Phytosurgence is a relatively new Canadian indie brand – they just celebrated their 2 year anniversary – that is also Asian & LGBTQ+ owned. While their current range is on the smaller side, you can tell that the products are well thought out, thoroughly tested, and truly loved by the owners. Their makeup line currently consists of three formulas, all of which I picked up during my first order and that we’ll be talking about today! Let’s get into it.
PACKAGING
All of the products come in a white paper box with black font, containing the brand’s logo and all of the necessary information about the product. I really love the aesthetic of the outer packaging. The shade of the product contained inside is handwritten – while I’m sure this is so that they don’t have to purchase packaging for each shade, this added touch is just something I find a bit more personal and serves as a reminder that the brand you’re supporting is small!
The Spectral Shine Radiance Balms come in a plastic white compact with the logo printed on the front and adhesive labels on the back that are color-coded to correspond to the shade inside. The label text for the lightest shade (Fresh Fog) was slightly harder to read since the entire label is color-coded to the shade, and Fresh Fog is a pearly white. This shouldn’t be much of an issue though since you’ll probably only have one or two that match your skin tone best!
I will say that I personally don’t love the compacts. They’re very utilitarian and easy to open, but they’re also slightly rounded on top which makes them a little difficult to stack or store (depending on your organization). Totally personal preference though, there’s no actual problem with them, and they feel pretty sturdy.
The other products, the Flash Florescence Cream Shadows & Skin Spark Blush Balms, come in glass pots with a plastic lid. Similar to the compacts, the lid has the logo printed on top while the glass pot has an adhesive label on the bottom with the shade and product name. These have a nice weight to them, close tightly, and overall feel really nice!
PRODUCTS
Spectral Shine Radiance Balm
The Spectral Shine Radiance Balm retails for C$32 and contains 7g of product. This is the brand’s take on a cream highlighter. I say it’s their take because it’s nothing like any other makeup formula I’ve previously felt or experienced.
Let’s set the stage: You will get this product, knowing that you’ve seen the most beautiful cheeks grace their Instagram and that you can recreate that on yourself. You’ll open the box excitedly, swatch the product, and- “… oh. Why does this feel dry and look so chalky? Is it supposed to be this way?”
Stay with me.
You’ll grab your regular highlighting brush, softly dip it in the product, brush your cheeks, and- “… Nothing? Why don’t I see anything?”
Keep holding on.
Grab a fluffy, somewhat dense brush and swirl it in the product. Keep lightly swirling. No, don’t stop yet. Alright, now buff or tap it into your cheeks with reckless abandon. “OMG, did an ANGEL just CARESS my FACE?!” It’s likely. Aren’t you glad you stayed with me?
These do not feel like a powder, cream, or balm, nor are they a cream-to-powder formula – they’re completely dry to the touch on the surface, but you can also still warm it up and feel the creamy texture underneath. That being said, they do need to be applied in a specific way in order to let their beauty shine. And not shine like glitter or shimmer particles – you won’t see any of that, even in sunlight. You actually won’t see any product on your skin at all. You’ll just look like you have the most luscious, juiciest skin and maybe went for a brisk walk in the summer morning. However, it also won’t be sticky or slick – somehow, it just weightlessly melds into your skin without emphasizing texture to give you the glossiest, glassiest skin all day long without the inconvenience, shorter wear time, or makeup breakdown often associated with highlighter balms.
It’s very rare that I stand by a product that requires you to finesse your application technique and tools because, frankly, who has time for that? I’ll make an exception and say that for this product, everyone does. (Don’t forget how much you thanked me after sticking with our exercise above.)
The primary swatch below is heavily built up and unblended to show the undertones and depth of Fresh Fog and Mirrored Moonlight, but I’ve also included a sunlight shot where it was more blended on my arm so that you can see just how well they blend into your skin. While the true essence of the effect itself was difficult to capture, Phytosurgence has tons of photos on their IG and website to reference as well.
Skin Spark Blush Balms
The Skin Spark Blush Balms retails for C$21 and contains 4g of product. While both the cream blushes and highlighters share the descriptor of “balm”, they’re about as far away on either end of the cream product spectrum as they could get. The blushes have a much wetter and somewhat whipped consistently. They pick up extremely easily and are very pigmented, so a little goes a long way. I can tell you it’s worth it though – they blend out so easily and actually stay on your face all. day. long.
I picked up the shade Fume, which is a beautiful neutral for my skin tone. I expected this to be more cool-toned based on the swatches but was surprised how much warmer it appeared blended on my skin. It kind of transformed on my skin such that my cheeks looked healthily flushed. You might question if the swatches below are of the same product and think about running if you wanted that cool-toned mauve, but like we covered above… trust the process.
Flash Florescence Cream Shadows
The Flash Florescence Cream Shadows retail for C$21 and contain 4g of product. These are cream shadows that also have a different texture than I expected. These are also on the drier side of the cream product spectrum and are quite firm in the pot but pick up easily. Because of their texture, they are a much thinner formula of cream shadow than I’m used to but do not lack in pigment.
The shades are a little more subdued in the sense that you’re not going to get a super shimmery/metallic finish but rather a softer, more everyday look. I think these are an incredibly approachable introduction to cream shadows if you’ve never used them but also a solid addition to your stash if you already love cream shadows. They’re super easy to swipe on and go and blend effortlessly.
This formula also has an impressive wear time. My quite hooded eyes have caused me to be vigilant about checking if my eyeshadow creases throughout the day, but I surprisingly had none. That’s unheard of for cream shadows on my eyes. I did have some fading in the folds of my eyelids, but an eyeshadow primer helped with that significantly.
I chose the shades Wild Oak & Deeply Rooted and am so happy with both. Wild Oak is a beautiful antiqued gold that really brings out my eye color and is a great warm neutral. Deeply Rooted is a rosy brown with a cool blue shift – the shift is more readily visible in the pot or on your fingertip but is still visible on the lid.
CUSTOMER SERVICE
When my initial order arrived and I first tested Spectral Shine, the formula seemed way softer than that of what I had seen on the website. I reached out to the brand to ask if the texture was expected and sent pictures of what mine looked like after barely touching the product. I literally got a response within minutes. Apparently there had been a formulation issue where the wrong type of wax was used and they had reached out to everyone they thought was impacted, apologizing that they had missed my order. My order number was grabbed based on my name alone (I hadn’t even provided it in the initial communication!), and replacements were immediately issued.
Every brand will have hiccups, but it’s how they respond to them that matters the most. I include this tidbit not to highlight the mistake but to demonstrate how responsive they were to a product question; the customer service of correcting my order without even needing to provide further information; and the speed at which the replacements were sent. I can’t remember the last time I had such an easy experience resolving an order issue.
FINAL THOUGHTS
If you haven’t gathered, I’m truly blown away by these products. I love seeking out new indie brands to try because with as oversaturated as the makeup market is right now (and has no signs of slowing down), independently funded small business have to bring something different in order to survive, much less be raved about. When I heard two separate creators mention Phytosurgence, my interest was piqued.
I did have to spend a little extra time understanding the formula of the Spectral Shine Radiance Balm in order to get a true feel for the best application technique, but from what I’ve seen, that’s true for almost everyone. Special products deserve special treatment, and this one is not leaving my side anytime soon. The other products are really fantastic as well, and none of these products move once you’ve applied and blended them.
Another thing worth mentioning is that this brand is heavily community-based. They are very active on Instagram (especially on stories), where they stay reposting creators’ content. You know how some people seem like a brand’s hype person because of how much they love the products? Phytosurgence gives that energy right back – they remember individuals, share their content with added encouraging comments, and often comment on posts as well. Phytosurgence also shares behind-the-scenes of product development and frequently requests input from their community on what kinds of formulas/shades they should pursue via polls and comments – and actually listens to it. It’s just really incredible to have found such an authentic brand.
This is a brand I will be keeping my eye on for sure and for a long time to come. I’m not on their radar, but they’re certainly on mine. I’m very much looking forward to the glitter toppers they’ll be releasing this summer and will selfishly be hoping that their next release is a bronzer! In the meantime, I’m already shopping for additional shades of their existing product formulations and will be taking a peek at their skincare as well (since that’s what started the brand, after all!).
Have you tried Phytosurgence? I’d be so curious to hear your thoughts on the products and impression of the brand!