With her creativity, daring, Parisian chic, eye for high standards and genuine sense of commitment, Violette seemed destined to join a House synonymous with French beauty and constant innovation, still emphasizing modernity despite being over 190 years old.
“My story with Guerlain is really the story of my femininity… As a little girl, Météorites with its little pastel-coloured pearls for the complexion had a real aesthetic impact on me. I’d stare at the box fascinated, I couldn’t wait to become a woman… I pictured myself at my dressing table putting on lipstick, perfume and dipping a brush into these incredible Météorites. Today, I’ve been invited to write the next chapter in Guerlain’s history as Director of Makeup. That’s the magic of beauty.”
Of Guerlain, Violette says: “Guerlain is a woman! A modern Empress… and a Parisienne, right down to her fingertips. I’m so happy to be joining an iconic House with such a rich heritage, where I can pass Guerlain’s values in makeup on to a new generation and share it with those who, no matter their gender, celebrate beauty today and will celebrate it tomorrow.
As a pioneer, the Guerlain House must show commitment by becoming environmentally involved and engaging with femininity in broad and diverse way.”
When it comes to Violette’s philosophy “the sky’s the limit”, or in other words “nothing’s impossible”. As a young woman she’s made a place for herself within the makeup world. And as a French woman she gained recognition in the United States within just a few months of moving there on a whim in 2015 (her astrological sign is Aries, which explains her tenacity and taste for risk). She has collaborated with major houses since the beginning of her career (namely with Dior as a Makeup Designer and more recently with Estée Lauder, where she held the post of Global Beauty Director at just 33 years old.) Violette has succeeded in making a name for herself – a first name at that – thereby inscribing her work into the annals of contemporary beauty. Her world is a unique and fertile one, where her spontaneous creativity, Parisian sensibilities, masterful techniques and love of art are blended together.
“Just like Guerlain, I think of art as an inexhaustible source of inspiration. I’m used to saying that art is the love of my life.”
Her portfolio is filled with thousands of images from collaborations with renowned magazines including Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, W Magazine, T Magazine, Dazed, Teen Vogue and Elle. And while fashion photography may be her playground of choice, she knows better than anyone else that makeup is nothing if not the art of bringing out the beauty in each and every one of us. With many followers across social media (namely 400k followers on Instagram) she created her own Violette_fr YouTube channel 6 years ago to share makeup tutorials and beauty snapshots.
For a woman who applies makeup with such effortlessness and ease, sharing her experiences with a passionate community of fans was instinctive. Which is why she launched her own line of makeup in April 2021, named quite naturally VIOLETTE_FR.
Today, Guerlain and Violette will start writing a new chapter in the history of beauty. As a duo.
