Phytosurgence Flash Fluorescence Cream Shadows and Skin Spark Blush Balms | Vancouver Based Beauty • Girl Loves Gloss

add vancouver beauty brand phytosurgence to your ‘must try’ list, because this brand is going somewhere.

It’s not every day I come across and exciting beauty newcomer only to discover it’s roots are right here in your hometown!

Phytosurgence is inspired by nature, but based on science, which if you’ve been reading Girl Loves Gloss for any amount of time, you’ll know is right up my street.

Phytosurgence themselves say, “We believe transparent and conscious beauty needs to come to the forefront of the beauty industry. Using fear-mongering and scare tactics to sell products under claims such as “non-toxic” leads to misinformed consumerism, which we are standing up to.” – which basically makes me love them. Full stop.

testing out phytosurgence

I discovered Phytosurgence on Instagram (hey, while you’re there follow me @girllovesgloss!).

The stars must have aligned because they were having a sale. So I quickly snatched up a few of their Flash Florescence Cream Shadows and Skin Spark Blush Balms to try out!

Something I felt really inspired by was reading this snipped on the website: “Ingredients are sourced from responsible and reputable suppliers only. We then create small batches of product at a time in our (obviously sterilized) small potions room to make sure each product gets the love and care it deserves.

No labs, no private labels, no premade ready to sell formulas. Everything is done by hand in a small team.”

In a world where brands feel like they need to pump out launch after launch, I for one am really looking forward to trying more indie and start-up beauty brands in 2021. I’m here to support the care, consideration and lack of push for consumption that independent brands stand behind.

THE PACKAGING IS RAD

Besides the bitchin names – seriously Skin Spark Blush Balm?? Flash Florescence?? Get on my face now! – the packaging is a minimalist chic that appeals to my soul greatly.

The cosmetic items available, cream shadows and blushes, come in tightly closing glass pots. Anyone who’s ever had a cream shadow dry out on them will appreciate this greatly.

The skin care, which I’ve yet to try but you can better believe is on my wishlist, comes in pump and pipette formats.

THE SHADES ARE SUPER WEARABLE

I love to experiment with makeup… in theory.

I should say that I *did* love to experiment with colour back when my child was teeny and I actually had more than 12 minutes (on a good day!) to get ready.

So what I am saying is, I find myself gravitating to wearable basics most days and Phytosurgence’s colour range really suits those needs.

The Flash Florescence Cream Shadows come in 6 shades:

Amber Aura: a copper rose gold
Potent Petal: a golden peachy pink
Sun Stress: a bronzed gold
Wild Oak: an antique bronze
Velvet Leaf: a dirty olive green
Deeply Rooted: a cool brown with blue reflects

I have the shades Potent Petal, Wild Oak and Deeply Rooted. Wild Oak is my favourite; It’s a dupe for the much loved yet discontinued MAC Indianwood Paint Pot.

It’s a gorgeous dirty bronze shade that really can be built up to super impactful. The perfect one and done shadow, if you ask me!

the skin spark blush balms come in 8 shades:

Singe – Bright neutral pink
Ember – Coral tangerine
Fume – Dusty rose
Inferno – Brick toned bronze
Swelter – Bright cranberry with low white base
Fervor – Rich berry with low white base
Simmer – Soft baby pink
Smolder – Burnt apricot peach

I have shades Singe and Fume, and both are super pigmented and blend like a dream. I’d say I lean towards Singe a bit more because I’m a blush fanatic and more is more.

These both finish to a satin look on the skin, and sit well on top of foundation as well as bare skin.

THE TEXTURES ARE AWESOME

Cream products can really make or break when it comes to their textures. Too thick on the eyes can lead to bunching, too thin on the cheek leads to patchy application.

I can tell Phytosurgence has really thought this through and these textures are so enjoyable to work with!

The Flash Florescence Cream Shadows are a really emollient, thin texture; They almost melt into your application. I actually find because of this I prefer a flat brush to apply instead of my finger, which is a first for me with cream shadows! With my finger I get a sheer wash, but with a brush, I get incredible payoff!

The Skin Spark Blush Balms oppositely are almost a mousse-like texture, which you will see in my swatch video. Unlike some mousse formulas that bunch on the skin, these blend out really beautifully with minimal effort. I prefer a very dense brush and a patting motion for this.

the pricing is on point

Coming in a $21 CAD for both the Flash Florescence and the Skin Sparks, I think the pricing is a fabulous buy for these!

The Phytosurgence range is small, but mighty, with the highest ticket item, is the Moonlight Afterglow – Brightening and Resurfacing Treatment coming in at only $56. It’s next on my list, because you all know I am a high lover of anything exfoliating and resurfacing!

THE FORMULATION IS BEAUTIFULLY DONE

The first question everyone asks about cream shadows is, “do they crease?”. Of course, that depends on a few things like how oily your lids are and how thick you apply the colour.

In my case, I’ve only seen minimal creasing with the shade Deeply Rooted, which I am guessing might have something to do with the slight duochrome effect it has. Nothing that an eye primer can’t fix for my personally, but if you have a really tough time with creasing, take note. I happen to have pretty deeply creased lids, so its kind of just par for the course for me.

The Skin Spark Blush Balms get me 2/3 of the way through the day, which is actually better performance than most cream blushes I own. I have dry, dehydrated skin that loves to drink up moisture anywhere I can get it, so it’s normal for blush to not make it through the day on me.

BASICALLY, ITS LOVE

I’m thrilled to have come across Phytosurgence and to have another incredible Vancouver-based beauty brand to support!

Just by my initial experience with the brand and products, I’m calling it now: Phytosurgence will be one to watch in 2021. I can’t wait to see (and try!) what they come out with next!