Meet Victoria Orr | Owner & Makeup Artist

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

Hi Victoria, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
I grew up in an entrepreneurial household. My parents started their business over 30 years ago with just one environmentally green organic product. They were ahead of their time. Back then “organic” was not a popular word in the market. Their success inspired me at a very young age to want to become a business owner in my future.

However, when I started out in the career world, owning a business was not the first thing I had the ability to do. I needed to work and gain experience in my field. As the years passed, after acquiring a degree in Fashion Design, and B.S degree in Dietetics, I felt confident in my expertise. In 2023, I made the leap to invest in myself and start my own business. The timing was perfect. I realized that from all my years in fashion and design, that beauty was so much deeper than it appeared. Over the course of my career in fashion, I have seen first-hand so many people struggle with their skin. My passion evolved into incorporating nutrient dense skincare and cosmetics. I believe beauty starts from within and I quickly fell in love with clean beauty cosmetics and skincare.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
The name VIOR Makeup Studio came from my name V. (Victoria) Orr. VIOR Makeup Studio or “VIOR” is not just a luxury travel beauty team currently servicing Georgia and bordering states, we are so much more. The business started with a name, of course, but a name is not a brand until it is made one.
When I was building this brand, I thought of every question under the sun about who this brand is. Who is VIOR? What does the name represent in this ever-changing beauty world? Well, that is easy, because it is me. I am the brand. I can immediately convey to our audience who we are because no one knows me better than myself. Before I tell you all about VIOR and who we are, let me retract to how I got here. The story helps better understand who VIOR is, and why we are who we are.

As a child, all I wanted was to be a fashion designer. In 2002, I graduated from Miami International University of Art and Design with my degree in fashion design. I learned later in life that fashion was in my blood. My grandfather was a master tailor in Manhattan in his prime who wore a three-piece suit everyday no matter where he was going. My maternal grandmother was a classy lady from head to toe. She never left her house without her full face of makeup, fancy dress, and heels. My mother took after my grandmother with her fanciness, and she was a makeup artist in her younger years in Miami. My paternal grandmother was a fashion designer at heart. She sewed and made clothes and accessories for everyone around her.

While I was in fashion design school, I experienced some unknown medical symptoms that doctors could not diagnose. I began researching alternative medicine and became fascinated with nutrition. I was put on a very strict diet for 90 days, and I was healed. That experience planted a passion seed for nutrition in my heart and I began to understand the importance of clean nutrition inside and out.

After I graduated, I worked in the garment district in NYC for several years. I decided to move to Atlanta in 2006 to be closer to my family who was moving up from Florida, where I grew up. This is where my struggle began. At that time, my daughter was just born, and I was a newly divorced single mom trying to navigate through this new life. Shortly after relocating, things started to fall apart. I didn’t know a soul here other than my family. The transition to Georgia was a huge culture shock, and I could not find my footing. At the time there were limited design houses in Atlanta to work for, and I was lost. Culturally, I was forced to slow down, and with having no friends, things got lonely. I applied for as many fashion jobs as I could and eventually found myself styling photo shoots and training to be a makeup artist with a well-known makeup brand. Makeup artistry came very naturally to me. I felt it was similar to fashion design, but just designing looks for the face instead of the body!

As my career continued in fashion I grew burnt out, less and less passionate about mainstream fashion, and more and more interested in helping people personally one-on-one. I wanted meaning to my job, and apparel mass production was not meaningful to me anymore. I wanted to use my love for fashion design to do something to help people! In 2013, I left a highly demanding fashion job to pursue my longing to help others. I started personally styling and image consulting clients.

I added a B.S. degree in Dietetics to my credentials from Life University in 2018 to be able to incorporate nutrition into my long-term plans for my future brand. I want to educate my clients on beauty not just from the outside, but also from the inside of the body through clean nutrition.

In 2016, I married my husband, Brett. Three years later our son was born after a complicated pregnancy. I thank God for my son being born healthy after all I endured. At that time, I experienced some setbacks to my career. I believe setbacks in life make Your story, Yours and unique, and now I am here to tell mine.

After our son was born, I needed some time to rest with him and just be a mom. It was during this time that I created VIOR Makeup Studio. Through the love and support of my husband, I was able to combine all my life experiences and career expertise to create what VIOR is now today.

We are not just a luxury makeup and hair team; we are clean beauty. VIOR encompasses all the freshness of botanicals and minerals and combines it into one brand. VIOR does not use products that are harmful to the skin, does not clog pores, and allows our clients to feel refreshed and pampered on a whole other level. We use skin prep products that are Farm to Skin, allowing our client’s natural skin to glow. We work with our clients one-on-one on their skincare goals for their wedding and incorporate a plan for the months leading up to their big day. VIOR Makeup Studio gives all our clients the highest level of service by going above and beyond their needs. We want our clients to feel like they are royalty! With VIOR Makeup Studio, you will get the highest quality service, talented variety of makeup artists and hair stylists, clean beauty cosmetics, gifts for yourself and wedding party, and more! We have no interest in covering up our client’s natural beauty, we are only here to showcase it. VIOR is not here to put whatever market-trending product on our client, we are only interested in using clean beauty cosmetics that keep our client’s skin healthy! We do not believe in doing makeup and hair and then leaving immediately after. At VIOR Makeup Studio, we create long-term bonds and friendships with our clients, and we are here whenever they need us!

I brought all my talents and desires full circle by being able to be a creative designer/artist through makeup artistry. I am now able to incorporate the elements of wellness that are important to me into my business, and help others live clean, fresh, and renewed through using nutrient dense cosmetics. At VIOR, I can feel meaningful, and be effective to people’s lives and how they feel about themselves through their beauty transformation. I love what I do. I am so thankful that I can do what I love and help people the way I intended to. The future of VIOR has potential to one day have its own makeup line known for its skin benefits and cleanliness!

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.
I like to try different things all the time. I would first start out by checking out spots online in Atlanta or nearby that I haven’t been to before and create a bucket list for us! I would also do some of my favorite things with my best friend too! During the day, I would take my friend to some of my favorite lunch spots. I really enjoy the vibe at Inman Park. I like places like Bartaco and Barcelona Wine Bar. At night, we would salsa it up on the dance floor at Eclipse di Luna if they have anything going on and maybe get to watch a live salsa band.

One of the days I would have to take her shopping at Avalon and get the chicken quesadilla at Kale Me Crazy for lunch! I love the food there; it is healthy and so tasty! At night, we can get dressed up and go out to a nice swanky lounge setting like maybe the Avalon Hotel, and then see where the night takes us!

We can’t forget about our spa days! One of my favorite spas is the Life Spa at Lifetime fitness. It’s closer to where we live near Woodstock, and they have the absolute best massages around combined with a sauna, steam room, jacuzzi, and swimming pool. Since I live close to downtown Woodstock, at night I would check out Madlife Stage & Studios and see what live bands they have on the calendar we can go see. Last week they were playing a tribute to 90’s hip hop, that is my cup of tea!

One thing on my Atlanta/Georgia bucket list that I would really like to do is go on a Georgia vineyard tour. A few friends of mine told me they toured several Georgian vineyards, and I want to try that!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
All my family played a role in me starting a business. I am truly thankful for all the different ways they supported me and contributed to this venture! My parents have both supported my entrepreneurial dream and helped me along the way by mentoring me. As business owners for many years, they gave me advice on better business practices, operational processes, marketing strategies, and so much more! My husband, Brett Orr created an environment in our home for me to be able to make this dream come to life. He supported my time and space needed to get this start up running and helped cheer me on during my lowest moments. My daughter, Adrianna was patient and understanding. When I couldn’t be around, she helped by stepping in and taking care of her little brother. I’m thankful for everyone in my family. I love them all very much. “La famiglia è tutto,” in italian means family is everything.

Website: www.VIORmakeup.com

Instagram: www.instagram.com/vior_makeupstudio/

Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/victoria-orr-571379b/

Facebook: VIOR Makeup Studio

Image Credits
Aiva at AGpicture.com