BEAUTY
Isamaya Ffrench Goes Hard
Coat, Shirt, and Tie by Dior. Harness and Choker by Mariemur. Earring by Sweet Lime Juice.
Fresh off the release of her killer new makeup line, beauty boss Isamaya Ffrench teaches us the real meaning of work.
___
INTERVIEW: Where do you work?
ISAMAYA FFRENCH: At ISAMAYA, my makeup brand.
INTERVIEW: Where are you now?
FFRENCH: At my kitchen table, one hand in the trail mix, the other typing these answers.
INTERVIEW: Who do you work with?
FFRENCH: Some highlights have been Madonna, Cher, Mel Ottenberg, Steven Klein, and Mert and Marcus.
INTERVIEW: What’s your morning routine?
FFRENCH: No such thing.
Dress, Scarf, Earrings, and Ring by Balenciaga.
INTERVIEW: What gives you energy?
FFRENCH: Good conversations and interesting people.
INTERVIEW: What are you made of?
FFRENCH: My name means “iron strength” in Old English, so it feels appropriate.
INTERVIEW: What gives you stamina?
FFRENCH: There’s no option to tap out, so I just push through it.
INTERVIEW: How many hours a day do you work?
FFRENCH: It can be 16-hour days on set, but I usually tap out at 7 p.m.-ish and try to switch off if I’m working from home.
INTERVIEW: What is the hardest you’ve worked?
FFRENCH: Show season can be pretty intense. It’s basically a month-and-a-half of nonstop travel, work, and late nights. I often cry at the end of it.
INTERVIEW: What makes work fun?
FFRENCH: My AMAZING team and assistants; I’m so lucky to have them.
Dress by Balmain. Earrings by Shaun Leane.
INTERVIEW: How do you build stamina?
FFRENCH: I build stamina by lifting weights. It’s crucial for my sanity.
INTERVIEW: What’s your motivation?
FFRENCH: That life isn’t infinite.
INTERVIEW: What counts as hard work?
FFRENCH: Work, that’s hard!
INTERVIEW: What holds you back?
FFRENCH: I’m still working on this with my therapist.
INTERVIEW: When does it feel like work?
FFRENCH: When someone else takes the lead.
INTERVIEW: What got you in trouble at work?
FFRENCH: Swearing.
INTERVIEW: What do you do on your days off?
FFRENCH: I’m making a documentary about global beauty aesthetics, so I’m doing a lot of writing and researching at the moment, between leg sets.
INTERVIEW: What’s your favorite workout?
FFRENCH: HIIT, kettlebells, and yoga.
INTERVIEW: How long can you last?
FFRENCH: How long is a piece of string?
INTERVIEW: What gets you up?
FFRENCH: At the moment it’s my builder who’s knocking down walls.
INTERVIEW: What keeps you going?
FFRENCH: Responsibility.
INTERVIEW: What makes you tired?
FFRENCH: Too many carbs at lunchtime.
INTERVIEW: What keeps you awake?
FFRENCH: I live on Bow Road in East London—so usually the screaming.
INTERVIEW: What makes you sweat?
FFRENCH: I’m not a very sweaty person. I think those adrenal glands maxed out a long time ago.
INTERVIEW: How do you endure?
FFRENCH: I don’t know, these questions are really beating it out of me.
INTERVIEW: How do you unplug?
FFRENCH: I have two gorgeous Oriental Shorthair cats, Goya and Salome.
INTERVIEW: When do you crash?
FFRENCH: I’m about to take my driving test so hopefully never?
INTERVIEW: Where do you want to retire?
FFRENCH: Retirement is not part of the plan currently.
INTERVIEW: Has the work paid off?
FFRENCH: YES!
INTERVIEW: What’s the atmosphere like at work?
FFRENCH: Chaotic and inspiring!
INTERVIEW: What do you need?
FFRENCH: Meaningful connections.
INTERVIEW: What gets you down?
FFRENCH: Internet trolls. What an unhappy existence.
Coat, Shirt, and Tie by Dior. Harness and Choker by Mariemur. Earring by Sweet Lime Juice. Gloves Stylist’s Own.
INTERVIEW: What keeps you up?
FFRENCH: Currently, Jamie Dornan in The Fall.
INTERVIEW: Who do you want to be?
FFRENCH: I’m becoming that person.
INTERVIEW: What do you want to create?
FFRENCH: Another human or two, eventually.
INTERVIEW: What do you want to leave behind?
FFRENCH: See above.
INTERVIEW: What’s worth fighting for?
FFRENCH: Human and animal rights.
INTERVIEW: What’s your reality?
FFRENCH: It’s hard to tell anymore.
INTERVIEW: What are you made of?
FFRENCH: Stars.
___
Image 1, 5: ISAMAYA Industrial Liplacq, ISAMAYA Industrial Browlacq, ISAMAYA Industrial Rubberlash, ISAMAYA Industrial Skinlacq, ISAMAYA Industrial Colour Pigments Eyeshadow Palette, Shiseido Syncroskin Refreshing Palette, MAC Studio Fix and Sculpt Contour Palette, MAC Studio Chromographic Pencil in NC15, MAC Blot Powder Light.
Image 2: ISAMAYA Industrial Rubberlash, ISAMAYA Industrial Skinlacq, ISAMAYA Industrial Colour Pigments (on eyes and mouth), Shiseido Syncroskin Refreshing Concealer, MAC Studio Fix and Sculpt Contour Palette, MAC Studio Chromographic Pencil in NC1, MAC Blot Powder Light.
Image 3, 4: ISAMAYA Industrial Liplacq, ISAMAYA Industrial Rubberlash, ISAMAYA Industrial Skinlacq, ISAMAYA Industrial Colour Pigments Palette, Shiseido Syncroskin Refreshing Concealers, MAC Studio Fix and Sculpt Contour Palette, MAC Studio Chromographic Pencil in NC15, MAC Blot Powder Light.
___
Hair: Claire Moore using Bumble and Bumble
Manicure: Lauren Michelle Pires
Digital Technician: Connor Egan
Photography Assistants: Connor Egan and Zoë O’Shay
Fashion Assistant: Anja Maye
Hair Assistant: Erika Freedman
Makeup Assistant: Esme Horn
Lighting Assistant: Joshua Hippolyte
