The blush that never happened, and why I can’t stop thinking about it
When I say this story hit home, I mean it. Not because it’s about mistakes but because it’s about how you handle them.
The next big thing
In October 2024, Issy was gearing up for what they thought would be their next big launch: the Pressed Velvet Insert. It was designed as a hybrid powder formula that looked like a solid but blended like a watercolor. The pigment was silky. The finish was glowy. The idea was to pop it into Issy’s customizable eye and face palette system.
But something unexpected happened. During handling and shipping, across multiple test runs and shade batches, the blushes began to crack. Some shattered. Some crumbled completely in transit.
The formula itself was exactly what they wanted. But the pan stability was not. Despite all their testing, the issue only surfaced later, as time passed and the blushes traveled. So Issy found themselves at a crossroads: Release the product and risk disappointing customers, or shelve the entire launch.
They chose the latter. And instead of tossing out over 100,000 pieces of a good formula, which would have amounted to nearly P24 million in retail value, they decided to give them away.
For free.
Being transparent was the better story
There was no viral campaign or controversy that forced their hand. The brand simply decided that being transparent was the better story. In a video posted on Instagram, Joel Martin Andrade, Issy’s co-founder and creative director, walks viewers through the product’s journey. You could tell he was being honest, and more importantly, proud of the product even if it wasn’t perfect. I admire it when brands speak to you like a person.
No marketing spin. Just the truth, served in beautiful packaging.
The Pressed Velvet Insert wasn’t scrapped because of the formula. In fact, it’s a buttery blend of powders and emollients that feels like painting your cheeks with powder watercolor. It blends like a cream, sets like a powder, and gives just the right amount of glow.
When Issy realized the pans couldn’t survive the journey, they added a fix. Each free set comes with a small empty pot for you to depot and repurpose the product if it arrives cracked or loose. That way, nothing goes to waste.
As someone who holds on to blushes for years and hates throwing anything “still good” out, this part really resonated with me. Especially as a Filipino who grew up being taught to never waste a thing, the idea of transforming a failed launch into something generous felt both familiar and quietly moving.
I haven’t gotten my hands on the product just yet, but I plan to. Right now, I am in a very minimal, skin-forward phase. Glowy makeup, light layers, and colors that blend into the face instead of sitting on top of it. And the more I learn about this formula, the more I want to try it. They claim it’s beginner-friendly and buildable, and it comes in wearable shades like Pollen (a mellow apricot), Vulgar (a brash coral), or Risqué (a daring orchid).
Owning up to our mistakes
This is the first time I’ve seen a local brand give away something they truly believe in because they couldn’t justify charging for it. Not as a marketing gimmick or a consolation prize, but as a genuine act of honesty.
It made me think about how rare that kind of decision is in beauty. How refreshing it is when brands show that it’s okay for things not to go as planned, as long as you own up to it and make it right.
Issy could’ve quietly destroyed the stock or sold it at a discount, but they chose a harder path and invited us into the process. As a beauty writer, this makes my job more interesting, and as a consumer, it makes me want to support them more.
We all make mistakes. Some are small and fixable. Others are harder to recover from. But what matters is how we respond. Whether you’re a writer who forgot to replace a placeholder or a beauty brand whose product didn’t turn out quite right, the goal should always be to take responsibility, make it right, and learn from it.
I’m grateful to my editor, Eric, for reminding me of that. He handled my own misstep with the kind of calm and clarity that made me feel seen without excusing the error.
This whole experience taught me that being accountable is just as important as being creative. And that being kind to yourself doesn’t mean letting yourself off the hook. It means owning your part, doing better, and moving forward with care. That’s what Issy did. And I hope I did, too.
Erratum
In my Oct. 16 article “Made You Look,” I mistakenly credited the wrong names for the creators behind Filipinta Beauty. The correct names are Hana Acabado, creative director, and Jasel Donato, product developer. I sincerely apologize for the error and thank them for their kindness and understanding.
