Violette_FR Makeup Review: Our Top 3 Picks of the French Makeup Line
Created by French makeup artist Violette, the effortless "French girl beauty look" is now not so elusive.
I used to think the whole effortless French girl beauty thing was a sham — until I started watching makeup artist Violette's YouTube videos.
Suddenly, smoky eyes were easy, and sharp cat eyes became a little less of a struggle. As for perfectly tousled waves and bangs, well, there's still some work to be done in that department.
After creating looks for top magazine editorials, doing product development for Sephora, and serving as creative director for prestige brands including Dior and most recently, Esteé Lauder, the Parisian makeup artist launched her own brand in 2021 called Violette_FR, available exclusively in the US at violettefr.com.
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An Overview of Violette_FR
The collection spans skincare, makeup, hair, and fragrance, and is cruelty-free and formulated with vegan, clean ingredients in accordance with European Union standards. With her brand, Violette aims to demystify the elusive French girl beauty routine by creating multi-purpose products that are easy to use and don't contribute to the excessive waste produced by the beauty industry. In addition to being inspired by the community she built on YouTube and Instagram, Violette also created the products she's never been able to find on the market throughout her two decades as a makeup artist.
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Violette's initial collection includes the Boum-Boum Milk, an allover cream facial spray that acts as a toner, serum, and moisturizer, Petal Bouche Matte, a red liquid lipstick inspired by rose petals, Baume Shine, a universal cream highlighter, Yeux Paint, ten shades of liquid eyeshadow in matte and metallic finishes, Frange Puff, a translucent dry shampoo powder that's refillable, and Avec Amour, a musky rollerball fragrance meant to be applied "wherever you want to be kissed."
The prices range from $37 for the dry shampoo brush to $64 for the facial spray.
Violette used sustainability harvested natural ingredients when possible and every product in the line comes in packaging that's mainly made of PCR and PET.
Ahead, my review of three of the line's products, which are the cornerstone to Violette's signature makeup looks: the matte red lip, glowy skin, and the monochromatic smoky eye.
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Petal Bouche Matte Liquid Red Lipstick
Violette_FR's formulas are entirely vegan — yes, even the Petal Bouche lipstick, which is formulated without carmine pigment. This true red shade was inspired by the rose gardens at Jardin Bagatelle in Paris. The makeup artist formulated it to deliver opaque coverage in one swipe, but it can be layered to create a darker shade or an ombré lip.
Liquid lipstick and I just don't get along. Most formulas I've tried tend to be too drying, flake off, or get uneven after I drink or eat anything. However, Violette_FR's rose petal red just might be my exception.
The formula gives you a bit of playtime to clean up any edges before it dries down, but even if you aren't a professional makeup artist, the shape of the doe foot applicator makes it (almost) impossible to mess up the application. My lips didn't feel tight when I was wearing Petal Bouche and the color didn't crack from talking and smiling. I'll finish off by saying I'm an anomaly because I'm not the biggest fan of how red lipstick looks on me, but this shade is so vibrant and has neutral undertones that would look great on everyone. So, basically, I guess I do like red lipstick now.
To shop: $28; violettefr.com
Baume Shine
Instead of making multiple shades of highlighter, Violette minimized the waste during the production process by making a universal highlight that suits every skin tone. Baume Shine is a creamy balm that illuminates skin for a natural, dewy finish.
Glowy skin is my go-to makeup look, whether or not I'm wearing lipstick or eye makeup, or none of the above. However, there's a fine line between dewy and sparkly. I love that this highlighter falls into the former category. It's super easy to swipe on straight from the stick and then tap into your cheekbones to blend. I'm wearing it along with the red matte lipstick in the photo above.
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To shop: $28; violettefr.com
Yeux Paint in Rose D'Aurore
Available in three metallic shades and three neutral matte shades, Yeux Paint is the black pumps to Violette's LBD of eye makeup tutorials she shares on Instagram. These liquid eyeshadows offer bold color payoff and can be applied using the doe foot applicator, a brush, or your fingertips. It's long wear and doesn't feel heavy or tacky on your eyelids.
Despite being a beauty editor for seven years, actually doing a smoky eye on myself is still an enigma to me. This metallic rosy pink liquid eyeshadow really does make doing the classic eye makeup look easy. I gave myself a baby monochromatic smoky eye by layering two swipes of shadow on my eyelid, letting it sit for just a few seconds, and then slightly smoking it out with my fingertip.
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Yeux Paint has a similar doe foot applicator to the Petal Bouche, and the thinness of the tip makes it possible to target exactly where you want the color to go on your eyelid. While I've only tried it as an eyeshadow, it would make a great eyeliner for a cat eye, too.
To shop: $31; violettefr.com
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