My good friend Stephanie knows I love makeup…like a lot. So much so, that my first real job in my entire life was part-time, straight out of high school, with MAC Cosmetics. I guess you could say I always had a knack for it.

So when Stephanie tells me I need to try a particular brand of makeup – I take her seriously. She’s always been the type of friend who, although doesn’t wear a lot of makeup, knows a thing or two about brands because of that fact.

Unlike a lot of other people out there, I take Stephanie’s suggestions to heart. She’s not going to tell me I need to try Armani foundation…because it’s Armani. Stephanie doesn’t think like that, as opposed to some people a lot of us know. Stephanie will to tell me I need to try Armani foundation because it “freakin’ makes [her] skin POP!” or something to that nature.

So in honor of my little Ruby-Junkie aka Stephanie – I give you the awesomeness that is PIXI by PETRA:-

What I used from Pixi

Pixi Mango palette

Pixi is a brand exclusively sold online and at Target stores. Founded by Petra Strand, a Swedish makeup artist, Pixi’s flagship store is in London, with boutiques all over the world, including Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Bahrain and Ireland.

Word on the cosmo-street is that people love it for its amazing textures, brilliant colouring, chic packaging and natural ambiance on your face.

Pixi’s philosophy is “Makeup to Wake up.”

I took the products and made up a few looks for you. I think the brand is pretty versatile. You can use it to be natural (see my “whatever” picture of me hanging out over my laptop typing this) or completely cosmolicious (see “mango” look).

Pixi Pros:
The eye shadows are nicely pigmented and I liked them a lot. The palettes have great colour combinations and I think you don’t just have to be “natural” with them. You can use the mix to create unique and often audacious looks. I love it!

LOVE…and I mean LOVE the Eye Bright Primer. Spread a tad over your lids before applying eye shadow and your shadow not only won’t move for the entire day, but you won’t get obvious crease marks when you close your eyes, and the colours are able to stay bright the entire day through. I like this as much as Prep + Prime and the cream colour bases I love to use from MAC. This is a new keeper for me!

The products ARE light and weightless on your face. I wore these for three days straight in different ways and asked everyone I met who knew what I normally looked like how my face looked; they loved it. A lot of people said that my makeup looked “more natural” on my face….the drawback was…

Pixi Cons:
If you are tan like me, break out from stress like me, or have dark circles under your eyes because you work way to hard like me…then Pixi foundation etc., isn’t for you.

There is NO coverage and not enough different colours for various skin tones. This is a problem I find across the board with makeup brands everywhere, not just this one. This issue is nothing new. Therefore, I recommend MAC for these specific issues. Period.

But at the end of the day, do I recommend Pixi? Yes.

Flawless Beauty Primer -- see how it's sparkly

Pixi Tools:-
Flawless Vitamin Veil foundation
Flawless Beauty Primer
Lid & Line in No.5 Smokey Mink
Mango eye beauty kit
Eye Bright Primer
Eye Bright Liner

My favourite summer "natural" blush -- Super Orgasm by NARS

Other tools of the trade:-
Diorshow Blackout Mascara
MAC Humid eye shadow
MAC Juxt eye shadow
MAC Pink Grapefruit lipglass
NARS Super Orgasm blush

A few looks…

Mango palette & the Smokey Mink no.5 pencil/shadow combo

 So this isn’t meant to be a smokey eye or anything, that’s just part of the name of the shadow/liner combo. 

Upper: Pixi Mango palette; Lower: MAC juxt and humid

 So because the palette is called “Mango” I decided to create a “‘Mango” look! This is it. Fairly simple, strictly the Pixi palette on the upper lip. Used MAC’s Juxt and MAC’s Humid on the lower lid. Mascara is Diorshow Blackout as always.

Pixi Mango palette

ta da! w/ off white eye shadow

I wanted to try something different with this and see how it would look if I took the lighter Pixi shadows and used it in the corners. However, rather than highlighting with the same bright/light shade, highlighting with one of the “burnt” colours…I think it looks pretty awesome. Not something I would wear to work or anything, but one day out somewhere perhaps. Possibly the beach, just because I think you can either go with no makeup, or some cosmolicious look to beach.  Lips are Pink Grapefruit lipgass from MAC.

Pixi Mango palette & MAC fluidline eye liner

I thought it would be really fun to go in “reverse.” So what I did was do my eye makeup in the reverse of how one would normally do it. I put the medium shade at the TOP instead of the BOTTOM of the upper lid. Reversed the order of the darkening in my crease, and then popped the lightest shade(s) at the bottom. Basically, I used 5 of the 8 shadows in the palette. MAC fluidline eyeliner.  Also, the Pixi Smokey Mink is what I used on the bottom lip. It’s pretty fab.

My mummy is in love with ALL the Pixi products so I gave them to her (but I kept the Eye Bright Primer for me, *shhhh*)

More Pixi Mango palette w/ MAC fluidline eyeliner

 This is using strictly the brown tones in the palette. MAC fluidline eyeliner.

AFTER all that, a regular Sasha w/ normal Pixi makeup. Nothing fancy. Just me

….and voilà! It’s me…afterwards. I was going out for sushi with @MyToast. I’m wearing the Pixi products, my Diorshow Blackout mascara, Teddy eyeliner from MAC, and Chai Lipglass from MAC. Everything else is the same

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Sasha Muradali runs the ‘Little Pink Book’ and has been a makeup artist with MAC Cosmetics since 2004 in Florida. She has over 10-years experience in professional makeup. If you live in South Florida and are looking to hire a makeup artist, or if you just want some makeup advice, send her your inquires here.

Copyright © 2009 SashaH. Muradali. All Rights Reserved.