Isamaya Beauty. More like take all my money. (Okay, sorry that was stupid.) If you’re not familiar with Isamaya Beauty, it’s run by my girl Isamaya Ffrench. She’s done it all—whether it’s editorial and runway glam or dominating the business side of beauty. She’s held powerhouse roles like Global Beauty Director at Burberry Beauty, Creative Artist Consultant for Tom Ford Beauty, and Creative Director for Byredo Makeup. She even dipped into music. If you can think of it, she’s probably done it. I first fell in love with her when I saw the SFX makeup she did for the Fall 2023 Ready-To-Wear Collina Strada show. She turned all the models into these animal-human hybrids, and I was instantly obsessed. Since then, I’ve spent too much money on her unique, fetishy products. Still not sure who she is? Remember that viral dick lipstick? Yup. That was her. She launched her brand in 2022 and has dropped five collections so far: most recognizable the Industrial Collection (June 2022), then Wild Star Collection (December 2022), into LIPS Collection (March 2023), Industrial 2.0 (August 2023), and most recently the Core Collection (February 2025). When I heard about the Core Collection, I was ecstatic. I actually jumped on it and bought a product: the 5 Point Lift. I own products from her past collections, and yes, they’re expensive, but the quality always justified it. Everything felt luxe—super heavy, fully metal packaging, never plastic… until now.
When the new product arrived, I was like, uhhh, why TF is this so light? Girl. It’s PLASTIC. Freaking PLASTIC. And suddenly I’m spiraling—what’s changed since the last time I ordered? Well… her brand just dropped at Sephora. And the Core Collection? Planned to hit shelves days after the launch. Coincidence? I think not.
So like… did she sell out?
It feels like she did. Formerly niche, cool, and culty—now the Core Collection is getting clowned online. And honestly? I get it. Innovation in the beauty industry is hard, but she is always right there at the forefront. This just didn’t feel like her. It felt cheap and plasticky. The key thing to remember: your audience always knows when you’re being authentic—and when you’re not. Her cult following saw right through it. Selling out isn’t always a bad thing, but with such a niche fanbase, her stuff doesn’t belong in Sephora. It thrives as e-commerce, with everything selling out instantly. I think she should’ve stuck with that. Maybe then I wouldn’t feel so much buyer’s remorse over a $40 skincare-concealer combo.
Another thing I want to touch on: braille. Yeah, braille. The outer packaging has braille, and even the product itself does too—which is the first time I’ve seen that, and I was so eager to be excited. But here’s the issue: the actual products aren’t functional for the visually impaired. You have to assemble them, rip certain tabs off in a specific way, and there’s no way to know that unless you go online, find the info, and listen to instructions. I hate when the effort is there in theory but not in practice. So like… what was the point? It feels like a performative move—a marketing checkbox. Slap braille on it, pat yourself on the back, and call it a day. Meanwhile, the product design clearly didn’t prioritize accessibility. Or quality, for that matter.
Anyway, I miss when her stuff felt like art. Now it feels like… Sephora filler. But will I still buy the next drop? Probably.
Words by Anna Jara
Graphics by Annie Hart