Born and raised in the Seychelles, blossoming entrepreneur Olivia Revera started OLY SWIM Seychelles in 2020 in the wake of the pandemic. As a result of hard-work, passion and dedication to the beauty and fashion industries and to grow as a person, Oly has launched a promising business built on the belief that when women support women, incredible things happen.
By Jade Gilbert-Finnigan
Oly grew up on both Mahé and Praslin. She always had a fascination for the beauty, cosmetics and fashion industries. As result, she jumped at the opportunity to join the first beauty school in Seychelles when she was sixteen years old. Oly graduated from The Sanctuary Beauty Academy as the Best Student with a Level 2 Diploma in Beauty Therapy. With this qualification under her belt, she entered the hospitality industry working in the spas at Hilton Labriz Silhouette and later, The Clarins Spa, then Beachcomber Seychelles, St Anne.
At the age of 18, Oly decided that the time had come to travel and see the world, so left Seychelles to live and work in Italy. She worked on luxury yachts as a chief stewardess and got the opportunity to experience working in Italy, France, Turkey, and so many more beautiful places.
Four years into her career change, Oly realised how much she missed the beauty industry and the world of cosmetics, so she decided to further her studies within the field. She enrolled at the Yorkshire College of Beauty in Leeds, England and complete an ITEC Diploma in Make Up Artistry, as well as doing many refresher courses at the Ellisons Academy in Coventry.
In 2015, Oly went on to join Estée Lauder as Beauty Advisor in Harrogate, North Yorkshire, where she stayed for around 18 months before applying for the position of beauty advisor for Chanel. Within a year, Oly was offered the position of Resident Make-up artist for Chanel in Harvey Nichols, Leeds. It was a rewarding experience that she loved every moment of. Oly gained so much from her three years there- working alongside many talented artists and getting to participate in lots of incredible event for their VIP customers.
After this experience, Oly was recruited for a new position in John Lewis, Leeds to be a Beauty Guide: a new concept to the beauty industry in which she would act as a personal shopper for beauty for customers. Within this role, she got the unmissable chance to work with every brand within the store: MAC, NARS, Bobbi Brown, Tom Ford, YSL, URBAN DECAY and the list goes on… The concept was a success and John Lewis did end up opening another 4 across the UK.
As much as Oly enjoyed her life in the UK, she knew deep down that she had to come home eventually. Oly wanted to work with my father in his businesses, but most importantly, Seychelles is her home and that’s something that she is, and always will be, proud of.
Oly moved back in 2020 to work with her father, but as a result of the pandemic, their guest house on Praslin had to suspend trade temporarily.
That’s when OLY SWIM Seychelles was born. After almost 15 years away from home, Oly had to readapt to island living. This shift extended to every aspect of her life, from her fashion sense and makeup routine (due to the climate) to her social life. This necessary lifestyle change she was undergoing, along with her extensive experience in the beauty industry in Europe, Oly had the insight to come up with her business plan for OLY SWIM Seychelles. She could understand the needs of women living on the islands and the gap in the market.
Oly decided that she wanted to create an affordable range to suit all women. She initially launched with swimwear. After some trial and error with various suppliers, she eventually found the right one for her.
She spent hours upon hours sourcing suppliers and designs that would work with her brand concept, and with the help of her close confidants, she finalised the design and concept of the brand. A rule that Oly swears by is having people around you that support your ideas and help you bring them to life.
Oly started with a collection of swimwear that was designed with a consciousness of the Seychelles lifestyle: weekends at the beach, by the pool, exploring the islands, doing water sports and so on.
After the initial swimwear collection came body jewellery, beach coverups, and an extensions to the swimwear line. Using her expertise in make-up, Oly recently launched the start of her Make-Up collection with a Waterproof Tubular Mascara and a Face & Body Illuminator. The OLY SWIM Seychelles make-up collection is based on what she uses herself the most- they’re the must-haves she wants to share with others.
Oly is loving every moment of this new venture. It’s a priceless feeling to be able to work hard and see the growth happening each step of the way, regardless of how big or small it is. Oly has so many ideas coming to life and she wants OLY SWIM Seychelles to be a multi-faceted online shopping experience, with social media platforms as her main marketing medium.
Oly’s message to other young women?
‘There is no big secret in life, whatever your goal is you can get there when you work for it and believe in yourself.’
Oly Swim has teamed up with Cosmocreole for this month giveaway!
For your chance to win a swimwear; follow Oly Swim Seychelles and Cosmocreole on Instagram.
