Isamaya Ffrench is reframing makeup as an exploration of identity and alter-egos. The artist’s eponymous makeup line, Isamaya, launched in June 2022 and has served as a master class in character building. Each of her two drops to date has channeled a distinct identity. The inaugural drop, Industrial, espoused a “hardcore” aesthetic taking cues from “leather and latex, piercings and rubber, flesh, strength, and self-possession.”
The latest collection, Wild Star, “pays homage to our inner cowgirl,” and personifies someone who “is tenacious, feisty, and holds her own,” Ffrench says. “She knows who she is and she never compromises. She’s completely in tune with her desire to feel glamorous yet powerful. She’s wild at heart.”
Donni Davy, the makeup artist behind television show Euphoria’s iconic looks, launched her own line in May 2022, riding the wave of euphoric beauty (see 51 Euphoric makeovers in “The Future 100: 2020”) that the show spawned. The Half Magic range is backed by an entertainment company, further enmeshing beauty and dramatis personae. “Half Magic grew out of the global beauty cultural phenomenon created by Euphoria fans around the world,” Michelle Liu, general manager of Half Magic, told Allure. “Creators behind the show came together to continue evolving the conversation around self-exploration and self-expression.”
The Fabricant is bringing this concept into the virtual realm. The digital-only fashion house launched Xxories, a line of virtual facial accessories, in October 2022. “Digital beauty has the potential to let us extend our identity into places we haven’t seen before,” said The Fabricant creative director Amber Slooten. It lets beauty enthusiasts “explore identities beyond this realm and discover new sides of ourselves.”
