Full disclosure: I rarely wear makeup and, like many women out there, I hardly ever stray from the cosmetics brands I already know and love.

So, back in November, when blogger Christina Brown of Love Brown Sugar invited me to the launch of a nail polish she collaborated on with new beauty brand LiSi Cosmetics, I was a little skeptical. She raved about the product, the amazing quality and even more amazing price point (everything is under $15!)–but, I had to see for myself. And when I did, well, I was sold on the new brand.

Never heard of LiSi? The company just launched six months ago with e-commerce and a brick-and-mortar flagship on Broadway and Astor Place in NYC. Their mission statement: “An exceptional beauty brand that bridges the gap between high-end quality products and affordable prices and caters to women of all ethnicities.” What this means is they’re going for that aspirational customer–think expensive packaging and the latest cosmetic technology (like baked eye shadows)–but at dirt cheap prices. The shop is set up in the style of say, a MAC store: There are trained “beauty advisors” to help you try on the full range of products (they’ve got everything from foundation to setting mist), and give consultations so the cosmetically challenged can walk out looking like a million bucks.

I chatted with Lisa Hill, who sits at the helm of LiSi as the brand’s creative director. She’s been working for several years in the cosmetics industry, mostly on the product development, marketing, and brand-building end. But when she got a call to develop LiSi, the brainchild of the owner of a NYC-based retail clothing store chain (Hill was very secretive about what chain is behind LiSi), she jumped at the opportunity to bring something new to the beauty landscape. “I was intrigued, because it was something that has never been done before. There are certain wonderful cosmetics companies in the mass arena: department store brands, specialty brands, at every price point from high to low,” she told me. “But no one has been able to capture the best of both worlds. Bringing testers, gorgeous packaging, you know–the whole grand experience of a makeover at the affordable range that you might pay in a drugstore or even en masse.”

More details this way…