Meet Olivia Wander | Makeup and Special Effects Artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Olivia Wander and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Olivia, why did you pursue a creative career?
Since I was very young, I’ve had a strong love and admiration for art and film. I was born and raised in Portland, OR, a place known for “Keeping it Weird”. My family and I had our local places, specifically the Roseway Theater where we could get discounted snacks and $8 movie tickets. It’s where I have so many fond memories of seeing monthly movie releases with friends and family, which grew my love and excitement for films. It was my dad who taught me how to draw, which got me into taking art classes from the age of six until I graduated highschool. This had me attending college as an art major until I decided otherwise. My dad had also introduced me to movies, specifically the sci-fi and action films, which usually kids would be terrified of the monsters, creatures and aliens, but I remember having called them “adorable” and “cool”, staring at the screen in awe. I always thought they looked so interesting and fascinating, and once I figured out that they were created by makeup, I wanted to know how it was done. It was when my parents had shown me the show “Face Off”, where I admired all the hard work that was put into each competition. I never really knew that you could do special effects as a major career, and I was excited to find out how to get there. My mom had then helped me research schools where I could gain some knowledge on makeup and sfx, because before finding a school I was DIY-ing my materials that I had gotten off of YouTube. We had found a school called The Art of Makeup School in Lake Oswego, OR where I started taking workshops, the first one being a Drag Workshop, and my supportive father, was my drag queen model. What an icon! After that I took more and more workshops until I finally graduated high school, and ultimately decided that I wanted to earn my certificate in makeup and special effects, after realizing doing college online classes wasn’t for me. From there, I wanted more knowledge and experience, and made the move to LA to attend Make-Up Designory. Going there, being in the film and tv environment, along with my dad introducing me to this fun and creative world, made me want to stay and start pursuing my career as a makeup artist.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
What gets me most excited is getting the opportunity to show off my skills with every project I work on, and pushing myself to try newer techniques. Whether that be in makeup or special effects.
One of my most proud moments would have to be my special effects final from Make-Up Designory, where I created my alien “Borg” out of silicone prosthetics, for the first time. I had this vision of the creature in my mind and the fact that the outcome of my hard work came out exactly how I imagined it, made me very proud of myself.
Even though that was my proudest moment, I am looking forward to any and all future projects I will be a part of, especially with starting to get myself into different positions on films sets as an Executive Producer and currently Co-Producing a short film with my friend.
I got myself where I am now with hard work and determination. In this field of work you have to really get yourself out there by connections and applying yourself for projects, even if they seem difficult. I am definitely still in this process of getting myself known and out there, which isn’t always the easiest. Meeting new people and film lovers on set is a huge plus to make those connections with others and gives me the chance to present myself when discussing my work and what my future plans are.
When I first started working as a freelance artist, I definitely wasn’t the most confident in myself and in what I could do. I knew what I was interested in and knew my skills were great enough to get myself onto sets, but I always second guessed myself and my skills. Over the last couple years, I have gained my confidence with every project I work on and reminding myself each day “I can do this.”
My work is a pretty wide range of the makeup I enjoy doing. I love to do a little bit of glam, editorial looks, clean “ready-for-camera” makeup and especially doing special effects. My goal is being able to offer diverse work for any person and for any occasion, no matter what. My ultimate goal is to primarily work on films, but being able to do the side quests of editorial shoots and event makeup is always a blast to do.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Whenever my friends or family visit, we HAVE TO visit a few of the beaches. You definitely need to check out the Santa Monica Pier, Venice Beach, and my personal favorite, Manhattan Beach. That one is my favorite place to go since it is a quieter place to relax and read. Going to different restaurants whenever my parents visit is a MUST. As a plant-based family, we love checking out all of the different vegan restaurants and breakfast places. My newest favorite is Cafe Gratitude, which I am super excited to show my mom next time she visits, Another delicious plant-based restaurant to try out is Crossroads Kitchen, its a bit fancier but such a great place to have a formal dinner with the people you’re close with.
My most frequent idea of a good time and a place to be is a cafe with a good book and classical music. For me the best place to do that is at Muddy Paw Cafe. They have vegan & gluten-free desserts and sweets with delicious drinks and a dog park in the back of one of their locations. Depending on the friend depends on the activities we want to do. Me and some of my closest friends are avid book readers so a trip to the bookstore is always a must.
Even though I live here, I definitely don’t explore California as much as I should, but my goal is to travel around a bit more so then I have places to show off and make some fun memories.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
My shoutout definitely has to go to my parents. Growing up they made sure I was surrounded by a wide variety of pop culture from music to movies and providing a space to discover myself and my interests. When I had told them about how I wanted to pursue a career in makeup for film and tv, they were super supportive of my decision, as long as I just had a plan of what I was going to do and how I was going to accomplish this career goal. They had even planned a party to celebrate my big move with all of our friends and family. It was heart warming being surrounded by all that love and support.
My friends are also a huge part of the support I have received. They’ve endured me practicing different makeup looks and special effects techniques, especially the homemade prosthetics that led to a ripped off eyebrow. Sorry Erin. But they have all supported me no matter what, especially with my move away to do what I love.
With all of their endless support, love and encouragement, it has helped lead me to pursue my dream career.
I also need to shoutout my first school, The Art of Makeup School, for allowing me to attend summer classes and such fun workshops to start me on this exciting path. The place and the people truly inspired me to start this career.

Website: https://www.musfxlooksbyolivia.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mua.oliviawander

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@liv.n.wander

Other: IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm14787079/?ref_=ext_shr_lnk

Image Credits
Deverill Weekes. Elisa Ivers. Collin Cassidy. Joyce ONeal. TylerAnn