suggests, and I think the colour would be flattering on many skintones, though it isn't a favourite shade for me. I love the smooth, comfortable finish on these lipsticks, though, and I'd love to give a brighter or deeper colour a shot!
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The Skincare
Peel & Polish — $34
This is an enzyme peel that promises to resurface for smoother, softer skin and a healthy glow. You pop it all over your face, leave it like a little mask for 5 minutes, then rinse it off. If you want a little more exfoliation, you can also massage it into the skin before rinsing, since there's the faintest bit of texture to this product. I haven't tried it out on myself yet, but it smells fantastic! It's all fresh and cucumber-y, and so good!
Glow Tonic — 100 ml $20 || 250 ml $38
Ah, Glow Tonic, an obsessive cult favourite of many bloggers and youtubers across the internet. This is an exfoliating, alcohol-free toner that promises smoother, brighter, clearer skin. It sounds like it should be harsh, but it's surprisingly gentle! So far I'm not sure I'm head over heels in love with this stuff, but it is a pretty nice product as far as toners go, and I will definitely keep trying it to see if it's really as good as everyone says. As you can see, this one is personalized for me with my name in pretty calligraphy on the label, since they were personalizing bottles for everyone, which is a super cute touch. I also grabbed one of the adorable mini bottles below, because they were just too mini to pass up!
By the way, these are not scent-free. They do contain perfumes, which is slightly disappointing, but at the same time, the smell doesn't seem to bother my sometimes sensitive nose. Even sick as I am now, the smell seems alright, kinda powdery, maybe? Let me know if you have a better idea of how to describe the smell of this stuff!
Hydrating Milky Mist — $20
This is a hydrating mist full of "skin-soothers" and would be great for dry skin. The bottle suggests using it as your first layer of hydration in your skincare, or any time to freshen up and add moisture to your skin. Maybe I'm doing it wrong, but I love moisturizing mists like this, especially used as the LAST step in my routine. It just feels so refreshing! And maybe also because I've trained myself that my makeup feels complete and finished when I spritz on a setting spray, so finishing my skincare with a spray also just feels like the cherry on top? This mist contains Hyaluronic Acid, so it really locks in moisture. The scent is fresh and a little perfumey, to me, but still light enough that it doesn't bug me. Also, the spray head on these Pixi mists is great, and spread a light, airy mist over your skin, instead of spurting droplets on your face.
Vitamin Wake Up Mist — $20
This is a toner mist that is meant to wake up and revitalize your skin, and contains citrus fruit extracts, lavender, and arginine. The bottle recommends using before moisturizer as a toner, after makeup to set and add hydration, or anytime to wake your skin up. This is one awesome, it smells so good! I love orange and citrus scents, and this one is great. It's light and refreshing and a definite pick-me-up!
24K Eye Elixir — $28
This is an anti-fatigue peptide serum to massage puffiness away, smooth, and refresh your eye area. It has a metal roller ball, so it glides over your undereyes cold and (I guess) refreshing. I've never been a huge fan of cold rollerballs on my eyes, but if that's your jam, maybe this is for you! It's cooling, and I do like that it is thin and absorbs quickly, instead of being weirdly thick or sticky like some other eye rollers I've tried. I don't know if it has any effects yet, but I usually feel like these types of products are more for how they make you feel than how they actually work. Oh, and as the name suggests, it does include gold for stimulating circulation, apparently?
Rose Oil Blend — $34
This is an oil meant to rejuvenate, restore, and renew skin's luminosity. I have not yet tested it myself because I still live at home and my mom is pretty allergic to roses and rose related things... so I haven't had a chance. I'm planning to take it to my boyfriend's house and maybe give it a go there. It does have a pretty nice scent for a rose product, though. I did inherit a little of my mom's sensitivity, but when I'm healthy I can stand better quality rose products, and this one seems to be gentle enough I could use it. This blend also contains jojoba and sweet almond oil, so I have no doubt it will be a great deep moisturizer when I get a chance to use it!
Nourishing Sleep Mask — $30
This is an intensive youth-preserving mask that deeply hydrates overnight. It's really hydrating, and it only meant to be used a couple of times a week. Also, I love it! It's probably one of my favourite things that I got to try out. It smells great, with the lavender and bergamot oils. It also had other great ingredients like jojoba, macadamia oil, and caffeine. But for as hydrating as it is, it isn't too thick or heavy on the skin, which is a huge plus for me! I can't stand when a cream feels weighty on my skin! It is actually more of a lotion consistency than a cream, and absorbs beautifully, with a little product going a long way.
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Final Thoughts
There are so many great products for Pixi, I can't believe I'd never tried any of them before now, but I'm glad they're now available at Shoppers Drug Mart for all us Canadians! I think I figured the Glow Tonic was so hyped up that nothing from the brand could be worth is, and aside from that, I'm not a huge fan of the soft green packaging, but what is housed in that packaging is pretty awesome.
If I had to pick favourite right now, I'd have to go with the Nourishing Sleep Mask, the Vitamin Wakeup Mist, and the Book of Beauty Contour Creator, but that may change or be added to as I give all the products a better test. I hope to come back to these things in a couple of weeks to give you some better reviews. I'm unsure yet if I'll break them up, or do a review dump in the same style of this post. Let me know if you have opinions, or if theres anything you'd like a really in depth review on, and I'll see what I can do. And don't forget to let me know what your favourite Pixi products are, if you've tried any!
Thanks for reading!
