On Beauty: Violette_FR
Welcome to ON BEAUTY, a monthly feature highlighting creative, like-minded people who inspire us.
In beauty—as in any artistic realm—collaboration can be a slippery slope. The ambitions of two (or more) creatives rarely leads to one unified vision, executed to perfection according to both parties. But when a creative collaboration is successfully pulled off—flawlessly from both sides—it’s cause for celebration. Which is why we feel like breaking out the champagne (infused with a tincture, of course) every time we dab our décolletage and wrists with Baisers de Jasmin, our new aromatic collaboration with the one, the only, Violette_FR. Chances are, you know Violette from the decade she spent designing imaginative, inspirational makeup looks for fashion publications. Or perhaps you follow her popular YouTube channel, where she creates on-the-go and in-the-wild looks that are still informed by this fashion-forward aesthetic, just a little more accessible. If you’re brand new to Violette, know this: The doe-eyed French beauty with her perfectly imperfect fringe, impossibly smooth skin, impeccable style, and wide, genuine smile is one of the nicest girls you’ll meet. We hope you enjoy getting to know her as much as we have.
How did you discover In Fiore? What drew you to the brand?
Julie first contacted me and wanted to send me some products, so I looked her up. I’d just moved to NY—maybe it was three years ago. I wasn’t really familiar with American brands yet, and I remember digging into it, and the first thing that really surprised me was that it’s not a classic brand—like, a body oil, hair oil, makeup remover. Every product feels very driven to support women in a very authentic way. I felt like all the products were unique to something that the founder, who I didn’t really know then, had thought of.
So I was using the products, and then the scent—I was like, okay, this is no joke. You know, in France we’re raised with essential oils, natural oils. We’re raised with good stuff, so just smelling it [the products], I could tell it was something I was familiar with, with so much sophistication. I started to use the products and, of course, fell completely in love with them. And in the package, she sent me some perfume, and I was like, my God, this is the cutest packaging I’ve ever seen and it smells so good and there is a mirror which is perfect for makeup.
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The first thing I would say is, it’s chic. It’s cool. It’s sophisticated. It’s sexual, but, not sexual to attract another person. Sexual for yourself. And it makes me happy. It’s a joyful perfume.
So, I started using it a lot, and then I emailed her, and I actually never do this with anyone else, I said, “Hey, I would love to see if you’re open to doing a perfume with me; I’ll do it with you for In Fiore.” I didn’t know if she would say yes, and right away she said yes, and I was so excited. We met for a drink, and then I really fell in love, because once you meet Julie, you know the brand. I call her the modern witch. She is so funny and provocative and much more rock and roll than you think of the brand. I said to her “You need to show yourself more. People need to meet you; they need to know who you are because you are fantastic. And she’s explaining her process and how she creates her products and I was blown away–she’s like a spiritual guru, a witch, like, who is this person? So we started to work, we started to brainstorm on this project together. That’s how we started.
Have you always wanted to create your own fragrance?
I’m very loyal to perfume. I’ve never chosen perfume based on my mood, which I do for makeup and clothes. I feel like my perfume is my personality and my signature. It’s what I’m going to leave behind—a trace of myself. I’ve worn Lipstick Rose by Frederic Malle for 10 years. And then I found this perfume in Marrakesh—it’s just white musk—and I’ve been wearing this only. I was always between two perfumes—that’s it—since I began wearing perfume. And for the first time, I had the chance to create a perfume, but that was never a dream or a goal. It’s just that when I saw the perfumes Julie did, and when I met the brand, I was like, I don’t even know if I’m going to be good at doing this, but I just have to do something with her. A perfume is so different than what I know, and I love a challenge.
What was your inspiration?
Well, the first thing I asked Julie was, “Is it possible to do a perfume that’s going to empower women?” I did fashion for 10 years and then I was like, I got so lucky that I got to express myself for so many years with incredible support and amazing people. I’ve done enough around myself, so I just need to open myself to women. That’s why I created my YouTube channel and that was a huge shock artistically for me, to start to connect with women and be in their world. That changed my whole life in such an incredible way.
My desire to do a perfume that would actually empower women and make them feel great came from this. Because when I talk about makeup I’m always like, use makeup as a way to celebrate yourself, don’t look at it as a way to change who you are. You are perfect the way you are, and I want you to feel amazing. When you are doing your makeup, you should cherish yourself. I wanted a perfume to embrace that philosophy. So I asked Julie, I said, “Do you think it’s possible to create a scent that would actually make them feel great about themselves?” And she said, “Yes! We can totally do that because scent and ingredients can have a strong impact on you and that’s what I do with my brand.”
Tell us about the process.
I described to her the feeling I wanted. I said I want the woman to wear it and feel herself. Feel amazing the way she is, celebrate herself, feel sexy, sensual, grounded, creative. Then she sent me some ingredients and described all the meanings so I could start to brainstorm. And then she came over to my house in New York and brought all these incredible raw scents and this is when we started to smell everything. And one scent that really struck me was the jasmine. I do think that jasmine can actually make you feel great because when I smell it, I feel feminine, I feel sensual.
So, we worked with all the ingredients to add to the philosophy, to really create this feeling for women. And one ingredient that’s going to make me feel very sexy and make me feel sensual and back to my senses is vanilla. She told me that we couldn’t find vanilla anymore and then, at the last minute, before she sent me the last trial, she had it! It completely brought this emotion I was trying to bring. I was so happy. But you know, it’s really really hard because to mix jasmine and vanilla. You can have the Monoi—like the Hawaiian Monoi oil scent—and that’s where Julie is insanely talented. She worked really hard for this to be a jasmine perfume with a touch of vanilla, so it doesn’t smell like Monoi at all.
I said, I’m not girly—I’m feminine. And you don’t want this woman to feel cute. You want her to feel powerful. Then I said we have to be careful that it’s not too lady—still a modern woman. We did so many trials to really target this feeling. It’s like a surgeon’s work we did.
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You are perfect the way you are, and I want you to feel amazing. When you are doing your makeup, you should cherish yourself. I wanted a perfume to embrace that philosophy.
Did you have a particular woman in mind when designing the scent?
You know, I’m lucky because I discovered this when I moved to New York. When you’re French, you’re raised thinking that sexuality is great, that your body’s great—it’s very freeing. I mean I was going on the beach topless when I was 15 with my parents. And it was totally fine. I was never embarrassed of my breasts, I was never self-aware of them. This is how I grew up in my country. So, when I moved to New York, I realized it was definitely not the same in America and people don’t really talk about their sexuality or their body in a beautiful way. It’s very—how do you say—puritan. You know, it’s a bit shy.
I remember the feeling when I was on the beach, feeling so free and in harmony with my body, feeling the sun warming up my skin, feeling the warm breeze in my hair. That’s why I started to have the summer season, more than a person, in my head.
Clearly, you gravitate towards Jasmine (our fearless leader). What do you find so intoxicating about it?
I remember when it was spring or summer, going out on the balcony in Paris at my parents’ or walking to my friends’ houses in Provence, and suddenly you walk through a jasmine bush or jasmine-like ivy, and the scent catches you so strong. This scent is going to catch all the memories that you are experiencing in this moment. When we were sitting at the table in my dining room and Julie gave me a few jasmines to smell, there was this one that I smelled and I was back there again. All the memories came back, and the feelings came back with them. So I was like, ok we have to work with this.
What was it like to collaborate with Julie?
It has been incredible—maybe we were from the same family in another life or something because we are on the same page. You know when you have two very creative people that also have very strong personalities? It’s usually very hard to work together. It’s insane how we have this energy…we’re just like yeah, yeah, yeah, of course. We’re never against each other or never just—oh really? Never. It’s incredible. It’s super genuine.
How would you describe the final outcome?
The first thing I would say is, it’s chic. It’s cool. It’s sophisticated. It’s sexual, but, not sexual to attract another person. Sexual for yourself. And it makes me happy. It’s a joyful perfume.
When I try to tell women how they’re going to feel—you’re going feel yourself. You’re going feel your body, you’re going to feel your skin, you’re going to feel the sun kissing your skin, the wind caressing your hair, you’re going to feel in harmony with the elements, in harmony with you. And you just need to go out and express all this.
What’s your favorite beauty ritual?
To me, it’s makeup remover. You have to clean your face. I don’t use cotton because it actually scratches my skin, so I take a milk and massage for a long time, and once everything dissolves, I rinse it off a lot. It’s funny how people are scared of water. But to me, you’re not clean until you rinse this all off. And since I’ve been doing this my skin is so much better.
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When you’re French, you’re raised thinking that sexuality is great, that your body’s great—it’s very freeing.
What’s your favorite beauty food?
So, raspberries, chestnuts, and fennel I heard are the most amazing foods. Otherwise, lemons are my go-to. They’re alkaline and make everything smell good. I use lemons in everything.
Do you have a beauty vice?
I would say that this is where I’m not going to be cheap. I’m going to spend the money to have amazing products. So that’s my vice, to not look at the money I spend on my skincare and take all the time I need to do it every day.
What’s your favorite In Fiore product?
There’s this one In Fiore serum that I’m obsessed with called Sauvetage. It’s super expensive and super small, but it’s such a miracle product that I’m like, fine, I’ll just buy it. I can’t live without it.
With the holidays approaching, what’s your favorite tradition?
I’m like an old lady, I just love to have all the holiday music playing. I love a good Christmas tree although I’m not Catholic or anything—it’s just beautiful in the house. Everything around it just makes me feel cheesy in a good way. I love being cheesy during that time.
What’s your must-have product for long-haul flights?
I use this mask from Estee Lauder—it’s like a 10-minute thing that’s really going to change my skin. Otherwise, I never have any makeup on when I’m on the plane and I always clean my face, use a water spray, then cream a few times during the flight, then drink lots of water. I usually don’t use cotton because wipes are harsh on my skin, but for this, I’m going to use cotton. I like oil to help the cotton to be smoother—oil to clean my face—and then I grab the bottle of water from the plane and go into the bathroom to really rinse off.
Do you have any special charms or talismans?
I have this necklace my boyfriend gave me a while ago and it’s a Brazilian religious necklace where you have a religious icon on the front—on the chest, on your heart—and on your back. I don’t know how you call this. So even though we are not religious (I would say we are spiritual) he gave me this religious icon because it symbolized protection. He says, when I’m not here with you, you’ll have somebody protecting you in the front and the back.
What do you love most about New York City?
My biggest love is the diversity because we don’t have that much diversity in France. I’m not just talking about ethnic, I’m also talking about style. We French kind of all have the same style, and I moved to New York and saw so many people coming from all over the world having different personalities and different styles and they are totally free to express themselves and be who they are. That’s my biggest inspiration. That’s why I love New York and its energy. All the doors are open. And when the doors close, that’s fine, you open another one. I’m hyperactive and I have tons of ideas all the time, so this is the only place where I can feel like I’m not frustrated. In Paris, I’m going to go crazy very quickly!
