Around the world, the name Isamaya Ffrench is synonymous with a high-fashion experimentive makeup style.
She’s travelled with Rihanna, Madonna, Bella Hadid and Kendall Jenner and has played a hand in editorials for almost every major fashion publication in existence. The renowned makeup artist was behind Byredo’s hugely sought-after launch into cosmetics, is Global Beauty Director of Burberry Beauty, and has now finally ventured out into her own eponymous label.
“I’m creating my own world for a new generation of makeup lovers,” Ffrench explains of her label ISAMAYA. “I want to inspire people and show them that there are other ways to approach beauty. To liberate them from the ideals of the mainstream and to be more authentic by proposing something more artistic and highly visual”.
She will be taking a slightly different approach to her collections where the products will be released in a series of limited, thematic drops in collaboration with celebrated artists from around the globe - all with an emphasis on individuality and creativity.
We caught up with Ffrench to find out the items she can’t live without.
What are you up to at the moment?
Splitting my brain between all my various projects and focusing on the biggest launch of my makeup career - my own brand, ISAMAYA!
Can you walk us through the products in your collection?
The INDUSTRIAL collection is for makeup lovers who want something new and exciting. Beautiful, sexy and wearable makeup products that you can use everyday and create many different looks with.
The Skinlacq is packed with a triple hyaluronic acid complex and can be used as a luminous base, serum or highlighter, any time of the day. The Liplacq is a volume boosting lip serum which has a lovely dark berry tint; a single layer will lightly intensify the colour of your lips, and if you apply several, you can build up the colour.
The Rubberlash Mascara is a deep black mascara that contains a special agent that curls the lashes up as well as hair conditioning ingredients and the Browlacq is a high performance eyebrow gel that you can use with its dedicated comb to achieve a laminated brow look.
The makeup star of the range is the Industrial Colour Pigments eyeshadow palette that hosts an amazing range of 14 colours that all deliver a different finish, from the holographic white to the silver putty, from the iridescent, oil-inspired green to the deep matte black, and all the glitters with various intensities in between.
What is the product that you’re most proud of?
The Rubberlash Mascara is a great staple when you want to get out of the house feeling like you did something, but you haven’t spent an hour in front of the mirror, and I wanted to develop a mascara that would have the deepest black shade, be buildable and would keep your eyelashes healthy, which is why we added hair conditioning ingredients in the formula.
What is your beauty routine?
Unless I’m going to an event, I actually barely wear any makeup in my day to day life. So much of my work is behind the camera. I love doing makeup on others more than myself. I am, however addicted to mascara!
What are your beauty commandments?
Wear SPF at ALL times. Yes, even in the UK. Yes, even during winter. There are a lot of things that age our skin over which we have little control, but protecting it against the sun is not one of them. Also, something I wasn’t doing before but forced into my routine since the first lockdown is to remove my makeup religiously every night before bed.
What’s your number one beauty pet peeve?
Over-concealing the entire area around the eyes and brows, which makes your face look very flat. It’s good to have a little darkness around the eyes, it’s sexy!
What tools are always in your beauty arsenal?
I’m big on tools. I love Face Halo pads which work wonders to remove makeup, any kind of Chinese massage tool for the face which really help with blood flow and lymphatic drainage and anything that has been in the freezer that I will apply to puffy areas of my face in the morning.
What’s one product you wish you invented?
How do you treat yourself?
As well as I can. We only have one life and one body, there’s really no time to waste blaming ourselves for being too much X and not enough Y. Cultivating individuality is the healthiest and most attractive thing.
