Today we’d like to introduce you to Andrea Samuels.
Hi Andrea, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My name is Andrea C. Samuels, I was born and raised in Chicago, IL. During the mid ’80s and early 90s, I gravitated towards the art world and started expressing myself through acrylic and oil painting; I was always sketching faces and creating portraits of people. By age nine, I was drawing on all of my homework but it caught the attention of my 3rd-grade teacher, Mrs. Hogan. She reached out to The School of The Art Institute in Chicago and with the help of my mom, I earned a scholarship to attend the college for one semester. I was taking college courses in art at a really early age and that’s when the obsession for colors, hues, shadows, facial anatomy and bone structure came into play. It wasn’t until I initially attended high school in 1998 when my love for makeup started to form; I fused my skills from art into the world of makeup. I realized many of the techniques that helped me with painting canvases go hand and hand to painting faces. By the time I graduated high school and considered college in 2002, I started to understand that makeup could become a career. I was attending Harold Washington Community College between 2002-2006 for my Associate in Fine Arts where I was able to explore more painting and art techniques. I also attended the International Academy of Design & Technology (IADT) by 2006 in Chicago IL for a Bachelor’s Degree in Fashion Design & Marketing, but after a year I quickly realized that I wanted to be on the other side of fashion. I eventually dropped out of college and threw myself head first into Make Up First LLC in 2008, a school catered to makeup in social media, tv, film, special effects, etc. and that was when my heart soared! I finally found my passion. After completing my State Certification for Makeup Artistry, I started doing makeup for brides, friends, and family; I was trying to soak up as much experience as I could since I knew college would not be the route I wanted to continue to pursue. My family was really confused, upset and disappointed by the decisions I was making by not finishing college, but I knew deep down that I was destined for more!
By 2012, I needed to earn an income and I no longer wanted to work 9-5, so took my skills to the strip club! I introduced myself to the club manager at Admiral Theatre in Chicago and said, “I can make your girls look better, feel better, and earn more money! Give me a chance.’ and he did! For six years, the nightlife was the most exciting time in my life. Thanks to the girls at the club, I learned how to increase my speed for timing, how to make makeup sweat-proof for hours, saved a lot of money on the side and I learned how to be a better artist overall. In 2015, I was able to open up my own studio space called, ‘Chicago Artist Studios”, it was a space for hair stylists, makeup artists, photographers and all types of artists to use the space for recreational and business projects. By 2017, I was teaching makeup part-time at Pivot Point as well as at my studio to give back to the community. By 2017, a majority of the girls I worked with moved on, got married, had babies, or quit the club life; I knew it was time for me to move on as well. Between the girls leaving the club, taking a teaching position that was less income than I had before and the studio space was draining my bank account, I knew it was time to move on. I had hoped to eventually move to another city to start fresh and start over, but for years I was just two scared to do it. By 2018, I was ready: let go go my studio and set my sights on Los Angeles.
Moving to Los Angeles was the kick-in the but I needed. My first few years were ROUGH, I started off assisting other makeup artists, hairstylists as well as taking a waitress position to make ends meet. I also went back to school to finish my Cosmetology License which was always heavy on my mind but I just never had the time to do it. Enrolling and finishing license at Paul Mitchell Sherman Oaks in 2019 gave me the confidence I needed to really put myself out there and be the artist I always wanted to be. I was always confident with makeup, but going to school for hairstyling gave me that extra boost to approach anyone. During the pandemic was when I started to put myself on social media more and clients started to request me out of nowhere. People were hiring me for Zoom meetings or private iPhone photo sessions; it was not the journey I expected but I was finally getting a consistent, steady clientele that I had always hoped for. In 2019, I joined Cloutier Remix and this was when my clientele really started to blossom. Thanks to Cloutier, I have clients like Snoop Dogg, Dwyane Wade, Kelis, the cast from Netflix’s Wednesday, and many other amazing celebrities that I never would have expected to cross their paths. I also have worked multiple red carpets like the Grammy’s, Emmy’s, Oscars, Versace Show, Nickelodeon Awards, etc. the list goes on! I also opened up a new salon studio space in Beverly Hills (yay!) I’m still in the process of decorating my studio but I am finally in a really good space in my career. Every day I am so, SO thankful and grateful. This is only the beginning!!
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
No, not at all! I think the more rough the road is, the more character it builds. Between me dropping everything to move to another city and adding hairstyling on top of my makeup artistry skills, it has been a beautiful struggle!! I appreciate my struggles now more than ever, it has prepared me for any and everything!!
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I am a makeup artist and a hairstylist based in Los Angeles. For makeup, I specialize in enhancing your natural beauty for Red Carpet, TV, Film, Editorial and Advertising projects. With hairstyling, I specialize with curls and coily textures, but I can work with ALL hair textures within the TV, Film, Red Carpet and everyday world.
How do you think about happiness?
3 Things —> Time, Freedom, Family. I’ve realized these three things are SO precious and I make sure now more than ever to appreciate these three things every single day. Yes, my career is fun and it is a huge highlight in my life, but that’s not my WHOLE life. My life is so precious to me that I never want to be too consumed with what I do.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.andreasamuels.com
- Instagram: @andreasamuels__
- Facebook: Facebook.com/AndreaSamuelsMakeup
- Twitter: @AndreaCSamuels
- Youtube: @AndreaCSamuels
Image Credits
Versace Campaign- Photographer Mario Sorrenti Makeup Event- Photo by Revlon Photo of model & my hand- Photographer James Harris Photos of me teaching- Photographer James Harris My Headhshot- Photographer Naomi Yuri Teen Vogue Article with the cast of Wednesday- Photographer Keli Anne
