As a mum, makeup artist, and PIXI creator, my life is bursting at the seams with inspirations & impressions. I live my life by the motto “live love & laugh” and whether I am working or focusing on my family, I try to infuse passion and creativity into everything I do. Here I hope to share with you some of my ideas of all things beautiful.
With love, Petra


Wednesday, February 29, 2012

PixiGlow - Inspiration to Creation

My passion for fairies started early in childhood - growing up in Sweden, they are a big part of storybooks & folklore.

From the original Flower Fairies Books by Cicely Mary Barker

We believe they live in the deep forest (or in the winter, maybe in your attic!) and they visit us occasionally to play tricks (if you have been naughty!) or create some magic (if you have been good!).

Either way, you are very lucky to get a visit from these - the most fun, flirty, naturally effortlessly spellbinding & utterly charming beauties!
 
From The Sun Egg by Elsa Beskow

Fairies evoke many feelings and associations. For me, they represent: natural beauty, innocence, fun, mischievousness, independence, freedom, strength of character, playfulness, charm, childhood memories, midsummers eve...all of this and more to teach our young girls.

Anyway, where were we? Oh yes...PixiGlow! I'm so excited to finally launch this collection after over a year of developing the products under a lot of secrecy. They are finally launching! And I must say I AM PROUD!

This is the first & only mood board I did at the very beginning of this project – it evokes the theme, mood, colours & classic timelessness that I infused in every product. It helped to create our beauty icon version of Tinker Bell and set the mood for the products & everything we did after that.This is also what the talented & lovely John at Disney in Los Angeles took inspiration from to re-imagine Tink as a timeless vintage beauty to represent this collection...
He interpreted my vision perfectly - I loved the first sketch he did! It's the one that became the design that now represents the collection.
Now over to my favorite part - the creation of the PRODUCTS! My passion is in product development and that’s what I love spending my time on daily. I wake up in the morning excited about creating products - I have the BEST job!

This project certainly was different from anything I’ve ever worked on before. To take an iconic, much-loved Disney character and combine that with our brand philosophy at Pixi, incorporating the two into a collection that was both true to Tinker Bell & us, was a challenge that I thrived on and I loved every second of it.

I always strive to create the perfect products that are true and genuine and have a REASON to be created - I think we hit the nail on the head with this collection! When it all came together, it was like product nirvana for me!!! 



I hand-mix all  of our colours at my studio, test every formula on myself, and perfect them until they are just the way they should be. We design the packaging in-house and have everything made just to our specification. It’s quite a task and I have the most dedicated & talented team to help me – without them, there would be no collection!
I've already tried & tested this collection behind the scenes, on models in the studio & on friends, and I have to say - if you think it looks cute in the packaging, TRY it! It looks even better on!
This collection is creating quite the buzz in our London store already – this is where we started Pixi and it's still the hub of everything we do. Our super-talented makeup artists will make you look and feel special every day of the week – if you pass by London, come and see us! To book a makeover, email store@pixibeauty.com or call 0207-2877211.

To purchase or learn more about the PixiGlow products, visit pixibeauty.com!
Once the products were all ready, we wanted to give the press a sneak peek preview so we had a wonderful vintage tea party in New York & London.
Here is some footage from the New York event & a snippet of what I shared with the press:



I'm sure you have already seen it in the press – you will see a lot more in the month to come!

Go to http://www.vogue.co.uk/ for more articles


 
"Think of the happiest things. It’s the same as having wings!"

This saying from the original Peter Pan story by Scottish author J.M. Barrie perfectly sums up how I want to live my life - exploring the world with a smile on my face. That's why I loved every second of creating this collection!


Till next time - fly flawlessly!

Tuesday, February 28, 2012

PixiGlow - Product Masterclass

As promised in the last entry, I have some very exciting products to show you! Without further ado, I present to you our collaboration with Disney featuring Tinker Bell - the PixiGlow collection...    
 
Fairy Face Palette in Pixi Belle
Get lost in your own reflection with the help of this little Tink-Trinket of all your favorite hues, creating a truly fair distraction. Un-dull & delight with a few swishes for eyes, cheeks and lips, creating a glowing mirror image & a flawless fairy face. Baked pigments create a true twinkle on the eye & a faultless magic flash on the skin. Pair with a sweet lip dew for a perfected, Pixi-pretty Tinker treat. This palette is certainly a delight as easy as a fairy flight!
Sidenote: I love this poetic copy we did on the products – it just captures the mood of Tinker Bell's world so perfectly. (I say "we", but I really mean my lovely sister who wrote it all!)
Purchase at http://pixibeauty.com/pixiglow/fairy-face-kit          
 
Included in the kit are 5 metallic baked eye shadows in (from top): ivory glow, warm nude glow, petal pink glow, bronze glow, and deep chocolate glow + a duo sponge applicator. These shades truly are gorgeous on any skintone - the lighter shades illuminate the eye area effortlessly and the darker shades are great to get that bit of soft smokiness.    
 
The 3-colour cheek palette is baked to perfection, giving the perfect amount of glow and sheer-medium payoff. Colours are (from top): fresh pink, reflex real rose, and dusty rose + a soft brush that makes application super quick & easy.     
       
Blending the 3 colours together gives a more “lively” cheek, providing dimension to the radiant cheekbones we wanted to achieve for this look. I love the glowing pink flush these colours create - like you've had a quick walk outdoors.       
    
For the lip colours, I imagined what Tinker Bell might use to tint her lips - crushed rose petals, bitten berries…and I mixed the colours from there. Colours are (from the top): pastel petal pink, the perfect fresh rose, natural nude pink, berry rose, and lingonberry stain + a duo lip applicator.    
   
These are a mix between a cream and a balm - extra nourishing with a non-glossy, very natural texture that leaves a hint of a tint behind for that perfect bitten lip look. 

I know this is one of those kits I'll travel with everywhere & stockpile for future needs! I'll show you the rest, but that's another entry :)

I love wearing this palette and I have already used it on 2 photo shoots - first for a campaign for Target (where you can buy all of these products), and second for our Pixi spring catalogue (out soon). Both times I was stunned by how incredibly pretty the colours looked on different skintones...so pretty that the models both asked me to keep the palette! Then I knew I was onto a winner :) 

Watch a tutorial on how I like to use this kit here:



   
The kit is truly designed with love and it creates my all-time favorite Pixi-pretty rose glowing look!
Magic Tink Tint in Happy Thoughts Pink (a clear balm that tints lips a subtle pink/rose/berry hue)
Think happy thoughts as this subtly blooming, super nourishing gel crayon tickles & tints your lips in true Tinker Bell style. This magic balm glides onto lips, teasing out your own unique perfect pink hue – customized ethereal lip magic to flawlessly suit any fairy! Free of parabens, fragrance, triclosan, sulfates, and pthalates.
 
This crayon is a glossy lip balm (clear base) infused with a pH reactive pigment that gets activated by your lips' personal pH. It stains my lips a mauve-rose colour, on my friend it turns into a berry and on another girl in the office, it is a pretty pale pink.  
 
It seems to magically adjust to your skintone and create that perfect pink that suits you and that you always look for in a tint - it’s turned out pretty magic if I may say so myself! :) I also love that it is a pen that winds up like a traditional lip balm - there's no need to sharpen!
Catching Shadows Crayon in Beaming Reflection (neutral honey nude luster)
Dance with the light & catch those shadows with this beaming cream-to-powder eye crayon. Light reflecting pigments play with the shade, defining and highlighting, bringing out the natural beauty in eyes like never before. This glow-enhancer will transport you all the way to Neverland in the wink of a fairy wing! No-transfer. Waterproof. Line-smoothing. Free of preservatives, parabens, fragrance, triclosan, sulfates, and pthalates.
So once in a while I get to make my dream formula AND colour - this is it!  
 
I have always loved to just sweep a nude crayon all around my eyes on a lazy day when I don’t have time or want to do much makeup.  
 
This lustrous eye crayon ticks all the boxes for me:
1.     No touch-ups needed - it does not budge all day and well into the night.
2.     Youth-enhancing - it's not matte, not shimmery, but something in between that I’m calling lustrous.
3.     Easy to apply - it’s a foolproof chubby crayon so I don’t even have to look in the mirror to put it on.
4.     Multi-tasking - it’s a neutral skintone-based honey nude, so I can trace it all around my eye – under, over, all the way up to the brow. It acts like a concealer, eye shadow and highlighter all in one.   
 
Somehow this one manages to even out my skintone AND brighten so I don’t need much else!
Straight on till Morning Liner in 2nd Star Twinkle (a sophisticated olive green infused with gold glimmer)
Intense pencil liner for travels that take you Straight on till Morning. This waterproof & long-lasting formula provides a spark of starlight to your gaze – enchanting lash line with intense hue & pure peek-a-boo glimmer. Gel formula flutters onto lids effortlessly, creating a fairytale framing effect! Waterproof. Intense colour. Hypoallergenic. Vegan-friendly. Paraben & mineral oil free.
One of our all-time best-selling products (AND an award-winning one) is our Endless Silky Eye Pen, so I decided to make a Tink-inspired one for this collection. Try using this liner to “double line”: apply your normal liner in #95664c or brown, then apply this one just above & smudge it all together - it’s sooo pretty.   
This colour is neutral enough for daytime, is a great alternative to brown, and it's also special enough for just adding a touch of that something extra to transform you from daytime to nighttime. Not to mention - it stays on & budge-proof for a LONG time once applied.
Fairy Dust in Moonlight Luster (a warm gold shimmer with a hint of pink undertone)
Elevate and transform your eyes in a few fairy seconds with this glimmering dust. Loose pigments add a lit-up, high shine finish to lids, reminding you what wishes are truly made of! Let’s go on an eye-twinkling journey with Tinker Bell – who ever said fairies don’t exist?
This loose powder pigment gives a magic glow - the colour is a mix between moonlight & daylight. Dust on top of any makeup to add an ethereal luster to skin, eyes, or even lips. I love to dab a bit onto the inner corner of eyes for a wide-awake golden glow. I even mix this pigment into nail colour to add a bit of sparkle. It's sparkly enough to take a look from day to night in an instant, but you can also apply it softly for subtle daytime radiance.  
 
See how I transition a PixiGlow day look into one for nighttime using Straight on till Morning Liner & Fairy Dust here:




Nail colour in Pirouette Pink (the prettiest baby pink infused with golden fairy dust)
With a high-gloss finish and a chip-resistant formula, this nail polish is made to last while making nails look luminous & lovely - just like Tink! Free of DBP, toluene and formaldehyde. 
I couldn't resist - I had to try to mix THE perfect pink glow nail colour for this collection - and here it is! This pink with a hint of golden glimmer dust certainly is my polish pick for this season for both tips & toes. It's such a happy, fresh & feminine colour - I love it! 
I really love the way all of these products turned out - I just want to keep them all to myself! :)  
Lovely super cute tote bag!

Tuesday, February 7, 2012

Everyone Loves a Makeover!

So I’ve already broken all my new years resolutions!
  1. Get fit – haven't started on this one yet, I’m waiting for that burst of energy so I have to start running...still waiting…
  2. Stress less – just not possible, I thrive on stress it seems….I'll rest on when I'm on vacation instead. I promise.
  3. Lose some Christmas weight – I just baked a chocolate cake for my son…I'll just taste a little piece...
  4. Laugh more – this one, I think I can do!


While we're on the subject of living life to the fullest & starting fresh, let's move onto one of my favorite things - a good old fashioned makeover!

With the right hair & makeup, you can see a huge transformation - reviving your routine REALLY WORKS! Just take a look at these makeovers below...



I love a smoky eye with bangs, especially with a slightly lighter hair colour for Spring - it just brightens up the face.

Try the following for Kate's sultry but still natural look:


Get these at:


Sunkissed honey hair & much softer natural makeup makes a huge difference!
 
Pick up these products to get Jennifer's signature radiant look:


Pick up Pixi at: 


Looking at these makeovers, a few makeup DON'Ts come to mind:
  1. Don't fill in your brows with a dark colour. Keep it 1-2 shades lighter than your actual brow (& hair) colour, or you risk looking aged & stern.
  2. Don't use a dark matte lip colour - unless you are dressing up as Morticia from the Addams family.
  3. Don't try to make your skintone look more pale than it is. Always be sure to try on foundation all over your face & examine in daylight.
  4. Don't forget to curl your lashes - ALL eye makeup will look better after.
  5. Don't over-powder, it looks so dated.

We did some great transformations on our friends for our new Pixi catalog - take a look & get inspired!

Kotoe's look below was based on brightening lilac, which perks up any skintone and is especially gorgeous on brown eyes. We used Pixi's Succulent Lip Twin in Opal Orchid and Pretty Eye Perfection palette.



For Amelia's look, we focused on velvety skin, bright eyes and a hint of peachy-pink colour on the cheeks. We used Pixi Flawless Beauty Fluid, Eye Bright Liner, and Sheer Cheek Gel in Natural.

Before putting this catalog together, I never realized how much work would go into it...after literally dozens of drafts of each page, I'm so happy to have an "after" version - a completed catalog!

Catalog Makeover:



To see more gorgeous transformations & to get in-depth information about Pixi products, request your own free copy of the Pixi catalog by emailing info@pixibeauty.com.

Another big project that I've been working on is my kitchen & I'm proud to say that it too has had a major transformation!


Kitchen Makeover:



I'll leave you to think about your own transformations, but I can't resist giving you a little sneak peek of yet another exciting project on the horizon first!

We have teamed up with Disney to create an entire collection based on the world's most famous fairy herself - Tinker Bell!



I love our makeover on Tink - she transformed into a classic beauty icon in a few fairy seconds. Stay tuned for more on the PixiGlow collection - I'm so excited for you all to see the products! (They are PERFECT for a Spring makeover!)