Beauty Of 5: LYS Beauty, Sephora's First Black-Owned Clean Cosmetics Brand
Beauty Of 5: Must-Have Products From LYS Beauty, Sephora’s First And Only Black-Owned <em>Clean</em> Cosmetics Brand - Page 4
Source: LYS Beauty / LYS
It’s great to see so many Black women helming cosmetic lines these days. Perhaps they’re getting into it because of a long love of doing good makeup, a strong base of supporters asking for products, or because it’s simply good business. For Tisha Thompson, founder of LYS Beauty, she saw an important need missing in makeup and decided to fill it: clean beauty marketed towards Black women.
Thompson is a 15-year clean beauty expert. She started as an MUA while simultaneously working as an accountant. When she noticed a lack of diversity in not only the representation but types of products distributed in the clean beauty space, which for clarification, is about goods that are made mindfully, without toxic ingredients, she wanted to change things. Thompson believes that because of that lack, Black women tend to be exposed to products that aren’t the best for their skin or overall health. But you go with what you have the easiest time accessing. She experienced this when products on the market would break her skin out or not have an assortment of colors available to fit the breadth of Black women’s skin tones.
“I would find myself not really feeling represented,” she says during the LYS Beauty virtual launch event earlier this month. “I made it my personal mission to make sure I incorporated more diversity.”
The concept for LYS Beauty started in 2017 and launched in 2019 with the sole mission of being to provide access to all to affordable but quality products. Everything in the line is under $30 and is made with natural ingredients, including avocado oils, green tea extracts, chia seed oil and more. Nothing gross, but rather, plant-based elements.
“It’s not only about what you put in the products but what you don’t put in the products,” she says.
The end result is a wide range of products that cater to the concerns of Black women’s skin, including hyperpigmentation, acne-prone skin and dryness, while making you look like the stunner you are and simultaneously protecting your skin and the planet (packaging is sustainable!).
Check out a few must-have products from the new line, launching on LYSBeauty.com today (Feb. 14) and on Sephora.com on Feb. 19.
Source: LYS Beauty / LYS
Triple Fix Serum Foundation $22
Source: LYS Beauty / LYS
Triple Fix Translucent Pressed Setting Powder $18
First of all, how cute is the shape of this setting powder?
The product is talc-free and locks your makeup in place. With the help of niacinamide (or vitamin B3), which Thompson says is big in her products, the powder helps with the pores to make your face look more clear. Pores and excess oil will have to take a raincheck.
Additional ingredients include green tea extract, which is an antioxidant meant to soothe and replenish skin. And there’s also sodium hyaluronate to retain skin moisture and sideline fine lines and wrinkles.
“It’s never gonna look powdery or chalky,” she says of the pigmented powders. “It’s all about the glow and having that natural radiance about your skin.”
Source: LYS Beauty / LYS
Speak Love Glossy Lip Treatment $12
Who doesn’t love not only a moisturized lip but also the kind that is so covered in gloss, people wonder if it’s sticky? The Speak Love lip treatment provides long-lasting hydration with high shine and can also double as an overnight treatment. It’s made with a variety of natural oils, including sunflower, carrot, sweet almond and macadamia nut oil. There’s also cold-pressed chia seed oil to help lips feel plump, and vitamin E to soothe them.
When we asked why she started with an oil instead of a bold lipstick or hued gloss, Thompson said she wanted to put out a universal product first.
“I really wanted to have that initial out of the gate product that bridged skincare and makeup together as well as being universal,” she says.
Source: LYS Beauty / LYS
Higher Standard Satin Matte Cream Blush $16
Bold colors that are easy to blend is the perk of this creamy blush with its satin matte finish. Shades include mauve, pink, soft peachy nude, baked coral terracotta, deep berry plum and pink cinnamon spice. All the blushes are made with kaolin clay, which reduces the appearance of pores and helps with excess shine. Then there’s the few other familiar ingredients in avocado oil and vitamin E. The names of all the blushes, and actually, all of the products, are positive ones like “Self Love” and “Empower.” There’s a purpose in that.
“I wanted to name them really inspiring things that inspire you to remember why you did something to begin with,” she says.
Source: LYS Beauty / LYS
Secure Skin Gripping Serum Primer $20
You can’t have fun with your face without a primer. This gripping serum primer minimizes the look of pores and helps to brighten up Debbie Downer hyperpigmentation. It has five percent of niacinamide, as well as ginger root extract to even out your actual skin tone, an AHA fruit blend to help smooth the skin texture, and a grapefruit extract to lighten dark spots.
All of these products are meant to encourage good skin health instead of the use of makeup to hide what’s underneath. They’re able to do that with the clean ingredients. It’s not easy, but it’s worth it to Thompson.
“It is an expensive process,” she says. “But for me, I was not willing to compromise.”
Follow LYS Beauty on social media at @LYSBeautyOfficial.
