“The Industry’s Beauty Edit” isn’t something you say lightly. But for VIOLET GREY, nothing else will do. Their discrete atelier on Melrose Place, formerly owned by architect John Elgin Woolf, stocks product culled exclusively from the kits of Hollywood’s makeup and nail artists. For the full experience, you must also pay a visit to their website, where I imagine customers spend hours browsing through both The Violet Files and The Shelves.
VIOLETGREY.com is part luxury editorial and part e-commerce destination, all wrapped up in the glittering allure of Hollywood culture. With a few clicks, you can travel from their June cover story (featuring model Rosie Huntington-Whiteley) to Rosie’s on-set favorites: a little La Prairie and a lot of Tom Ford. For those who take their products seriously, there’s no better place to shop.
For a peek at what goes on behind-the-scenes, I caught up with founder Cassandra Huysentruyt Grey. Her first reveal? “A successful summer strategy includes sea, sex, sun, self-tanner and sunblock.” Et voilà, the VIOLET GREY philosophy on summer beauty.
Why create this type of luxury commerce destination? Was it a longtime project or did something in particular spark the idea?
Cassandra Huysentruyt Grey: “The way that art and culture interacts with commerce, particularly in the digital world, fascinates me. VIOLET GREY is a content and commerce company that was born out of Hollywood beauty culture. During my first five years of laying the groundwork and beginning to build the company, I immersed myself and my team in the study of Hollywood’s lost glamour and the current red carpet industry. Most importantly, we spent a lot of time cultivating a community of contributors who truly know beauty best—the artists and the stars.”
One of the things I love most about your company is the focus on Hollywood beauty culture. What made you decide to incorporate this?
Cassandra Huysentruyt Grey: “Hollywood is the most influential beauty culture in the world. I have my husband to thank for exposing me to the Hollywood that VIOLET GREY is inspired by. He is an encyclopedia of knowledge; he has such an affection for the art of storytelling and the history of show business. I didn’t know anything about Lou Wasserman, or Elia Kazan, or even Edith Head. He introduced me to all of that. I wrote the VIOLET GREY business plan when I was living in New York. It didn’t become really interesting until I moved to Los Angeles. I didn’t incorporate the Hollywood narrative into the brand; the Hollywood narrative is the brand. We just gave it the digital treatment.”
VIOLET GREY is both a brick-and-mortar and an online destination. Has the Internet changed the luxury beauty industry?
Cassandra Huysentruyt Grey: “The Internet has obviously changed everything, and luxury beauty is no exception. The Internet is making luxury accessible to everyone, and in some cases even attempting to commoditize it. Limited distribution and premiere positioning have always been in the luxury playbook. The internet is essentially the antithesis of that—yet we are all on it, and we must adapt our strategies if we want to be where the consumer is.”
How is VIOLET GREY participating in this new dialogue?
Cassandra Huysentruyt Grey: “While I think it’s still very important to have a bricks and mortar presence (hence the flagship on Melrose Place), I believe the internet is the future and provides another layer to the luxury promise by making it possible to purchase and replenish your beauty products with the simple click of a fingertip. We can still protect the way the consumer experiences luxury online through design and personalized service, which I believe is more important than ever. As both a luxury consumer and a purveyor of luxury goods, I have really high expectations. I want entertainment, culture, community, inspiration, education and service, all wrapped in a pretty package. In today’s world of social media and behavioral data, the consumer tells you what she wants and she is far too discerning to spend her time with anyone that isn’t listening to her.”
What does the day-to-day process of selecting product look like?
Cassandra Huysentruyt Grey: “From our little cottage war room at the Chateau Marmont, we work around a long table filled with beauty products recommended by makeup artists, skin care experts, nail artists, beauty editors and stars. We choose from products that are authentically being used in Hollywood that season, whether it’s award season, spring or fall. Each recommended product then goes through an extensive approval process with our aforementioned community. Only once it passes their collective range-of-requirements does the product make The Shelves on VIOLETGREY.com and in our flagship destination on Melrose Place. We refer to this process as the The Violet Code.”
Which Violet Code-approved products will you be carrying in your makeup bag this summer?
Cassandra Huysentruyt Grey: “My favorite products that passed The Violet Code for summer are…
La Mer Sun Lotion SPF 30 ($120): Nail artist Stephanie Stone always recommends sunscreen on your hands as they are prone to showing the first signs of aging. It’s just as important to protect your hands from the sun as it is your face.
Dior Diorshow Waterproof Mascara ($25): Waterproof mascara is a must for summer heat. Makeup artist Molly R. Stern chose Dior because it refuses to smudge, nor break the lashes when it comes time to remove it.
Tom Ford Bronzing Powder ($95): This product flawlessly highlights the skin’s natural radiance or accents an existing tan by brushing lightly on cheekbones to define and amplify the bone structure, or by dusting all over the face to create the ultimate warm and seductive glow.
YSL Le Teint Touche Eclat Foundation ($57): Makeup artist Monika Blunder prefers to apply this foundation during the summer for a dewy, luminous finish.
James Read Sleep Mask Tan ($43): Makeup artist Sabrina Bedrani, who we collaborated with on the May issue’s Vanessa Paradis cover shoot, stands by this brilliant self-tanner. Apply a thin layer of the clear gel before slipping into bed, and by morning you will have a subtle, sun-kissed glow.”
