Isamaya ditches love hearts in favour of phallic lipsticks this Valentine’s Day

Whilst many beauty brands have opted to douse their Valentine’s Day collection packaging in glossy red love hearts, Isamaya is celebrating Cupid’s holiday with subversive phallic-shaped collectible lipsticks.

In a quest to disrupt the beauty industry, the make-up artist’s new Valentine’s Day collection ‘LIPS’ includes two lipsticks in an anatomically correct penis-shaped cases. The lipsticks, which launched on 2 February on isamaya.com, are already sold out - proving that sex does in fact still sell.

Overtly sexual marketing has long been a selling point in the beauty industry; think Nars Orgasm or Too Faced Better than Sex. Isamaya is pushing the marketing one step further with her collection.

Isamaya Ffrench commented: "The taboo around sex is so outdated, as are the norms of the beauty industry, and that's why we see variations of the same product coming out every day. I said from the beginning that I wanted to redefine the beauty industry with Isamaya Beauty, and I am... who doesn't need a big chrome cock in their lives?"

The campaign was shot by Malaysian photographer Zhong Lin and features models Ajok Deng and Kairi Tokoro, promoting sex positivity and celebrating ‘liberation’, ‘innovation’, and ‘seduction’.

The first lip shade, Cardinal, a true red, is encased in a metallic casing. Vanity, the second shade, is a sheer black tinted balm in a gunmetal casing. Both lipsticks retail for £80.

Isamaya Beauty was launched in June 2022 by British makeup artist Isamaya Ffrench. One of the most recognisable British names in the beauty industry, Ffrench has worked as a creative director and consultant for a host of big-name brands including Byredo, Burberry, and Tom Ford.

Commenting on the brand’s launch, Ffrench said: "I want to inspire people and show them that there are other ways to approach beauty."