OUR STORY

At the helm of this iconic Australian makeup and skincare company is the highly respected expert in the medi-aesthetics and beauty industry, Deb Farnworth-Wood. Best known for founding the Australian Skin Clinics Franchise which she grew to a brand of 60 clinics, before selling in 2019.

In June 2020, during the covid-19 pandemic, Deb, a long time friend of Issada founder Fiona Neale purchased the Issada business. With over 30 years in the health, aesthetics and beauty industries, she brings a wealth of knowledge with a passion for excellence. Deb's philosophy is that skincare can be effective, ethical and kind, by providing high performance products that solve problems with safe, science driven formulas. At the time of purchase, Deb was well down the path of developing a clinical, clean cosmeceutical skincare range and had also purchased the iconic Byron Bay range Shave With Valor 

The purchase of the Issada brand provided Deb with the opportunity to introduce her skincare to existing stockists and to expand the range. Deb strongly believes in only providing ethical products that are cruelty free, use the highest quality ingredients and are effective so the combination of an established mineral makeup brand and clean cosmeceutical skincare range made perfect sense. 

In 2022 Deb moved Issada to a much larger warehouse and manufacturing facility based in Helensvale on Australina's Gold Coast . Deb had forseen the need for larger premises within 2-3 years but with unprecedented growth the demand for more space became urgent. The new facility provided scalability for Issada by increasing the HQ footprint 6-fold, providing a state of art manufacturing facility, addional pick and pack, storage and warehouseing space as well as photographic studio, additional offices and a new training suite.

Today Issada is available through a network of stockists, our  two Issada Studios  and Debs very first aesthetic clinic (formerly Australian Skin Clinics Ashmore, now rebranded to the Ultimate Skin and Body Clinic) remains our testing ground for new products.

Our story starts back in 2006….

Local Brisbane beauty therapist Fiona Neale was living abroad in the UK when she came across a range of revolutionary brushes. They had ergonomically engineered solid aluminium handles for perfect balance, 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, and Naomi Watts. The quality and international stature of these state-of-the-art brushes amazed Fiona - then she discovered they were made in her hometown of Brisbane, Australia! Fiona returned to Australia and purchased the Issada brush company.

Fiona discovered a gap in the make-up market for a range that had strong, lasting pigments and gave wearers a professional photographic finish. She decided to fill this gap and embarked on endless research liaising with scientists and makeup experts in Australia and overseas until Issada cosmetics were created – using the finest natural ingredients, quality minerals and providing cutting edge colours as well as a beautiful finish that lasted and included skin-caring properties. The range was launched in 2007.

The same year, - in May 2007 - the first Issada Concept Store was opened in Bulimba, Brisbane – showcasing the entire Issada range. In July 2010 a second store open in the prestigious Edward Street precinct, right at home between luxury brand like Gucci and Hermes.

The business grew at a rapid rate and in three years outgrew the initial office and warehouse space at Murrarie.  This necessitated an upgrade to a custom-built luxury office in Bulimba with a climate-controlled warehouse, training room and showrooms as well as plenty of office space.  Beautifully decorated in Issada’s signature black, white and silver, it nurtures creative inspiration as well as providing outstanding facilities for staff and people attending training.

Education and training
Education is key to Issada’s success. All salons, spas and clinics that stock Issada are provided with comprehensive training covering product knowledge and practical application day with internationally renowned makeup artists and company trainers.

Issada’s masterclasses focus on specific areas of makeup, salon business and marketing or retail. These classes provide a wealth of knowledge and expertise to everyone who attends.  

Issada’s product innovations will get more ingenious as technology evolves. New products, advanced formulations and runway-driven capsule colour collections are constantly being investigated and developed. The future looks extremely bright, but rest assured that Issada’s boutique attitude to excellence will always be maintained.