Singer-songwriter and global icon Shakira is the next A-lister to launch a beauty brand. Hitting the market today (pre-sale; full launch is June 16) and Ulta Beauty stores on July 6, isima—an eight-production collection that’s been four years in the making—is ready to “disrupt the hair-care space.” Though it’s formulated with Shakira’s Latin roots in mind—CEO Sid Katari says the community is “underserved” when it comes to hair care—the brand was clinically tested on all hair types and textures. Here, three executives from isima’s C-suite share all the details of the brand’s ethos, formulas, packaging, scent and more.
Featured Experts
- Sid Katari, CEO of isima
- Andreea Diaconescu, chief marketing and growth officer of isima
- Anthony Potin, chief scientific officer of isima
Why Shakira Is Launching a Hair Brand
“When I met Shakira, the thing that most impressed and inspired me was her passion and absolute commitment to quality,” says Katari. “I found that she always expects more than what is readily accepted. That’s how she’s built such a powerful, incredible career for herself. She sets the bar higher for herself and all of those around her, and she does that to push conventional boundaries and make sure the best possible outcome is achieved. She’s definitely pushed the limits on what we’ve been able to accomplish as a brand. She’s, surprisingly, a super-consumer and feels like she’s tested almost every hair product in the world. She has a remarkable awareness around formula and fragrance changes, and really helped to refine the final formulas. We tested extensively with her, as well as our test groups of course.”
“As a person, she’s [Shakira] is a wonderful human being,” Katari continues. “She’s had some real challenges and struggles with her hair over the years, and she was really trying everything and cocktailing—mixing her own ingredients together—to find a solution for herself. She saw the same struggle happening within her community and her fanbase, and she decided to do something about it. Her vision was to bring the best experts in hair care together to create something truly innovative, more effective and clinically proven for the hair-care space. Shakira represents the voice of others struggling with their hair and recognizes their needs.”
“In Latin beauty culture, hair isn’t just cosmetic; it’s deeply tied to identity, pride and self-expression,” says Katari. “The hair is fully diverse in all its complexity: curl patterns, textures, densities, porosity—all the variables that need to be properly understood individually, as well as together in combination. Most other hair-care brands shy away from complexity, but we actually embrace it and meet it with ingenuity. The Latin community is currently underserved and has a greater need for their hair.”
What isima Means
“The name isima is really a feminine Spanish suffix, but the way I like to refer to it is that it gives words super powers and really leans into [the brand’s] maximalist approach,” says Andreea Diaconescu, chief marketing officer. “You can add ‘isima’ to the end of words, like bella, which means beauty. Making it bellisima means ‘the most beautiful.’ We feel like the name is global, has feminine energy, rolls off the tongue and we really love it.”
The Formulas + Packaging
The idea was to have a one-stop-shop for people to get everything they need to cleanse, treat and finish, all in one line. The formulas are science-driven and skin care–inspired, and feature patent-pending technologies. “Every formulation has been tested in very extensive clinical trials on the most demanding, damaged hair across a very diverse range of hair textures and types,” says Anthony Potin, chief scientific officer.
The eight different formulas are rooted in biotrichology, which Potin explains is “merges an advanced understanding of hair biology with the principles of trichology to create highly effective, targeted, science-backed solutions for hair and scalp health.” Key ingredients include nonapeptide-3 (the first time it’s being used in hair care), which targets the scalp. “It delivers the benefits of retinol without the irritation,” he says. “We’ve also tested it for hair growth, and we have demonstrated its exceptional activity to boost hair growth at a rate of 30 percent after just four days.”
At the cortex level, Potin says GluconaBond is used to strengthen the hair and is effective on all hair types and levels of damage. “At the cuticle level, FiberSeal is a naturally derived polymer that smooths and seals cuticles that have been damaged by chemical treatments or environmental stress, and restores natural shine,” he explains. The brand also took inspiration from Latin American ingredients. For example, Peruvian maca root extract is used for hair growth, Brazilian passion fruit oil for shine, and Mexican aloe gel for moisture and soothing benefits. “In fact, I can confidently say that in my career, I’ve never worked on hair-care products with such a comprehensive and rigorous testing process,” adds Potin. “This was equally important to Shakira wanted to deliver a scientific approach and ensure quality results.”
Modern and fun, the brand’s packaging does not shy away from color, and every formula is housed in custom, soft-touch packaging. With the shampoo and conditioner, you can actually unscrew the caps to get every last bit of product out. “We definitely feel like this demographic is all about abundant use of product, so we wanted to make sure we captured that,” says Diaconescu. All of the products have two names: one is more playful (Curls Don’t Lie, for example, and some are in Spanish); the other is functional.
The Scent
“Scent was really, really important for us,” says Diaconescu. “We have one signature scent that’s part of every single product. We wanted it to be signature, big and enveloping. We wanted it to be addictive. The top is sparkling with fresh note of apple blossom and kumquat. The middle is rich, vibrant florals: peony, freesia and Brazilian orchid. The dry down is a warm, addictive gourmand of tonka bean, vanilla and warm musks. There is definitely an aura around the fragrance; it’s very distinct.”
The Product Lineup
Reset Clarifying Shampoo
“This is your weekly reset,” says Diaconescu. “It’s all about removing buildup from the hair and scalp without stripping moisture. It contains biotech bisabolol, which is a bioengineered compound with soothing properties to reduce irritation.” In clinical testing, it removed 97 percent of residue from the hair in just one wash.
Riquísima Hydrating Shampoo
“This is our gentle, daily-use shampoo that’s hydrating and pH-balanced,” says Diaconescu. “It’s color-safe and great for all textures, types and curls. It’s a rich, creamy foam that contains a biomimetic ceramide that’s designed to penetrate the hair fibers to boost hair resilience, enhances gloss and reduces breakage. It’s not just a shampoo; it does quite a lot.”
Suavísima Hydrating Conditioner
“This is a really rich emulsion that’s super creamy and makes every hair texture and type feel soft and smooth,” Diaconescu explains. “It targets hair at the cortex level through GluconaBond and biomimetic ceramides. It boosts shine from the inside out. When used with the shampoo, it boosts smoothness by 12 times.”
Iconic Densifying Scalp Serum
“This is a lightweight serum that’s all about hydrating and soothing your scalp to support thicker, stronger and fuller strands,” says Diaconescu. “This does have our patent-pending formula with nonapeptide-3 that promotes healthy growth. On the first use, we also saw a 105 percent boost in hydration. You can use it after your wash your hair on towel-dried hair, or throughout the day on dry hair and it won’t mess up your style.”
Súperbomba Triple Peptide Repair Mask
This is the brand’s hero product, and Shakira’s favorite, which Diaconescu says was inspired by “bomba” rituals, which she describes as super intensive, DIY, at-home hair rituals that people did because they couldn’t find what they were looking for. “This mask is a superpowered approach to repair. The texture is like whipped butter and really absorbs in the hair to offer support at the scalp, cortex and cuticle level. The results are truly transformative on all hair types. In clinical testing, we saw 2.3 times less breakage after just one use, which is pretty incredible.”
All In Restorative Leave-In Conditioner
“This leave-in is unbelievable and melts into your hair to nourish and treat,” explains Diaconescu. “It supports strands at both the cortex and cuticle level. It works to strengthen hair at its core, as well as smoothing and reducing cuticle lift for softer, shinier, less-frizzy hair. In clinical testing, it reduced breakage by 5.3 times after just one use. It reinforces bonds in the cortex and protects hair against heat damage up to 450 degrees. I don’t go a day without this anymore because of that protection and the repair properties.”
Curls Don’t Lie Curl Cream
“This is definitely a Shakira favorite, in addition to the mask,” Diaconescu says. “It’s a lightweight styling cream that’s all about hydration. We’ve received tremendous feedback on this from our testers. It’s the perfect balance between undeniable shine and definition. We formulated this around the unique needs of curly hair, and just one application provides 96 hours of anti-frizz protection and 5.9 percent less breakage from heat damage.”
Delicia Reparative Hair Oil
“Shakira uses this product every day,” says Diaconescu. “It’s both concentrated and barely there, which is a really interesting mix. If you have finer or thinner hair, it won’t weigh it down. It’s made with hemisqualane made from Brazilian sugarcane, which helps to enhance smoothness and reduce frizz. It also contains Chilean rose hip oil, which helps repair and nourish the hair. It gives hair protection and shine. In our clinical testing, it gave hair 1.5 times the shine and 96 hours of nonstop frizz control after just one application. When she announced her new album, Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran, Shakira did a pop-up concert in Times Square to celebrate the release, and she stopped her rehearsal to send us a video telling us how much she loved this oil.”
