BYREDO Perfumed Oil - Bal D'Afrique

I purchased Byredo's Bal D'Afrique earlier this year when I was at a conference in Las Vegas. The Barneys there had most of the Byredo line and I finally got to smell the scents in person. The entire line is beautiful, but I completely fell in love with Bal D'Afrique. To me, it is a really original scent and I have not smelled anything even remotely similar before.

Bal D'Afrique Roll-on Oil  Notes (from Luckyscent):

Bergamot, lemon, neroli, african marigold, bucchu, violet, jasmin petals, cyclamen, black amber, musk, vetiver, moroccan cedarwood

This is truly a scent that is hard to describe and it really changes over time. I get a lot of marigold initially and then later it definitely gives off more amber and cedarwood, but scents develop differently depending on body chemistry. You can buy samples from Luckyscent for a reasonable price, so that is something worth doing if you are not near a counter that has this for you to try.

The scent comes in a spray version, which is available in two larger sizes and a trio of travel sizes, and a rollerball oil version that is $78 for 7.5ml. I chose the oil as I had a carry on bag, but I very much like that it is an oil versus a liquid. The scent lasts a long time with the oil (I am talking upward of 14 hours without reapplying), but it is not overly strong. The packaging does make it sort of tricky to get the oil out. You have to rub the rollerball pretty hard to get product onto the skin. On the opposite side though, I traveled with it and had no leakage, which is impressive for an oil. I guess the difficulty getting product on is the trade off for no leakage.  I am fine with it as it keeps me from over applying, which has happened to me with some rollerballs where a lot of product comes out.

Overall, this is a scent that I really love and am so happy that I purchased. I did get some samples of a few other Byredo scents, but they are more floral so I will probably wait until Spring to see which one I want to purchase. Have you tried anything from Byredo?

Pixi Lip Lift Max - Petal Ice

I bought the Pixi Lip Lift Max one day when I was replenishing my Glow Tonic toner (try it if you have not - it is one of the best acid toners). I love glosses and the formula seemed promising. The product is described as a volumizing lip treatment with a glossy finish.

The gloss does have a nice cooling/tingling sensation.  I know that turns some people off, but it does not bother me.  It performs really well on its own and layers nicely over lipstick. It is fairly sticky, but I find that stickier glosses tend to have better lasting power and that is true with this one as well. I can get a few hours out of it depending on how much I eat/drink. Swatch on the lips below.

The main issue I have with this one is the price. The first thing I noticed was that the packaging makes it seem like there is more product than there actually is. The package the gloss is encased in is a normal size, but when you look at the package, you will notice that the tube has a large amount of plastic and a smaller amount of product in the middle. The part where the product is housed is barely larger than the wand.

In the Pixi gloss, you get .09oz/2.7g for $14, which is fairly expensive comparatively speaking. Price per ounce for Pixi is $155.56. I pulled three different glosses for comparison from Buxom, NARS, and Chanel. You can get a full size Buxom Full On lip polish, which is .15oz of product, for $20. If you look at price per ounce, that is $133.33, significantly cheaper than Pixi. NARS lipgloss is .18oz for $26, which is a price per ounce of $144.44, which is also cheaper than Pixi! Chanel lipgloss retails for $30 for .19oz (and they make a plumping lipgloss for that price, if you are interested in that). That is a price per ounce of $157.89, which is only marginally more than Pixi. I feel that the Pixi is definitely over priced for what you are getting, especially since it is not really marketed as a luxury brand. They are keeping the price low by giving you a small amount of product, but once you really break it down to price per ounce, you are paying a luxury price for a product you are buying at Target.

I feel that this gloss is good quality, but for the money and what you are getting, I would rather spend a little more up front, actually save money in the long run, and get a different product. I don't regret this purchase, but now that I have done the price breakdown, I will not be repurchasing this in the future. Pixi will still be getting plenty of my money from their Skintreats line, as I love Glow Tonic, the Nourishing Cleansing Balm, and H2O Skindrink. If you have not checked out their skin products yet, I highly suggest you do. Those are very high quality and reasonably priced. Let me know if you would like a review of those products.

Marc Jacobs Beauty Air Blush Soft Glow Duo - Flesh & Fantasy

Marc Jacobs launched the Air Blush line a couple months ago. It is marketed as a palette that lets you use either side individually or combining the shades, thus giving you three color options from the one blush. As an aside, I had to chuckle at the description stating that this gives a "dance-floor flush" because it has been some time since my clubbing days, which makes me feel old. I digress... I chose the color Flesh and Fantasy, as it seemed like a nice neutral to see if I like the formula and I am definitely not disappointed.

The blush itself is housed in a nice shiny black package. It is plastic, but does not feel cheap. I like the metal push button opener; it feels more special than just pulling the blush case apart. The pan is a really large size, which is nice considering the cost of the blush is $42. You can sweep the color on the left side for a lighter, more highlighted shade, or the right side for a deeper blush. The brand recommends sweeping a brush over the palette vertically to get the colors from the sides, which I did find worked pretty well. If you are truly looking to get only one of the colors without any hint of the other, you are going to need to squeeze your brush to do so.  The color is a light, nude blush that I can pair with more vibrant eye or lip looks. It lasted all day on me when tested.

Close up of the pan:

Swatches below. All swatches in order of first photo.

Outdoors:

Indoors (no flash):

Indoors (with flash):

I am happy with this purchase, as I like the customization aspect of the blush. It has a really nice finish and blends so well. The shimmer is noticeable but not overly dramatic, and it can be worn during the day/at work. If you are looking for a neutral blush that adds a light flush to the skin, you should definitely look into this. I purchased mine at Sephora, but it is available at Marc Jacobs Beauty stockists. There are four other shades available if you like the idea of the palette, but not this particular shade.  Have you tried any new blushes lately? Any tried and true favorites?