Hi Fam,

Apologies for the inconsistent posts as of the last few weeks! Let’s just say life has become more busier than normal and there’s been many simultaneous things happening. But, that doesn’t mean I’ve forgotten to shop and test out new products for you all :).

Lys Beauty is a brand that Sephora carries and it’s become quite well-known because of the fact that its a Black-Owned Clean Beauty brand, there’s an extensive shade range, and every product is under $25. Clean beauty prices right now are pretty astronomical and it’s probably just going to get worse. While I focus on ingredient quality, packaging, experience, and formulations, I am also a believer that clean ingredients and formations should be available to everyone and not cost an arm and a leg. Why shouldn’t everyone deserve to put good quality ingredients on their skin? But, coming back to the products and what they are like..

I was really curious to try this brand out for the cream blushes and also because of their price point. I wanted to see if a lower price point meant that quality was compromised or whether a higher price point equals better quality. While I picked up the blush, I also threw in the foundation as I am generally a fan of serum foundations and I’d heard pretty good things about this one.

The blush shade I picked up is called Inspire which is described as a Baked Coral. The packaging is in a triangular shape which there is some significance to, as that’s the symbol the brand uses. The compact is made out of plastic but it has a mirror inside. Now, this blush retails for $16. Being that it’s a lower price point, we can’t expect this to housed in glass packaging or steel. But, the formula is quite wonderful. It’s VERY pigmented, so you need the tiniest amount. It has more of a matte finish on the skin, and stays put for a very long time! The closest product I can compare this to, are the Kjaer Weis blushes, but the KW blushes are more creamier, refillable, the ingredients are a tad better, but they don’t last as long on the skin. If you are on a budget, but want cleaner ingredients, you cannot go wrong. Plus there are 6 shades to choose from, that are pretty varied.

Now the foundation. It comes in 34 shades at retails at $22. I mean that’s how much drug store foundations cost nowadays. So.. the fact that you can get a clean foundation for this kind of a price is a pretty big deal.

The formulation leans semi-matte, but if you prep your skin with a hydrating oil, I found this foundation to wear as a radiant finish. You have to shake the bottle every time to make sure the pigments mix in together really well, and it applies beautifully. It lasted on my skin better than the Exa foundation. The foundation comes in glass packaging but the lid and the pump are plastic, which is pretty standard. Now, does it look as luxe as a Nars foundation bottle, or Tom Ford? No, but it does the job. I personally, am not a fan of the slightly holographic packaging. I just like everything to be simple and neutral. But the pump works well, and disperses the right amount of product.

I believe this foundation does contain some ingredients at the bottom of the list that aren’t the cleanest. But, Sephora rates this as a clean foundation, and it is much, much cleaner than a lot of other ones. Again, for the price, you cannot go wrong. The one thing I will say is that for drier skin types, you should exfoliate before applying this foundation as the color pigments have a tendency to stick to the skin.

Overall, I am pleasantly surprised with this brand! The prices are at what the Sephora brand products cost and the ingredients are amazing for what you get.

If you pick this up, then let me know how it works!

-K