We’ve Been Waiting for Months to Try Isamaya Ffrench’s New Makeup Line

The hint of color is far more subtle than it appears in the tube. “It looks very natural, but it just gives you this kind of slightly edgy look,” Ffrench says.

Extensive time went into the formulas (and it shows in the payoff of the products), but this launch is so much more than five makeup items for Ffrench. “Sometimes the story is as powerful as the product itself, and for me, it’s about creating a world, you know, and being able to identify with something that makes you feel empowered and excited,” she says. “I really want to inspire people by showing them that there are other ways to do beauty, to liberate people from the ideals of what mainstream beauty looks like.”  

And Ffrench’s creativity extends far beyond the unique matte packaging and affixed hardware. Browlacq, a gel intended to create laminated finish on brows without looking overdone, is accompanied by a teeny-tiny comb that shapes brows effortlessly. 

And the Rubberlash mascara is not just another volumizing formula. “Obviously just looking at this mascara, you can see it’s unlike any other mascara out there — I mean, it has a freakin’ earring,” says associate beauty director Sarah Kinonen. “Its arched wand gave my dainty blonde lashes fluttery length with zero smudging,” she says after swiping on two coats. 

It’s all a bit on the edgy side, sure, but if you look at Ffrench history, it’s in fact all very wearable. This is a woman who once transformed a model into a lizard with lips the size of hot-dog buns.

Isamaya Beauty, a line of five products, is available now for $32 to $200 at isamaya.com.

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