Look Alive, Ladies - Pixi Eye Bright Kit

Author: Kolby

Did you get your beauty sleep last night? Or, like me, have you forgotten what it's like to wake up feeling rested, and actually looking rested is no longer an option? If you answered yes to the first question, well, that's just great for you, isn't it? Here, have a lollipop and get the hell out of my sight. For the rest of you, yes YOU, with the dark circles and sleepy eyes, I've found a lovely - nay, miraculous - little treasure. Let me introduce to you the Pixi Eye Bright Kit ($24.99 - Target, duh), an "on-the-go perfecting palette with two concealers, one brightener and one highlighter to make eyes look brighter and more awake." And, here's the thing, it really does what it promises, which is, like, crazy, right?

I had been on the lookout for a new concealer, and I was searching for something heavy duty to take care of both my dark circles and the puffiness I've been sporting daily since turning 30. I've recently taken to slathering my eyes with tightening creams and massaging them every damn morning with anti-puff rollers. I'm probably overdoing it, but I'm not taking any chances. At this point I'm just trying to avoid carry on charges for my eyeballs, in case I need to fly somewhere on short notice. So, you can imagine my desperation as I walked through the Target beauty section, bleary-eyed from one too many Yuenglings and the resulting lack of sleep (yeah, I sleep less, and more fitfully after a night of drinking - it's a curse). I needed a cure for tired eyes, even if it meant having to fake them. Nothing I'd tried so far had worked - no combination of anti-puff product and concealer did the trick for me. It was by chance that I paused in front of the Pixi section - I had shied away from trying Pixi products because they seemed a little pricey for a big box store - and my half-open eyes spied the Eye Bright Kit. I snatched it up greedily, ignoring the $24.99 price tag because I felt I HAD to try it. You know the feeling - you're in Target, without a list, and your basket is empty and you just know you're never going to hit the required $100 Target Minimum (I may have just made that up, but you KNOW it exists) unless you get serious about shopping in a hurry. Into the basket it went (and really, I was kidding myself with one of those little red baskets. Whenever I try to get away with using one I leave with purple canals running over my left forearm. It's a great look).

I could not wait to try this stuff. I ran straight to my bathroom when I got home and started experimenting. Every Pixi product is delivered in pale mint green packaging. It's all very cute and simple, and the Eye Bright Kit is adorable. It comes in a little green box which should NOT be thrown away until the techniques described on it are mastered. The Kit itself does not carry instructions, and that could either mean the good people at Pixi have enough confidence that their consumers can dab some makeup around their eyes without blinding themselves, or that they just don't give a rat's ass if you don't know the difference between highlighter and brightener. I DO care about your eyesight, so below I've included a few tips to help guide you through the application process. No, seriously, you're so welcome.

There are two shade options available - Light (#1) and Medium (#2). I chose Light, because I purchased the Eye Bright Kit at the beginning of summer before I attained my righteous tan, and you know what? It still works. Score. Each circular kit contains four creamy products - two blendable shades of concealer, a whitish eye brightener and a shimmery highlighter. Now, for me at least, the brightener and highlighter make this kit. The concealers are fantastic, and do what they're supposed to do, diminishing dark circles without causing those crinkles that so often appear if a concealer is too dry, or if too much is used. Including two shades is a thoughtful touch - sometimes I use one, or use the different shades in different areas around my eyes. But the brightener and highlighter? I absolutely, positively ADORE. When used together, after concealer application, they will make you look wide awake and ever so dewy and, well, just very pretty.

The brightener is dabbed at the inner and outer corners of your eyes, and blended a little to make your eyes look bigger and a little more wide-set (oooh, like a real-life model's!), and to erase those icky purple lines that extend from the outer corners of your eyes, and which seem to get darker as the day drags on. The highlighter is applied toward the end of your makeup routine - after your eyeliner, shadow and blush are finished, but before mascara, or at least that's how I figured it should be, since the instructions are slightly vague when it comes to order of application. Whatever, my way worked for me, and it should work for you, too. The highlighter is lightly dabbed along the brow bones and then extended down and around the eye sockets and onto the cheekbones, and blended thoroughly. Blend, blend, blend that highlighter. You only need a touch - you don't want to look like you're headed to a rave (unless you are) or like your goal for the evening is to rhythmically convince as many men as possible to make it rain on that ass (which, if it is, good luck - get that cash). The idea here is to create a bit of glow and youthful lightness around your eyes and on your face. If it's applied correctly you will be nothing short of amazed at the results.

The Pixi Eye Bright Kit now occupies the best, most comfortable corner of my overflowing makeup bag. I almost don't want to remember life before that day I found it in Target. No matter how tired I feel, when I use the Kit I know I won't look like I recently crawled out of a coffin, craving braaaiiins.

Rating: 7 out of 8 Tentacles. My one real complaint about the Pixi Eye Bright Kit is the small amount of product actually contained within the kit. You only need to use a teeny bit of both the brightener and highlighter at a time, so those last and last, but the concealers seem to run out rather quickly. You may find yourself supplementing with another concealer after a while. And yes, the application instructions are a tad vague, but the finished result is SO worth the small amount of practice required to master the technique. In short, toss this stuff in your Target basket today. Like, NOW.

  Rating: 7/8 tentacles