LYS Beauty founder and CEO Tisha Thompson: 'My mission was to diversify clean'

When Tisha Thompson was choosing her major in college, she listened to her parents’ advice to go with a “safe” career path and choose accounting. But her passion was always makeup. 

“My parents were really firm on, ‘We don't want you to be a starving artist,’” she said on this week’s Glossy Beauty Podcast. 

Fast-forward to today, past several career moves that meant leaving her comfort zone, and she has a brand -- LYS Beauty, launched in February 2021 -- that's stocked at Sephora. 

Thompson became inspired to found LYS Beauty while spearheading the development of 100 foundation shades when she worked at PÜR Cosmetics. When her brand entered Sephora in the fall of last year, it became the first Black-owned cosmetics brand in the retailer’s “Clean at Sephora” category. 

LYS Beauty is bringing inclusivity to the clean beauty space with both product range and price point. Its foundation is its No. 1 seller, followed by its distinct triangle-shaped cream blush.