Makeup Artist Violette On Her Creative Process, Irreverence And Why A Red Lipstick Is Her Handbag Essential
The ultimate French cool-girl reveals her makeup secrets.
Have you ever spent countless hours on the couch binge-watching Violette makeup videos on YouTube? No? Just us? Well, allow us to introduce you to your weekend plans for the foreseeable future. Violette–or violette_fr as she’s known on YouTube and Instagram–is the epitome of French girl coolness. A makeup artist whose aesthetic is all about keeping the skin natural and playing up the eyes and lips with colour, glitter and all around chicness, we have been patiently waiting for the opportunity to grill her on all things beauty.
Also the Makeup Creative Director for Guerlain, the New York-based makeup artist is one busy lady. As the brains behind the most recent Rouge G x Ombres G collection, the proof is in the palette when it comes to Violette’s talent. Here, she speaks to Gritty Pretty about the inspiration behind her recent collection, why creativity has no rules and the one makeup product she will always have on hand.
Gritty Pretty: It’s been a year since you joined Guerlain as the Makeup Creative Director. Could you walk us through your creative process and your vision for the new Rouge G x Ombres G collection?
Violette: When I first joined the team, my creative process was to look at the existing products and the archives. I did a bit of cleaning to look at what should be stopped, what should be updated, what should be the inspiration and what we should be creating next…It was eyeshadows.
The second step was to identify what my source of inspiration was going to be. One of the things Guerlain and I have in common is the admiration we have for Mother Nature as being the most incredible artist. So, we wanted to create six eyeshadows that represent themes of Nature that we really love.
GP: As we know, the new collection is inspired by butterfly wings. Why did you choose the butterfly as your inspiration and are there any stories behind this choice?
V: I always dreamt of doing something with my love of butterflies. The easy choice is to do eyeshadow but I wanted the story to run deeper. So, we studied butterfly wings very closely and noticed this very very thin veil of shimmer that absorbs the light and makes the colour radiate. I thought it was so special. We used the same technology for the lipstick and that’s why Rogue G Metal is so unique.
GP: For the new Rouge G Luxurious Velvet collection and Noir G & Ombre G, do you have some special recommendations you like to share, some tips on ‘butterfly’ makeup?
V: I think, if you go for lips, try to keep the eyes quite simple. So, have everything quite natural and then ‘boom’, a beautiful statement of your lips or an amazing statement on your eyes. You can go really big on the eyes, though. Butterflies have several colours on their wings. So, you can have a blue eyelid with a touch of gold in the inner corner. But, just have a play with different tones.
GP: We’ve seen the ‘metamorphosis’ of the new RG Luxurious Velvet Metal lipstick cases. Is this a hint of how you want to emulate female power in your new collection?
V: What fascinates me about butterflies is the fact that they are so powerful. The way they look–they are so extraordinary and so irreverent in their unique colour and design. But, at the same time, they are extremely vulnerable. It is so easy to destroy them and their lives are very short. It makes me think of the complexity and paradox of women, incredibly strong but also vulnerable. This duality is something I wanted to explore in my collection.
GP: How would you describe this new collection in three words?
V: I would say that nature is the most amazing artist. So, irreverence, creativity and celebration.
GP: The new collection is built on the notion that a lipstick can be like a fashion accessory. Do you agree with this?
V: Yes! For me, it is as much a beauty accessory as it is a fashion accessory–like a pair of earrings, a beautiful hat or a fabulous pair of shoes. That’s why I love to keep everything a bit more bare and then have the lips be the star of the show.”
GP: If you could only use one makeup product, what would it be and why?
V: Red lipstick by far. You can use it as a soft touch on the lips or build it up to a statement. You can even use it as a blush or on the eyelids. I think with the perfect red lipstick you can be the most powerful person in the world–or at least feel like it.
GP: What are your tips for pulling off an effortless coloured eyeliner?
V: Take the applicator in an eye palette–the thin one–wet it with some water and then grab the colour you like. Then, apply it as an eyeliner. You can use one or two coats to make it really strong. It’s the best hack!
Have you ever spent countless hours on the couch binge-watching Violette makeup videos on YouTube? No? Just us? Well, allow us to introduce you to your weekend plans for the foreseeable future. Violette–or violette_fr as she’s known on YouTube and Instagram–is the epitome of French girl coolness. A makeup artist whose aesthetic is all about keeping the skin natural and playing up the eyes and lips with colour, glitter and all around chicness, we have been patiently waiting for the opportunity to grill her on all things beauty.
Also the Makeup Creative Director for Guerlain, the New York-based makeup artist is one busy lady. As the brains behind the most recent Rouge G x Ombres G collection, the proof is in the palette when it comes to Violette’s talent. Here, she speaks to Gritty Pretty about the inspiration behind her recent collection, why creativity has no rules and the one makeup product she will always have on hand.
Gritty Pretty: It’s been a year since you joined Guerlain as the Makeup Creative Director. Could you walk us through your creative process and your vision for the new Rouge G x Ombres G collection?
Violette: When I first joined the team, my creative process was to look at the existing products and the archives. I did a bit of cleaning to look at what should be stopped, what should be updated, what should be the inspiration and what we should be creating next…It was eyeshadows.
The second step was to identify what my source of inspiration was going to be. One of the things Guerlain and I have in common is the admiration we have for Mother Nature as being the most incredible artist. So, we wanted to create six eyeshadows that represent themes of Nature that we really love.
GP: As we know, the new collection is inspired by butterfly wings. Why did you choose the butterfly as your inspiration and are there any stories behind this choice?
V: I always dreamt of doing something with my love of butterflies. The easy choice is to do eyeshadow but I wanted the story to run deeper. So, we studied butterfly wings very closely and noticed this very very thin veil of shimmer that absorbs the light and makes the colour radiate. I thought it was so special. We used the same technology for the lipstick and that’s why Rogue G Metal is so unique.
GP: For the new Rouge G Luxurious Velvet collection and Noir G & Ombre G, do you have some special recommendations you like to share, some tips on ‘butterfly’ makeup?
V: I think, if you go for lips, try to keep the eyes quite simple. So, have everything quite natural and then ‘boom’, a beautiful statement of your lips or an amazing statement on your eyes. You can go really big on the eyes, though. Butterflies have several colours on their wings. So, you can have a blue eyelid with a touch of gold in the inner corner. But, just have a play with different tones.
GP: We’ve seen the ‘metamorphosis’ of the new RG Luxurious Velvet Metal lipstick cases. Is this a hint of how you want to emulate female power in your new collection?
V: What fascinates me about butterflies is the fact that they are so powerful. The way they look–they are so extraordinary and so irreverent in their unique colour and design. But, at the same time, they are extremely vulnerable. It is so easy to destroy them and their lives are very short. It makes me think of the complexity and paradox of women, incredibly strong but also vulnerable. This duality is something I wanted to explore in my collection.
GP: How would you describe this new collection in three words?
V: I would say that nature is the most amazing artist. So, irreverence, creativity and celebration.
GP: The new collection is built on the notion that a lipstick can be like a fashion accessory. Do you agree with this?
V: Yes! For me, it is as much a beauty accessory as it is a fashion accessory–like a pair of earrings, a beautiful hat or a fabulous pair of shoes. That’s why I love to keep everything a bit more bare and then have the lips be the star of the show.”
GP: If you could only use one makeup product, what would it be and why?
V: Red lipstick by far. You can use it as a soft touch on the lips or build it up to a statement. You can even use it as a blush or on the eyelids. I think with the perfect red lipstick you can be the most powerful person in the world–or at least feel like it.
GP: What are your tips for pulling off an effortless coloured eyeliner?
V: Take the applicator in an eye palette–the thin one–wet it with some water and then grab the colour you like. Then, apply it as an eyeliner. You can use one or two coats to make it really strong. It’s the best hack!
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