Peyton List’s New Brand Pley Beauty Will Force You Out of Your Beauty Comfort Zone

The last time I saw Peyton List was on my TV screen way back in 2011 when she played Emma Ross on the Disney Channel sitcom Jessie. Little did I know that we would meet via a Zoom call almost 11 years (and a plethora of films) later to talk about the launch of her new makeup brand, Pley Beauty. As its name suggests — and as List tells me — the assortment of blushes, eyeliners, eye shadows, lip colors, shimmer sticks, and face stickers that make up the line are designed to unleash our more playful sides. “That was just the inspiration behind the whole thing — still having fun and finding that childlike sort of dream escape within these times,” she says.

List also tells me that the word “play” constantly came up in conversation throughout the brand’s two-year development process, which is why the name Pley just made sense. “We do use the word ‘play’ so much, and we’ve just realized [it’s] because we try to describe the line, and we’re like, ‘Shit, we’re saying play every other word and it’s not even because we’re trying to slide in our brand,'” she explains. “It’s just how we describe makeup and beauty.”

Oh, and if you were wondering if the name is also a play (no pun intended) on the actor’s first name, then you guessed correctly. “We were like, ‘Oh, well if we spell it with an E, we’ll really make it ours,'” she says.

After meeting with List, I put some (but not all) of Pley Beauty’s products to the test to see if they could conjure up those nostalgic feelings of juvenile carelessness and fun. Below are my first impressions of the line and everything you need to know about the products.

Eyes

Pley Beauty has a plethora of eye makeup products to choose from, including four eye shadow palettes and eight eyeliner pencils. The eye shadow palettes, which are known as the Pleyer Palettes ($36), come in four varieties: Nudies (an edit featuring nudes and neutrals), Love Child (an array of soft and vibrant colors), Modern Muse (dark neutrals and variations of pink), and Golden Girl (an amalgamation of pinks, neutrals, and bright colors all in one place). 

Whether you decide to apply these shadows with your fingers or a brush, rest assured that each shadow has an insanely high color payoff. I should know: in the spirit of the brand’s philosophy, I decided to step out of my makeup comfort zone and just get to playing.

I opted for a wash of blue across each of my eyelids, specifically the shade High Tide from the Love Child Eye Shadow Palette. Because this shadow was far more vivid than my go-to neutrals, I decided to take Los Angeles makeup artist Fiona Stiles‘s advice and use my finger in order “to lay on [the] color in a more concentrated way.”

The amount I deposited onto my lids by way of my finger was honestly a little more than I needed, but I added a layer of the translucent, shimmery shade Blondie, on top with a brush, and it resulted in the most beautiful blue-green wash of color.

I believe eye shadow should always be paired with eyeliner, so that’s where the Let It Linger Eyeliners ($16) come in. These gel-pencil eyeliners are available in eight colors: Boss (a classic black), Firewood (dark brown), Beach Bunny (tan), House Party (light purple), Flora (dark green), Denim (dark blue), Cyber Fairy (turquoise), and Chili Pepper (dark red).

I’ve always been more partial to liquid eyeliners since they add a little bit more dimension to my sunken, hooded eyes than their pencil counterparts, not to mention they also tend to smudge onto my lower lash line. But Pley Beauty got the formula of this pencil just right. I lined my upper lids with Boss, and after a day’s worth of house cleaning and a 30-minute strength training workout, there was surprisingly no transfer.

Face

List’s line also has you covered with an extensive range of complexion products and accessories: four powder blushes, eight shimmery color sticks, and four sets of face stickers. One-Stop-POP ($20) is what List calls her blushes, and they truly do make your cheeks pop.

I tried the shade Pure Bliss, which List told me is her favorite product from the brand. It was the second layer of blush I applied atop a liquid blush that I already own, and I realized soon after swiping it on my cheeks that I could have gone without the first layer entirely. In a nutshell: this blush has some of the highest color payoff that I’ve ever seen.

Next came Pley Date ($18), a shimmery multipurpose stick that the brand says is “designed to flatter and enhance.” I received the shade Sun Baked, which I used as a bronzer to add a bit of warmth to my temples. Using makeup artist Daniel Chinchilla’s technique, I worked the product into my skin with a dense brush in “circular motions.” To my chagrin, the formula seamlessly blended into my skin like a dream.

To take your makeup playtime to the next level, List also has a selection of four sets of face stickers called Pley Things ($16 to $24). In the sets, you’ll find gems shaped like stars and stickers, that are meant to mimic the appearance of a flick of winged eyeliner.

Lips

To say that I was impressed with the lip tint, which is known as Lip Habit ($20), would be an understatement. I was completely blown away, not just because of the color but because of the way that it happily sat on my eternally dry lips without crusting throughout the day. The color I tried, Strawberry Jam (a tickled pink), looks hot pink in the tube, but once it hit my lips, it imparted a rich, juicy wash of candy apple red that was completely unexpected. I tend to reach for mauvy pink colors, but this tint convinced me I should also make room for a red lip now.

If you’re not really a fan of colors with a red hue, however, the lip tint comes in four other shades: Vanilla Bean (an iridescent, shimmery white), Summer Watermelon (a salmon red), Notorious F.I.G. (a mulberry purple), and Orange Sunshine (a coral orange).

Pley also has another lip product, a lip volumizer called Lust & Found ($20), that I have not yet to try. Available in 10 shades — Ava, Billie, Ethel, Grace, Carmen, Ginger, Lupe, Mae, Jean, and Josephine — the selection features a variety of pinks and warm, neutral colors.

Pley Beauty x Cobra Kai

List’s brand also partnered with Sony Pictures to create a limited-edition makeup collection inspired by the show Cobra Kai, in which she plays Tory Nichols. The collection consists of five products, including the Energizing Facial Mist ($20), Lip Habit ($20), Pley Things ($12), Sweep the Cheek ($20), and a Pleyer Palette ($38).

All of the brand’s products surpassed all my expectations while truly living up to its euphoric, serotonin-inducing name. Pley Beauty retails from $12 to $38 and is available starting January 27 on pleybeauty.com.