Paris-born makeup artist Violette Serrat, founder of French makeup and skincare line Violette_FR, grew up on fashion shoots. As the daughter of a hairstylist and a hair and makeup agent, she’d often find herself on sets with photographers including Mario Testino and Paolo Roversi. Although she had childhood dreams of being a painter, the fashion bug eventually got her, and instead of attending art school, she started working as a makeup artist for titles like French Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar and CR Fashion Book, the latter founded by her mentor, Carine Roitfeld. “My look was very creative with almost no retouching,” Serrat tells Observer. “At the time, it was very glam makeup, very photoshopped, studio lighting, very glossy, and I was going more into an artsy vibe.” Soon, her aesthetic caught on, and Serrat moved to a new phase that was even more wearable.
That “artsy vibe” is one of the reasons Serrat has earned a cult following. Her makeup palettes benefit from her painterly eye, focusing on arresting, highly saturated colors (just a few disparate sources of inspiration include oil paints like Klein Blue, favorite childhood candies, botanical gardens, packaging from the 1950s and Japanese ink). Most importantly, Serrat makes the oft-mimed French girl aesthetic accessible, thanks to her penchant for messy looks punctuated by happy hues.
Serrat’s aesthetic also helped her break beauty industry records. In her 20s, she became the youngest international makeup designer in Dior (CHDRY) Beauty’s history. In 2017, at the age of 33, she was appointed the youngest global beauty director at Estée Lauder.
The Estée Lauder job brought her to New York, and the city’s energy was part of the inspiration for Violette_FR, the vegan beauty and skincare brand she launched in 2021. “I want [my brand] to be a French car with American gas—I want the culture and the philosophy of my country with the energy of America,” she says. “It’s the best decision, because we have two offices, Paris and New York, and the mix of all this culture is amazing.”
Serrat leads color development at her brand, which can take up to a year and a half. She’s now taking it even further and creating her own raw material to develop pigments to mix colors, an extra step that most makeup developers skip. This spring, she will release two new shades of Bisou Balm, the brand’s lipstick balm. Last year, the brand released Le Summer Set, a lipstick, blush and highlighter combo and made its debut on Emily’s (played by Lily Collins) vanity in Emily in Paris.
Since 2021, Serrat has also helmed the iconic French atelier Guerlain. She grew up using and admiring Météorites, the brand’s popular light-enhancing powder pearls. “For me, Guerlain is like the haute couture of beauty,” she says. “It has to be the perfect eye shadow. I’m not pushing innovation, I’m making the classics, like a perfectly tailored suit.”
Now splitting her time between Paris and Brooklyn, the mom-of-two shares her essentials with Observer, from the drink she’s never without to her most reliable lip color.
Violette Serrat’s Essentials
Morning skincare and makeup routine
I don’t know why I’m so crazy about this, but I have to wake up using a tongue scraper before I clean my teeth, and then I can function. I don’t wash my face because I believe the best cleanse is at night. Your skin has natural oils that are great for your skin while you sleep, so I just rinse off with water. Then I apply Boum-Boum Milk, and that’s all I use with SPF. The SPF I love is from Rudolph Care in France. It’s like zinc, but it doesn’t make my skin look like a white mask, which is usually the struggle, right? That’s it for my skincare. When I wake up in the morning, I’m being attacked by my kids and they’re screaming for me like maniacs, so my routine has to be quick.
My makeup routine changes every day, [but] I’m going to use a concealer and a blush. But for concealer, I really don’t like what exists on the market, so I make my own little concoction using the Kryolan UK Dermacolor Camouflage Creme Mini-Palette. For blush, I use Bisou Blush and then I add on, like, a blue eyeshadow or red lipstick. It really depends on how I feel. For me, makeup is like how you get dressed in your wardrobe. It’s like, how do I feel today? How do I want to style myself?
Violette_Fr Boum-Boum Milk.
Violette FR
Wellness routine
I try to have my French lifestyle in New York, which means cooking my lunch and bringing it to work. I cook dinner every night in New York. To be honest, I totally fell for [regularly eating out] when I moved. Then I started to be tired and foggy, not sleeping well and bloated. I never had any of these issues before. I thought, let me go back to how I used to live in France.
In Paris, I live near a commercial street, but with cute farmers’ stalls. So I’m like, ‘Oh, I’m going to grab that fish, grab that vegetable.’ In New York, at least in my neighborhood, I don’t have that, so I have to order. I try to be good, and eat very balanced. But I’m not all green juices. I have meals that are healthy and balanced. I work out, and that’s definitely not French. That’s the American side, because I used to never work out when I lived in Paris, but here, I realized I’m sitting at a desk much more often than I used to. So I go to the gym four times a week, and I have my trainer, who kicks my ass.
I go to bed early because I wake up around 5:30 or 6 a.m., which I know for Americans is actually not early, but for French people, it’s insanely early. I go to bed around 10 p.m.—like, ciao, everybody. I realized with the life I have, I have to live a bit like an antique. It helps to go to bed early and work out—otherwise, I am a mess.
Handbag makeup essentials
Not that much. I rarely go out with a bag. I’m not a bag person; I don’t need to carry my stuff around. Usually, I do my makeup in the morning. I never want to have to fix it, ever again. If I knew I had a very long day with meetings outside and maybe I wanted to have a touch up, I will probably have Bisou Blush, Bisou Balm and dry shampoo, but that’s it.
Bisou Blush
Violette_FR
Travel must-haves
I travel with my pillow. I have very bad dust mite allergies. The one thing I have to travel with—it’s so annoying—is my own matcha. I’m a psycho around matcha. I love a French brand that comes from Kyoto; it’s called Milia Matcha and it’s amazing quality. I travel with this and some incense, which I light in hotels. I have Boum-Boum Milk because I don’t want to touch my skin with my hands during the flight, so I spray nonstop like a maniac. It’s not very glamorous, but that’s the reality. I have compression socks because I travel a lot; they help with blood flow.
Milia Matcha.
Milia Matcha
Favorite travel destination
I’m obsessed with Japan. I’m fascinated by the history and how they bring the past and the rituals into such a modern way of living. At the same time, there is care taken for every little thing in life. There’s no waste; even when they cook noodles, the water is going to be used for something else. I have been lucky to [experience] a tea ceremony. It touched me so much to see how much care there is in everything, and care for people too, and respect. I’m fascinated by it.
Favorite New York City spots
My favorite art gallery is a French one that just opened in New York, Amelie, Maison d’art. It’s like Amelie’s art house, and her concept is amazing. The pieces go from $300 to crazy amounts of money. The space is like a home, and before you go, you can make a selection online of things you like. When you arrive, she will have curated the space for you. It’s a private visit. I’ve collected art for a few years, and I started to collect with her between Paris and New York. It’s such a good way to start because you think you can’t afford it, but actually, you can.
I love Kettl; it’s a super cute matcha teashop in Greenpoint. I have two favorite restaurants. One’s called Ilis, which is a farmer’s farm-to-table concept, but super artistic. And then Okonomi Market, which is Japanese-inspired. You eat at the counter with the chef. Even just for onions, he is going to go to a farm that he knows of two hours from New York. I love people that are that extreme in their craziness, but they are right.
To be honest, I don’t really shop in New York. When I go to a store in Paris, the way they set up the clothes is more my style, so it’s very easy for me to shop. They also have Bon Marché, my favorite department store, where there are all the brands I’m going to like. In New York, will I have all this accessible to me? Not really. I order online if I need anything, but I love going and trying. If I can, I will do it in Paris.
Favorite Paris spots
I love so many. I would say Le Voltaire. It’s on the river; I feel at home when I go there. My favorite bakery is Brigat. I also go to the flea market every time I’m there.
One item you refuse to part with in your wardrobe
A black blazer I have from The Row. I don’t know the name; I’ve worn it so much the tag has faded. It’s very light and airy, which is why I love this blazer so much.
One makeup essential
It depends, but if I want to make an impact and feel strong and feel confident, like at a big meeting, but I don’t have time, I throw on a red lipstick. I feel like it makes everything look chic. So even if the rest is a bit messy, if you have red lipstick on, it saves the day.
Violette Serrat
Violette Serrat
