Cassandra Grey is Nothing Short of Iconic

The renowned beauty authority and Violet Grey Founder tackles our shopping questionnaire.

Jun 07, 2024

Cassandra Grey is one of those parasocial girl crushes I’ve had for years. She is an exacting member of the Hollywood elite and unilaterally flawless in her taste. She’s infamously lived many lives, all of them glamorous.

Violet Grey, her hyper-curated (and deeply chic) Los Angeles beauty outpost, is at the center of her universe. The Melrose shop oozes Old Hollywood, bathed in gilded mirrors, Dorothy Draper-esque tufting, and velvet upholstery. But its offerings are decidedly modern: first-to-market devices that promise to lift and tone, makeup coddled in weighty compacts, and a litany of hard-to-procure fragrances. It is an extension of both Grey’s taste and her relationships; her store was the first to incubate and carry lines like Barbara Sturm, Make Beauty, and Farah Homidi. She is an essential industry gatekeeper: if she likes it, it’s going to sell.

Violet Grey’s adjacent online presence is similarly realized, editorialized by legendary Vogue alum Sarah Brown. Grey courted Brown for many years to join her team, a testament to her crystal-clear vision for the brand. She picks and she sticks, so to speak.

Violet Grey is one of my favorite places to shop online and has been for many years. It was there that I first discovered now-staple brands like Augustinus Bader and Vinter’s Daughter. When I started this newsletter nearly three years ago, Cassandra was at the top of my interview wish list. My instincts were right, because she delivered. Below, she tackles our shopping questionnaire.

I founded my company because:

We founded VIOLET GREY to enable customers to feel more confident in their purchase decisions. In the beginning, we set out to cultivate beauty culture within Hollywood and gain the credibility to attract industry thought- leaders to contribute to our content and curate our shelves.

Established as an influential editorial point of view, we were able to access prestige brand partners and only stock their hero products. The quality of our edit earned the trust and brand advocacy of an influential community of discerning customers.

The best investment I ever made in my wardrobe was:

A classic overcoat by The Row. Expensive, but worth it.

The person who most influences what I buy is _, because _:

My son, because at eight, he currently describes me as “iconic.” Before making a purchase, I consider whether the item will be “iconic” in my estate catalogue when I die.

On my vanity:

As consumers, we tend to buy way too much beauty, and unlike fashion, most beauty products don’t become collectible; they expire! I only like to have best-in-class products, and I only keep my vanity stocked with what I am using. I edit and organize my vanity once a week. Order makes me feel safe and makes my beauty rituals calm and meditative.

In my bedside drawer:

I don’t like bedside drawers. I don’t like clutter. On my bedside table, I keep a bottle of perfume, a water bottle on a coaster, a lamp, and a landline telephone.

My everyday carry always includes:

I don’t carry a handbag; I carry a money clip with cash, my Amex, and my house keys.

If I could, I would spend all my money buying:

I can, and I spend my money on ART, angel investments in entrepreneurs, SUMMER HOLIDAYS, and vbucks for my son.

Ed note: I asked, and her art collection includes Claude Lalanne, Ellsworth Kelly, Guy Bourdin, Jean-Michel Frank, and Donald Judd. She’s also in possession of Joan Didion’s Slipper Sofa and Lee Radziwill’s infamous Tiger Sofa.