You know the rule: if you’re a French Instagram influencer, you are mandated by society to release either a fashion or beauty line, which must include your own brand of red lipstick. But things are a little different for Violette Serrat, who is a makeup designer first, and an influencer second. The Brooklyn-based French beauty guru with first-name-only clout has acted as the Global Beauty Director of Estēe Lauder, and the International Makeup Designer for Dior Beauty before that, with a total of 17 years of experience in cosmetics.
She previously lent her name to the Estēe Lauder by Violette collection, which featured the cult favorite Poppy Sauvage lipstick, but her own brand has been desperately awaited. Having spent the last few years building up an impressive and devoted following on social media, it’s no surprise. Her YouTube videos cover everything from haircare to pregnancy mocktails, and her Instagram posts, often captioned simply “color mood,” have a soothing and inspiring quality. She’s like that chic older cousin who taught you how to mix lipsticks together to get a shade they just don’t make in stores, while giving you the pep talk of a lifetime.
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Violette has finally launched her collection, named after her Instagram handle: Violette_FR. The heavily curated set contains only 11 items, each designed to be the only thing you’ll ever need (or want) to wear. Is there anything more French than having a ride-or-die deep red lipstick be the only one in your collection? The Petal Bouche Matte was born of a years-long obsession with “rose petal lips” detailed in a number of Violette’s YouTube or Instagram makeup tutorials. And her perfume oil, Avec Amour, has already sold out. Other products include six shades of liquid eyeshadow, a highlighter, a dry shampoo, and a moisturizing spray.
True to her love of all things natural and eco-friendly, all products on the line are vegan, cruelty-free, and environmentally-conscious. And many of her signature phrases find their way into her collection, like her motto, “Beauty is a mood.”
“I’ve never seen makeup as a monotonous ‘routine’ — I see it as a daily check-in with myself,” she writes as the caption for one of her four Instagram promotional videos for the line. “How do I feel? How do I want to feel? Red makes me feel VAVAVOOM! Blue makes me feel creative. Glitter makes me want to dance.”
Well, this new collection makes all of us want to dance. Here’s looking to bright futures where we won’t need a mask to cover up that perfect shade of rose petal red.
