The Story

When local Brisbane beauty therapist Fiona Neale was living abroad in the UK, a range of revolutionary brushes caught her eye.

Like nothing else in the industry – these professional brushes demanded attention with ergonomically engineered solid aluminium handles, and stunning natural bristles. They were already a Hollywood cult-favourite, used by A-Listers like Angelina Jolie, Gwyneth Paltrow, Kate Moss, Gisele Bundchen, Chloe Sevigny, Linda Evangelista, Naomi Watts and that’s just to name a few! The Brushes had also been used on film sets like the Lord of the Rings trilogy, Moulin Rouge and Star Wars: Attack of the Clones. The quality and international stature of these state-of-the-art brushes amazed Fiona. She then discovered they were made in her home town of Brisbane, Australia!

Fiona had accepted a prestigious position running the Hair and Beauty Department of the Virgin Atlantic Lounge in London. While tending to the tresses and complexions of dozens of international celebs, and working under Richard Branson, Fiona honed her natural business skills and returned to Australian shores fueled with ideas. She purchased the Issada brush company, and discovered a pressing industry demand to follow through with an Issada cosmetic range. This need was expressed particularly by celebrity makeup artists and skin care professionals who demanded a range of cosmetics that treated the skin.

The Dream

Fiona was committed to creating a professional quality colour range suitable for her celebrity makeup artist clientele, already brush devotees. Because of Fiona’s background and passion for skin health, she also wanted the brand to be salon, spa and clinic-exclusive, with a combination of treatment makeup and also a mineral range all under the Issada brand. Up until the conception of Issada Cosmetics, skin-caring makeup tended to sacrifice strong, lasting pigments and professional photographic finish. This gap in the market meant that if Fiona wanted to have both professional quality pigments and skin-caring ingredients in a makeup range, she would have to create it herself! To successfully combine the two elements of Fiona’s dream range, endless research was required. She worked tirelessly with scientists and makeup experts in Australia and overseas, refusing to compromise on the perfect formulas.

Answering the prayers of Issada Brush devotees worldwide, the perfected Issada Cosmetics range was launched in January 2007 and received much industry buzz. Finally; a skin-friendly product range encompassing finest natural ingredients and cutting-edge colours, to be used by beauty therapists and makeup artists alike.

The Concept Store

Fiona’s diverse background in beauty therapy, makeup artistry, and public relations enabled to her to grow the business in salons for the first 5 months largely on her own. Fiona opened over 20 salon accounts within the first 8 months maintaining the very exclusive and selective Issada standard. With growth exceeding Fiona’s initial expectations, in May 2007 an opportunity to open an Issada Flagship Store was too good to refuse. The Issada Store opened in Brisbane, showcasing the Issada range in its entirety, much to community and media excitement.

Listening to client and consumer demands, Fiona expanded her initial base range to include a stunning nail collection, a range of evocatively scented organic candles and more. By late 2007, the Concept Store was flourishing thanks to an infatuated general public, adoring media, and loyal customer base. Simultaneously, Issada growth in stockists was through the roof, as more and more salons,spas and clinics were lining up to get their hands on the range. Issada inevitably outgrew the space allocated at the back of the Store for an office and stock area. In September 2007 the need became apparent for an Issada Headquarters; now home to the Training School, Showroom/Offices and climate-controlled warehouse.

The HQ

The Head Office and Training Facility needed to exemplify the glamorous and girly feel of the brand (and the women behind it), and after some thorough ‘Issada-fying’ a luxe location was created in the Metroplex Office Park in Murrarie, Brisbane. Complete with chandeliers, plush carpets, sequins, feathers and comfy leather couches, this stunning space nurtures creative inspiration and is truly worthy of the amazing brand it houses. This spacious office centre allows for inevitable exponential company growth, and provides the facilities to offer outstanding education to salon and company staff.

The Education

Education is a key focus at Issada, with every single Issada-stocked salon and company staff member required to complete an initial  comprehensive 2-day training module covering both product knowledge and an intensive practical application day with internationally renowned makeup artists and company trainers.

With monthly training sessions now booked to capacity and the introduction of exciting new masterclasses, Issada staff and salons are offered nothing but the best in education and therefore bring a wealth of knowledge and expertise to their clients.

The Future

As a result of incredible word-of-mouth circulation about this revolutionary range, Brisbane-based Issada can now be found in NSW, VIC and SA. This rapid growth, combined with many exciting new products to come, means it is only a matter of time before Issada Cosmetics will rocket from underground cult-phenomenon, to the beauty-industry brand of choice for superior quality, skin-treating makeup.