Cassandra Grey Test-Drives the Ultimate Serve Violet Box
The VIOLET GREY founder slides into a makeup chair at the Madison Store to unbox the essentials for a dialed-in party look.
Written by LAURA REGENSDORF
Cassandra Grey has the goods in hand. Eight carefully chosen products—each one perfect because they make you feel that way, too. The VIOLET GREY founder has come to the Madison Store not just to unveil the new limited-edition Violet Box but also, more important, to bring it to life. With help from the resident makeup artist David Broggi, she gets a dialed-in makeup look: a study in everyday, hold-your-breath glamour.
“This is the art of service,” Grey says, alluding to the Violet Box’s official name: the Ultimate Serve. The idea here is to gather exacting formulations that lead to unfailingly elegant results, the kind that elicit compliments from passersby. Jillian Dempsey’s smudgeable liner in Black Sapphire is “epic,” says Grey, who is partial to sooty eye makeup that looks slept in. The clear brow gel by MAC, found in so many pro kits, is universally deemed “so good.” Grey especially likes to wear the mascara by Victoria Beckham Beauty (a brand that’s “clean but fashion”) on the lower lashes for lithe definition. Hourglass’s powder is “Instafamous—I feel like all the girlies have this,” she says, while Saie’s Super Glowy Gel amplifies luminosity whether it’s worn on bare skin or over concealer (how Grey likes it). Make’s Multi-Chromatic Eyeshadow was a slow burn to becoming a staple in her wardrobe. And Westman Atelier? “Only the best lipstick ever made, besides maybe this twist by Sisley makeup,” says Grey, who layers them one atop the other. All together, the Violet Box is a $286 value, for the most agreeable price of $125. “We are serving and saving!” she says with a flourish. Whether for the makeup lover or yourself, it’s a gift that proves its worth, again and again.
