Pixi

Pixi is a beauty brand founded in 1999 in the Soho district of London by Petra Strand, a Swedish makeup artist who was 26 at the time [3]. The company spans skincare, makeup and fragrance, and describes itself as still independent and family-owned [6]. It is best known for Glow Tonic, an exfoliating toner that became one of the most talked-about skincare products in the United Kingdom during the 2010s.

Although Strand is Swedish and has said her childhood in the Swedish countryside shaped her outlook, Pixi's origin and headquarters are British: its first boutique and retail base were in London [5]. The brand is sold online and in retail stores in more than 50 countries [6].

Strand came to Pixi after years working as a model and makeup artist. According to the company, she launched the brand from a small boutique in Soho with the idea that beauty should be "effortless, empowering and truly kind to the skin" [6]. Editorial accounts trace her motivation to frustration with dull, single-function cosmetics and gaps she encountered in her professional makeup kit; her stated aim was to bring out the natural beauty in all women rather than mask it. Strand, a mother of four, has described the brand as "my fifth child."

The name draws on the idea of pixies — what Strand has called "the magical, whimsical essence of beauty" the company tries to bring to its products [5].

Pixi's early retail presence centred on its London boutiques, and Glow Tonic was initially handmade and bottled in the basement of the brand's flagship store before wider distribution. The product's breakthrough came in 2012, when the skincare writer and facialist Caroline Hirons featured it — comparing it to the well-known Biologique Recherche P50 toner — which drove an immediate sellout [3].

International expansion followed in the mid-2010s. From 30 August 2015, Glow Tonic became available exclusively at Target in the United States, priced at $15 for a 3.4-ounce bottle [4]. Trade coverage at the time noted that Pixi had first entered Target around 2008 alongside the Jemma Kidd and Napoleon Perdis lines, and was the only one of that trio still stocked by 2015. The same year the brand extended its Skintreats skincare range into Marks & Spencer in London and made its debut on QVC in the UK. The company has since marked more than 25 years since its founding [6].

Pixi remains independent and family-owned, according to the brand [6]. No acquisitions or changes of ownership are recorded in the available sources. The company operates offices in Los Angeles, London and Singapore.

The brand positions its products as skin-loving and multi-tasking, intended to enhance rather than conceal natural features. Strand has summarised her outlook as "healthy skin, with glowing dewy pops of colour to enhance your natural beauty, not hide it." In interviews she has said Pixi has "haven't deviated from the original core values" across two decades, describing its stated purpose as providing "effortless and skin-loving products for everyday." Pixi sits at an accessible price point; Woman & Home noted that Glow Tonic costs about a third of the price of a typical premium skincare acid.

Pixi's catalogue covers skincare, colour makeup and a small fragrance line. Its signature product is Glow Tonic, an exfoliating toner formulated with 5 percent glycolic acid together with ginseng and aloe vera; the brand describes it as removing dead skin cells while soothing and revitalising the skin [4]. Other products the company highlights include the Retinol Tonic, positioned as an accessible introduction to retinol, the Glow Mud Cleanser and Mud Mask, and the DetoxiFEYE under-eye patches, which Strand has called "the modern classic."

Glow Tonic is widely described in the beauty press as a cult product. Woman & Home reported that "Beauty Editors have it on repeat order, supermodels rave about it and facialists recommend it," adding that it "sells every minute globally on average" [7]. In 2015, WWD described Pixi as among the strongest proprietary lines in mass retailing [4]. Glow Tonic was named Best Liquid Exfoliator in the Glamour Beauty Power List Awards in 2021 [3].