INTRODUCING THE ZODIACS

Written by CASSANDRA GREY
Photography by BEN HASSETT
Makeup by FARA HOMIDI
Hair by DAVID VON CANNON

FROM THE DESK OF CASSANDRA GREY
Re: Introducing Collection No ° 2: “The Zodiacs”

To our dearest customers,

I’ve written many notes to you since founding VIOLET GREY in 2012—hundreds, in fact. They can only be described as love letters. As I see it, this company belongs, in spirit, to you, our most discerning customers and collaborators. We all share an appreciation for—maybe even an infatuation with—the very best in beauty.

My father used to call me a “cute kid with a dream.” All I ever wanted was to one day be a businesswoman—and the moment the first shopper (apart from my mother) checked out on violetgrey.com, I went from being a girl with a dream to a bona fide entrepreneur of note. From the very beginning, we knew that we didn’t just offer lipstick and face cream. Our product was, and remains, trust. That’s why we established the Violet Code stamp of approval, which means every single product is vetted by the industry experts on our Committee. It’s also why we established an incubator division called VIOLET LAB, where we combine our creative intuition with 12 years of institutional data. We’ve helped guide many of the brands that make up the new guard in beauty, including Augustinus Bader, Eighth Day, and Fara Homidi, and of course my second dream turned bona fide business: Madame Grey.

When I first started moodboarding the project more than a decade ago, I envisioned it as part auction house and part fragrance maison—just as VIOLET GREY is part magazine and part shop. Madame Grey was born from my reverence for estate catalogues: tangible proof of a life well lived, bound in a book of treasured possessions left behind. I believe a signature scent can be one of the most defining characteristics of an individual’s legacy, and the Madame Grey extrait de parfum, which debuted this past spring, captured the spirit of “the one that got away”—bottling the essence of dangerous love, the one that could burn it all down.

Collection No ° 2: “The Zodiacs” proposes equally charged scents for the home. We began developing the 12 candles in 2020, working closely with my astrologer Karen Thorne—now Madame Grey’s astrologer in residence. Her deep knowledge of each sign, together with the elements they rule, informed the creative process with our master perfumer Jérôme Epinette, ensuring each one aligns with its characteristics and smells divine.

The candles had to have it all: clean ingredients, spiritual complexity, sustainable yet glamorous packaging. There’s even an English pewter lid, adorned with a crest bearing the phrase Le jour viendra—the day will come. It’s inspired by a vessel left to me by one of my great friends and mentors, Sue Mengers. Legacy lives on.

Please allow me to introduce you to The Zodiacs. I hope you love them.

As always,

Cassandra Grey

Aries Sun
Aries Moon
Libra Rising