Pixi Tinted Brilliance lip balm Radiant Rose review, swatches

I am probably one of the last makeup-using women on the planet to get on the lip crayon bandwagon. At first, I refused to go near anything that looked like it belonged to my junior art class (which I failed) at St Mary's Girls' Convent, than in my makeup bag. I prefer full-coverage lipsticks any day, and, to me, balm-stains sounded just a step away from lip glosses, which I religiously avoid. When I finally got around to trying some of the crayons out, I was unimpressed by the Chubby Sticks, the Just Bittens (just bitten the dust, more like) and other lip crayons. Chubby Twist, seen here, caked and flaked on me. I bought a few Korean lip crayons, including Tony Moly, but remained equally unimpressed.
When I received a Pixi Tinted Brilliance Balm from one of my besties for my birthday, my first thought was that I would have to get rid of it without her finding out. And then, I tried it out.

Here is my review and swatches of the Pixi Tinted Brilliance Balm in Radiant Rose.

Packaging of Pixi Tinted Brilliance Balm

The external box is pale green, which is the Pixi trademark. The tube is also a cool pastel green, with a transparent lid. It has a rubberised finish and I keep getting marks all over it each time I apply the tint. These do not need sharpening, and are twist-up pencils. This lippie is not tested on animals.

Formula and staying power of Pixi Tinted Brilliance Balm

It feels really light on the lips - as though I dabbed a bit of butter on my lips. The finish is quite glossy. Staying power is a couple of hours at the most - it seems to vapourise into thin air, I tell you. Most of the shine goes away after a biscuit, let alone a meal, but the colour does not go away completely. It does leave behind a mild stain, which fades evenly. No saliva-caking, flaking, bleeding or any other problems.
Pigmentation is comparable to some of the shades in the Benefit Hydra Smooth Lip Color range, swatched here - the deeper Benefit shades are more pigmented, of course, and that range of lipsticks stays on for longer. I expected this lip crayon to be a lot sheerer than it actually is!
The product smells and tastes of mint. The taste is mild, though the smell is much stronger. It feels slightly tingly on the lips, but nothing uncomfortable or irritating.
The ingredients list is quite a power house - jojoba oil, shea butter, meadowfoam seed oil, rose extract, hyaluronic acid and so on. No parabens.

Swatches of Pixi Tinted Brilliance Balm in Radiant Rose

You know this is a dusty rose of some sort without even seeing the swatches, right? Radiant Rose is described as a "true rose". It is a pretty, soft pink which looks darker on the crayon than on my skin. The reason is that this is one of those products which works with the pH of each person's lips to give a customised tint that is supposed to be "an enhanced version of your own lip colour". I do not know how far an already pigmented or coloured product can adapt - I always thought that the clear balms/lipsticks were more adaptable to your body heat or pH. I suppose there will be minor shade variations. I have seen swatches of the super-deep Bitten Berry that look more medium fuchsia-pink, so I daresay these do adapt to pH/body heat/blood group/your favourite book.

This is how Pixi Tinted Brilliance Balm in Radiant Rose looks on my lips, without lip liner, primer, gloss or anything else. As you can see, it is not as pigmented as I would like, but it does give much better coverage than a lip gloss and so many lipsticks. This is such a wearable, everyday colour that is neither too deep nor too pale as to wash me out. Definitely a true rose.

Summary
I love everything about this lip tint-balm-stain, except for the staying power, but I did not expect it to last even as long as it does, given the shiny look and feel. The novelty of reapplying lip crayons is yet to wear off, so I am not complaining. If, like me, you are a huge lipstick-fan and are iffy about the sheerer lip crayons, Pixi is a good place to start, as this lip crayon is reasonably pigmented. I need Magnific Mauve, Unique Pink and Craving Coral from this range. Need, not want. I have a whole bunch of Pixi makeup on my wishlist right now! You can get these from Pixi Beauty for just £12. They ship worldwide.