French-born Violette Serrat, creative director of makeup at Guerlain, founder of beauty brand Violette_FR and one of the industry’s most celebrated makeup artists, tells Service95 why ‘French girl beauty’ is not just for the French
“It took me a very long time to understand what people meant by French beauty, because when you’re in it [as a French person], it’s really hard to take a step back. Moving to the US allowed me to witness other cultures around beauty and understand ours a little bit more.
“The French have a very specific aesthetic, but it is very linked to our life philosophy. This life philosophy is what is strongest about our culture, and it is the thing that impacts everything. It is about being chic, effortless and happy in our own skin. This is also a good summation of French beauty. As a makeup artist who works globally, however, it was important for me to make everyone – regardless of background and race – feel like they could be a part of this. To exclude anyone is empty and elitist and this is not what beauty is. When I was building Violette_FR, I thought about self-confidence, happiness and freedom – and it became something that I wanted everyone to access through beauty. I wanted to help people shift their relationship to beauty and exchange it for something healthier.
“I remember as a kid really thinking that wearing red lipstick was symbolic of femininity. I never looked at foundation, I never looked at bronzer, I never looked at any of these products as a symbol of ‘when you’re a grown woman, you’ll wear that’. But I really fantasised about red lipstick, because you notice red lipstick in France, you don’t notice any other type of makeup. I remember looking at this woman in the supermarket. She was wearing relaxed clothes with red lipstick. And you could tell that the red lipstick was not one to seduce anyone, it was just for her to feel good.
“I also remember as a child being with my grandmother who lived in the French countryside. Every morning she would do her makeup and her hair, and I would say, ‘Mamie, why do you prepare yourself like that? You see nobody during the day – what’s the point?’ She said, ‘I’m doing this for me. It makes me feel good.’
“And so back to the philosophy. In my culture, being happy is No.1. To be happy, we have to love ourselves. Being a bit irreverent about it helps. You have to be like, ‘This is how I look; if you don’t like it, you can leave it.’ We own the way we look and are proud of it. Nothing is more helpful in helping you love yourself than sitting in your own skin. But this is not a philosophy that has to be limited to French women. It is for everyone.”
