LYS Beauty got my attention when they came to Sephora. Mostly because it’s the retailer’s first Black-owned Sephora Clean Color Cosmetics brand, and I heard nothing but good things about the brand and its products. Second of all, I really like how LYS is a clean beauty brand, which means clean formulas, and that’s what I’m trying to focus more on.
- Cruelty-free, vegan and clean products
- All products do what they promise
- Average but nice beauty products
- A very affordable brand available at Sephora
- Not all products were a hit to me
- The packaging is so cute but not as easy to store
To get a good first impression of the brand, I bought almost all of their products (their concealer wasn’t launched yet) and started testing them. Curious to see if LYS Beauty is worth your money? Let’s dive into the post.
What Is LYS Beauty
How LYS Beauty’s founder Tisha Thompson, trained makeup artist turned beauty business maven, is introducing her brand on the website: “LYS™ Beauty is on an unapologetic mission to empower, inspire and awaken your most confident self through strict formulation standards that help reshape the way consumers approach clean beauty.
Committed to a skin-first, multicultural approach to formulating, LYS™ unlocks skin’s maximum potential with ingredients that are not only suitable but deeply enriching for all complexions. With each product under $30, this highly affordable line targets common skincare concerns, like blemishes, visible signs of aging, hyperpigmentation, excess oil, and uneven texture and tone, allowing everyone the luxury of clean beauty.”
Clean Formulas + Sustainable Packaging
Each formula is thoroughly tested and adjusted until the final results where perfect. The LYS Beauty line will never compromise on cruelty-free practices, vegan lifestyle, uber clean formulas, non-conformity, accessibility, and plant-based ingredients. Their full range is always 100% gluten-free, talc-free, fragrance-free, mineral oil-free, and SLS-free.
On top of that, LYS™ is also a supporter and participant of the sustainability movement, including implementing sustainably made product packaging and cartons. LYS uses FSC-certified folding cartons and packaging featuring glass and tubes using 30% Post-Consumer Recycled (PCR) materials to do their part in protecting the environment.
Check out my blog posts on cruelty-free high-end beauty brands and 100% vegan beauty brands if you’re interested in making a switch, or check out the clean beauty category for more inspiration on non-toxic beauty brands.
The LYS Beauty Products I Bought
As the brand is fairly new to the beauty market, LYS Beauty doesn’t have many products to choose from. However, it’s enough to get your whole base makeup needs covered. They now (at the time of writing this post) have 10 full-size products, 2 mini versions, and 7 tools (brushes and sponges) available for purchase. I went for 7 of their makeup products, including the following products:
- LYS Beauty Triple Fix Serum Foundation – $22
- LYS Beauty Secure Skin Gripping Serum Primer – $20
- LYS Beauty Higher Standard Satin Matte Cream Blush – $16
- LYS Beauty No Limits Matte Bronzer – $18
- LYS Beauty Triple Fix Setting Powder in Translucent – $18
- LYS Beauty Aim High Pressed Highlighter Powder – $19
- LYS Beauty Think Bright Glow + Hydrate Serum with Vitamin C & Hyaluronic Acid – $28
Where To Buy
LYS Beauty is available at Sephora.com and LYSBeauty.com and is now also available at Cult Beauty which means the UK and Europe can purchase LYS Beauty there, easily and without customs charges.
LYS Beauty Review
LYS Beauty Triple Fix Serum Foundation
I think this foundation will be a hit or a miss, so do proper research before you purchase. I personally really like this foundation, as I have normal to dry skin. It’s slightly dewy looking on me, but I feel like my T-zone starts to look somewhat oily after wearing it for a couple of hours. However, I love the skin-like finish, it’s lightweight and light coverage, but it’s buildable to more medium coverage.
If you have dry and/or sensitive skin, I think you must be more careful with this foundation. Why? Because I noticed that the area around and on top of my nose and upper lip looked a little patchy/flakey, those are my driest spots. It wasn’t too bad, but I’m unsure if it would look good on dry skin with dry patches. If you have sensitive skin, check out the ingredients list before you purchase. The foundation includes skin-loving ingredients such as HA, but I know this is not everyone’s cup of tea, and some respond badly to certain supposedly skin-loving ingredients.
LYS Beauty Secure Skin Gripping Serum Primer
I wasn’t expecting this primer to be this liquid; it’s coming out the tube like water, so don’t be too enthusiastic trying to get the product out because you’ll end up with too much, lol. The primer is easy to apply, feels nice to the skin, and makes my skin super glowy. It’s a perfect base if you like a dewy finish. If you have dry skin, you’ll also love this primer as it feels hydrating.
I’ve been using this primer a lot, and I like how my makeup looks when I wear this beneath. It didn’t like the Sunny Days Tinted SPF from Tower 28 Beauty, though; this combination was a big mess. But other than that, I haven’t noticed any problems. It’s a good primer, I wouldn’t say the best I’ve ever tried, but it does its job at keeping my makeup in place all day with no creasing or moving.
LYS Beauty Higher Standard Satin Matte Cream Blush
This is a hit! I love cream blushes, and my collection is out of hand. However, I have lots of different cream blushes to compare these to lol. The formula is creamy but somewhat velvety, it’s easy to apply enough pigment with just one good dip in blush, but it’s definitely buildable if you want more color pay-off. Applying this blush with a brush, a sponge, or your fingers is all possible, and the finish is always pretty. My cheeks look healthy, natural, and dewy. I love it!
LYS Beauty No Limits Matte Bronzer
If you have light or pale skin, you have to tap off the brush before you apply this powder bronzer to the cheeks because it’s pigmented. You don’t have to build up the pigment because it’s there right away, but I like how you’re still able to build the intensity if you want to. I didn’t have a hard time minimizing the intensity either, so that’s a plus. For some reason, I’m not in love with this bronzer, but it’s definitely not bad at all. I just have other bronzers I love a little more. This one isn’t special: it’s a good, basic bronzer.
LYS Beauty Aim High Pressed Highlighter Powder
This one actually surprised me! It’s actually quite pigmented and kinda blinding when swatched on the arm; however, once applied to the cheek, it leaves a stunning glow. Nothing too much, but more than just a healthy glow, if this makes sense? There aren’t glitters or big sparkles in this highlighter, thankfully, because I really don’t like that. Moreover, it didn’t accentuate my pores or uneven texture and actually left a stunning fine pearl-like glow on the cheeks. Yas!
LYS Beauty Triple Fix Setting Powder in Translucent
I’m not really a fan of this setting powder, to be completely honest. It does set my base makeup, but it accentuates my dry areas, even though I tried to avoid the dry patches as much as I could. I tried to apply this as an under-eye setting powder, too, and.. that was a mistake. It made the area extremely dry, and the foundation started to flake. I can see this powder working for people with oily skin but if you have (the tiniest bit of) dry skin, please skip this powder.
LYS Beauty Think Bright Glow + Hydrate Serum with Vitamin C & Hyaluronic Acid
I love hydrating serums, especially if it has Hyaluronic Acid in them. This serum is the perfect, dewy base for your makeup! It’s hydrating but leaves the skin looking so glowy, it’s very pretty. It could also be very pretty on no-makeup makeup days when you want to add some glow and hydration to your routine. If your mission is to mattify, then skip this serum. If you want a dewy, glowy, shiny (in a good way) base, try this serum!
Final Verdict
I think LYS Beauty is a great, affordable brand with awesome clean products. The products did their job, one better than the other, though. Either way, LYS Beauty is a great addition to the beauty community! Some products aren’t my cup of tea or are basic to me, but that doesn’t mean they’re bad. There might be better products on the market, but these are good and affordable staple items for sure. My least favorite product is the setting powder which I wouldn’t recommend to people with dry skin, but I think oily skin could appreciate the powder. My favorite product is the cream blush, those are really amazing and worth trying!
FAQ
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First of, welcome back bestie! Second, I actually was looking at Lys the other day when I was having the Patrick Ta gloss dilemma and I have the bronzer in my cart. I was looking at the powder too but I recently got the dior one (guess what, because of you 😂) and I don’t need another one but this might be perfect for me going into summer (dior and CT won’t enough for me) the blushes look beautiful but I don’t do much cream blush and tbh I barely use anything other than the Vieve one. Can you tell I’m bored at work cause this is an essay😂♥️
Heyyyyyyyy bestie! I love your whole essay hahaha ♥️