CR 066: Ngozi Olandu Young on Makeup, Movies, and the Power of Chance Encounters

The makeup artist discusses her work on Spike Lee’s “Highest 2 Lowest,” and how a random meeting kick-started her impressive career.

Photo courtesy of Ngozi Olandu Young

Sometimes all it takes is a chance encounter to change the trajectory of one’s life.

When she was an 18-year-old college student, Baltimore native Ngozi Olandu was working part-time in Nordstrom’s makeup department, earning just enough money to cover car payments and meals. One day, she noticed a stranger hovering near the counter. “I had an older couple [at the counter],” she says. “They just purchased one lipstick, but they were with me for two hours. During that two-hour period, [this woman] kept circling around. I’m like, ‘I have a colleague who can help you.’ And she’s like, ‘No, I’m gonna wait for you.’ And I’m like, ‘Is she crazy? Why is she waiting?’”

After the couple left with their one item, the woman approached the counter and purchased $3,000 worth of makeup from Ngozi. “I was like, ‘Excuse me. I don’t mean to be tacky, but what do you do? [Laughs] Who are you?’ And she’s like, ‘I’m like you. I’m a makeup artist, but for film and televisio…