Introducing The Expert Edit: Liz Olivier
Issue No. 36
Celebrity makeup artist Liz Olivier
Good morning and happy Monday-after-Oscars!
I’m typing this from my bathrobe, quite sleep deprived and, despite by best efforts, a tiny bit hungover. I had the pleasure of attending a few Oscar parties last night – first NEON (whose film Anora swept five categories, and, as you can imagine, the energy in the room was electric) and then the iconic Vanity Fair Oscar party. My husband Tim is a film producer and, occasionally, I get a tangential glimpse into the sexiest side of Hollywood: the parties. There is nothing quite like the thrill of breathing the same air as the star power in that room at Vanity Fair. (It’s a funny combination of, like, Nancy Pelosi, Jeff Bezos, Bill Maher (Tim’s favorite), Coco Gauff, and Hailey Bieber). In fact, it felt like the only unrecognizable people in the room were…us. I love watching the Oscars stream before hand, ooohing and ahhing over the looks and then getting a to see them all up close in person.
But, truthfully, as fun as these parties are, I get a serious dose of anxiety knowing I’ll have to rub shoulders with some of the most beautiful humans on this planet. I know what I wear and look like doesn’t actually matter to anyone but me, but, regardless, I’ve come to learn that this is a time to enlist professionals. So, I had @Lisa von Weise on speed dial last week, helping me make sure my outfit checked out (the way Lisa words her texts alone are poetic and instantly give me a surge of confidence). Dr. Nigma did her “Time Lift” facial for me earlier in the week (all I can say is wow, it works). @Lisa Gainsely was on deck with he most heavenly lymphatic massage on Saturday. Shortly after, Rona at Lukaro refreshed my blonde and her hubby Luke did a fresh cut. And last, but absolutely not least, Liz Olivier dialed in my hair and makeup. This all got me thinking – these are the brilliant and talented specialists I want to be sharing with you on The Lacey List.
So, with last night’s 97th Academy Awards freshly in our rear view, I’m excited to kick off exactly that. Today’s profile (spoiler: it’s Liz!) will be the first of a new series from The Lacey List called “Expert Edit.” In it, we’ll be interviewing experts across health, wellness and beauty, who will pull back the curtain on their expertise and curate their ultimate must-have list. Part masterclass, part shopping guide, we will reveal the products, practices, and philosophies that these trusted insiders swear by.
Enough rambling…
Meet Liz Olivier
First up is celebrity makeup artist Liz Olivier. I first met Liz in 2022 when I hired her for my wedding. She knocked it out of the park that weekend and I’ve the pleasure of getting to know her quite well since then. (Sidenote, if there is ever a time in your life to pretend you’re a movie star, it’s your wedding weekend.) I didn’t realize just how much time I would spend in the “makeup and hair chair” that weekend and I was pleased to learn that Liz was as cool as she is talented. I now hire her for hair and makeup whenever I can.. I am useless trying to do my own and Liz makes me feel like a million bucks every time.
Lucky for me, Liz just so happened to be in LA for the Oscars this year doing hair and makeup for Coralie Fargeat – a French director who was nominated for best director for her film The Substance. (Her film was also nominated for Best Picture, among other noms). Coralie looked amazing (of course she did, she had Liz!). I somehow convinced Liz to squeeze me in after Coralie left for the carpet and… here we are!
LW: Can you briefly introduce yourself and what you do?
LO: Heya! I’m Liz Olivier and I'm a celebrity makeup artist. I actually hate saying that, it sounds so… pompous. But, it's true, so I have to get used to saying it. I’m not a conventional makeup artist - I actually like clean, beautiful skin and my clients love me for that.
LW: And that - among other reasons - is why I love you! Your makeup looks are never too “done” - always the perfect amount.
LW: Ok, so when you sit down to do a client’s makeup, what is the first thing you do?
LO: I love to start with a face mask and undereye patches – they’re a must.
LW: What is your busiest season and how do you prepare?
LO: Awards season is definitely a busy time! People don’t realize, but award season is actually the end of the a long run of press circuits. Actors, producers, directors, etc kick off promotion for a film months ahead of this - sometimes in August or September the previous year! By the time the Golden Globes and Oscars roll around, we’ve been together for months and have built a little family. It makes me sad when it's all over because we won’t see each other until the next film comes out and, even then, it’s never the same “family”. To prepare for the awards circuit, I love to prep everything for my travels. I decant all of my favorite beauty products because of weight and I label it all like I’m the KonMari Method gal.
LW: What are your most-used products that you stock up on ahead of time?
Undereye patches are a must. These from Skin Iceland are the only ones that really firm up the skin. Also liking these from 111 Skin.
Mac mini lipsticks in Velvet Teddy, Mehr and their blotting powders I like to give clients a little touchup bag they can take with them to the carpet
Charlotte Tilbury Pillow Talk lipstick and liner
LashLash eyelashes- I love these. They are perfect for every occasion and the owner designed the packaging to be recyclable.
LW: Fun fact, Lash Lash was founded by Mari Shten who did my 2023 Oscars makeup - at Liz’s rec)
LW: What are your favorite makeup looks right now?
Violette_FR has these great liquid eyeshadows. I just did a great blue eye with Coralie Fargeat using these.
What trends are you seeing in makeup and skincare that you’re excited about?
I love that technology is finally catching up with consumer desire to be more sustainable. I was recently in London and noticed that you can buy face mask sheets that are biodegradable. They were everywhere, even in the drugstores. Even Superdrug has their own sheets with hyaluronic Acid that I love.
LW: What are your go-to products when working with clients?
I love Armani and Tom Ford foundations, they leave the skin dewy looking but don’t have the appearance of ‘too much makeup'
LW: No make up makeup is your signature! Ok, there are sooooo many products out there that are great. How do you choose the best of the best?
LO: God, I'm going to ramble, but this is so important to me.
It can be so overwhelming these days to figure out what is the right product for you. Skincare and makeup are expensive and there are a lot of the same products (just between us, they’re often coming from the same factory). That is why it is so important to vote with your wallet!! What I mean by this is that you should buy products that agree with your values. For example, I love sustainability in beauty and I always try to use products from companies I know that have the best interest of the consumer and the environment at heart. I like to buy from companies that are B-Corp certified like L’occitane. They have fabulous goodies and put so much thought into their ingredients in all their products. Even their manufacturing in the US (Capsum) is sustainable and on their way to becoming B-corp certified.
If I am shopping for myself, I always choose this route. If you are too busy to do the research, just go to my ShopMy – I only post sustainable and clean brands on there. It's harder to be sustainable and clean with makeup, but there are growing number of companies out there. As technology catches up (and we can talk about that another time) you will see major differences in packaging of cosmetics in the near future.
LW: Can you walk us through a versatile everyday makeup look that’s simple yet effective? Complete with product specifics?
LO: For an everyday look, it’s important to have hydrated, dewy skin. It will look effortless and like you just woke up with fabulous skin. I always start with a hydrating emollient moisturizer (if you have oily skin, you can skip this and use a ratifying primer instead). After that, I use Armani foundation with Makeup Forever or Nars Creamy Concealer. If you have oily skin, opt for a more matte foundation. For blush, I use any cream blush (Love the Ilia Multi Stick and Westman Atelier Cream Blush Stick). Finally, when it comes to the eyes, I love a good quad pallet. It is hard to tell you what exact eyeshadow to buy since everyone is different, but get yourself a bronze looking pallet that goes from light to dark. This way you can use the lighter colors during the day and add the darker colors at night to easily take your look from day to night.
LW: Now can you do an amped up version for an Oscar party or night out?!
LO: I like my makeup products to be versatile. It is better for your wallet and better for the environment. For a fun, amped up night out look, you can take your bronze pallet, I'm sure there will be 1 or 2 fun glitters in there and you can just tap the little glitter in the center of your eyelid. If you feel like that gets too messy, you can always opt for a liquid eyeshadow like the Violette_FR I mentioned earlier. The one trick when it comes to liquid eyeshadows is to work fast and blend!
LW: Packing tips for skincare/ makeup?
LO: I love a good travel kit. True Botanicals and Rhode Skin have great ones and they are both sustainable brands. L’occitane actually sells reusable decanters that you can use for your travels and they look super cute.
LW: Do you have a favorite wellness habit?
LO: I run a lot. To me, it’s meditative. I love being outside. I love to sweat and get the blood flow going. It also means I wear a lot of sunscreen, which I'm passionate about. If you spend money on any skincare, spend it on sunscreen! Your skin is your biggest organ, protect it! And no chemical sunscreen! Only mineral sunscreens.
LW: You’re passionate about sustainability and just completed a course on circular economies at MIT. What are some brands or products you admire who are paving the way for a better, more sustainable future in the beauty industry? Yes, I love studying sustainability in beauty with the hope of doing my Masters one day. It’s an expensive hobby LOL. Anyone want to sponsor me?!
During my studies I’m exposed to so many new companies and technologies that are on the horizon. One company you might have noticed on social is SWAY. They are a a company that do plastic alternatives made from seaweed. Now all your amazon shipping bags can be made from biodegradable seaweed bags.
Most new technologies are trying to find solutions to single use plastic. This is where circular economies come into play: How do take someone’s waste and make new products? This keeps materials in the economy/marketplace and avoids landfill. Gucci Westman does this with her packaging. She takes cornhusk waste/byproduct from farming and uses it to create a biopolymer based containers that houses her foundations and cream shadows. It is however hard in beauty industry to be sustainable, most containers are not recyclable because consumers don’t know how to do it correctly or the recycling facility in their neighborhood can't recycle their beauty products due to its size.
I always put my sustainable recommendations on ShopMy as I come across them. It is full of makeup, skincare, gift ideas and more.
The reason it hard to find a sustainable brands in beauty is because of the chemical compounds. A lot of the chemicals will break down the packaging. Take Vitamin C or toothpaste, for example. The ingredients will literally eat the container it is housed in if it's a biopolymer… and this where technology is trying to catch up. Things are on the horizon, but as a consumer, it’s ok not to be perfect re: sustainability. Instead, we need 300 million people to do things imperfectly but moving the needle in the right direction instead of 3 people doing it perfectly.That is why I say ‘VOTE WITH YOUR WALLET’, whether it’s beauty or shopping or gift giving.
Any questions for Liz we didn’t cover? Tell my in the comments (or reply directly to this email). OR - mention in the chat!
As always, thank you for reading. I hope you like this new feature series – feedback is always welcome and encouraged!
Links I Loved This Week
Shoutout to my Ziip Halo (full disclosure, they gifted me one). Since using it every day this week, I can feel that my jaw is more lifted and toned.
The Wellness Club is Gen Z’s Country Club was a good read for those interested in wellness culture (thank you Casey Lewis for the rec)
SpiceWell Salt & Pepper adds a little zip to everything
tktkt
