French Girl Beauty: The Dark Lip
Parisian makeup artist Violette creates a sensual pout in a lush fall hue.
Written By CHRISTINE WHITNEY
Photography By STEVEN PAN
Makeup By VIOLETTE
Hair By DENNIS GOTS
Nails By ELISA WISHAN
Styled By TURNER
Makeup artist Violette, a regular contributor to The Violet Files and our go-to for all things French beauty, offers her how-tos for attaining that elusive Parisian je ne sais quoi.
THE PLUM LIP: “I could have done a red lip, which is also very French, but I decided on plum because it’s a shade everyone loves, but no one knows how to wear,” Violette explains. “We paired it with boyish clothes and kept the rest of the makeup very simple—she’s not wearing anything except lipstick, so the look isn’t gaudy or heavy.” Read on for the artist’s step-by-step guide.
THE DARK LIP
BY VIOLETTE
1 / 5
The Clean Start
“In French beauty, skin care is key. You want to take care of your complexion so you don’t have to use many products—just a little foundation and a bit of concealer (for this story I used Nars). I used MAC Face & Body Foundation, which I like better than BB cream. It has a cleaner effect and nice natural finish. The formula is very liquidy, so I rub it between my hands to warm it up, until it starts to take on a dry texture. Then I use my fingers to apply it everywhere.”
NARS RADIANT CREAMY CONCEALER CUSTARD
2 / 5
The Highlights
“For a look like this, I’d rather not use blush. I used MAC Strobe Cream instead, which brings more balance and light to the face. I like to apply it with a brush on the cheekbones, Cupid’s bow, chin, and T-zone.”
3 / 5
Take a Brow
“I wanted to make sure the eyebrows were clean but not too strong. In France, we don’t like when they’re super graphic—we just brush and fill but make sure there’s still transparency. I like Tom Ford or Chanel pencils for this—you can draw brows on hair by hair. I finish it off with MAC brow mascara gel so everything stays in place.”
M·A·C PRO LONGWEAR WATERPROOF BROW SET BOLD IN BRUNETTE
4 / 5
Blurred Lines
“It’s better to use lip liner to contour and fill lips the old-school way—chin up, chin down—to ensure your mouth is super symmetrical and the bottom and top lips are even. For this rich lip color, a brownish–dark purple liner from MAC is good. It’s heavily pigmented and easy to use, and creates a dried base to make the lipstick last longer. Afterward, I put cleansing water on a Q-tip to contour and clean up any mistakes before applying the lipstick.”
5 / 5
Lip Service
“It’s very important to move around when you’re putting on lipstick, and to apply it with lips open and closed so the color is perfect. A lot of people just apply with their mouth open, but it doesn’t look the same when you close your mouth. It’s best to apply this color with a brush. I get a lot of texture from the lipstick, then start with the contour and finish with the center, leaving it more transparent to give more depth. When you keep the color more intense on the edges, it gives an illusion of plumper lips—on a naturally full mouth, the center catches the light more.”
Get step-by-step directions on how to achieve bold plum and more at VIOLETGREY.COM
