Beauty Detail
Don't Mess With Isamaya Ffrench's Beauty Sleep
The MUA shares her "life-changing" overnight essential, plus a look inside her surprisingly low-key beauty bag.
In Bustle’s Beauty Detail, we dive into the beauty bags of our favorite celebrities and talent for intel on the rituals that keep them glowing. Ahead, makeup artist Isamaya Ffrench shares her drugstore favorites, the one product she can’t stop collecting, and what she does when she’s off the clock.
A few days after speaking with makeup artist extraordinaire Isamaya Ffrench, news broke that caught the beauty world off guard: According to Business of Fashion, she had parted ways with ISAMAYA, the beauty brand she founded in 2022.
It was a tough day for anyone in love with Ffrench’s surrealist, often avant-garde approach to beauty. (After all, where else can you buy a penis-shaped lipstick?) In a sea of sameness, ISAMAYA felt like a world of its own — and it’s hard to imagine the brand without the visionary who defined it.
Then again, Ffrench’s vision has taken on many forms throughout her career. She’s transformed some of the most photographed faces into unrecognizable figures, from an elderly Zendaya to an elf-eared Irina Shayk. She’s turned animal prosthetics and crying Madonnas into high-fashion runway looks, and even ventured beyond beauty altogether with Studio Iron, a concept store devoted to housewares.
“I didn’t study makeup,” she says. “I got into it accidentally through art. I was doing sculpture and dabbling in special effects. Then I got asked to work on a shoot, and I realized there was a world in which you could literally paint faces for a living. I feel like I’ve kind of worked backwards. I started out very colorful and creative, and now I’ve refined my craft.”
As a judge for Instagram Rings — an award celebrating creativity among creators — Ffrench knows how important it is to step away every once in a while and follow your curiosity. “I don’t feel that creativity always comes from seeing something, being inspired by it, and wanting to make something similar,” she says. “It can also come from taking time out of what you do and having new experiences. Inspiration is everywhere.”
Post-fashion month, however, she’s sticking to her tried-and-true routine. “I’m just hanging out with my cats and going to reformer Pilates,” she laughs. “I feel like that’s quite boring, but I love alone time.”
Ahead, Ffrench gives us a peek inside her surprisingly tame beauty bag, from the brow pencil she hoards “like a kleptomaniac” to the drugstore cream that saved her skin.
Her Retinol Alternative
“Some people love retinol, but I don't really use it. It’s too strong for my skin. Recently, I started using this Sali Hughes toner, and it’s absolutely incredible. It has salicylic acid, AHAs, and BHAs. I think great skin care that works for your specific needs is always worth spending money on.”
Her Beauty Sleep Essential
“I have some of these little Loop earplugs, and they’re life-changing. That’s where the beauty sleep happens for me.”
Her Skin-Slugging Staple
“I think a lot of people, myself included, have damaged their skin barrier. But using an emollient cream, like Doublebase or Eucerin, for a couple of weeks back-to-back can really help. Just stick to that and give your skin a break from everything else.”
Her Trusty Multitasker
“You can’t not have lip gloss in your kit. M.A.C.’s Lipglass is sticky as hell, but that’s why it’s so great. It stays put. When I’m doing models backstage, I know it’s not going to move around, and it has a very high-shine finish. I’m always using it on eyelids and as highlighter, too.”
Her Brow Obsession
“Brow pencils are another thing I always have in my kit. I feel like a kleptomaniac the way I collect them. I love Anastasia Beverly Hills — I mean, she’s the queen of brows. She has this incredible brow palette that I use every time I do a makeup look. Then, she has these fine-tip pencils that I also use for sculpting and lip lining. They’re just the best brow products out there.”
Her Fall Fragrance
“Historically, I wore a lot of men’s fragrances because I wanted to smell hot. I thought, if I smell a man who’s hot, surely I’ll smell hot, too. But right now, I’m wearing Musc Miroir by Ormaie. It’s a modern musk, so it’s quite velvety and soft but also warm. It has that unisex quality I find really lovely.”
Her Go-To Gadget
“Generally, I use all my tools and gadgets first thing in the morning. I’ll wear an LED mask in the evening, but in the morning, I’ll do EMS [Electrical Muscle Stimulation] or gua sha. It helps with the lymphatic system, and I feel a bit more snatched after.”
Her Bad Hair Day Fix
“If I’m having a bad hair day, I’ll just grease the hell out of it with a leave-in conditioning mask and throw it in a bun. One of my favorite masks is from Arkive, a brand that was set up by hairstylist Adam Reed. He also has a really great styling spray. You just give your hair a light mist before a blowout, and it holds really well.”
