Life & Work with Missy Andria

Today we’d like to introduce you to Missy Andria.

Hi Missy, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
My dad was the one who always believed in me and suggested that I should dive into makeup for movies. I was on a different career path at the time and thought that was endgame. But I came to find out that sometimes it’s good to listen to your parents.

I fell in love with makeup early on thanks to horror movies, YouTube tutorials, and practicing on myself and anyone patient enough to let me use them as a practice dummy. (Thanks, everyone!)

What really kickstarted it all for me was a viral video that went around by Cinema Makeup School and their special effects program. People were tagging me in it daily, literally. By the fourth day of constant tagging, I decided to see how far it was from my soon-to-be L.A. apartment. It wasn’t close enough to be able to commute but for some reason, I searched for an alternative. That’s how I found Make-Up Designory in Burbank, the exact city I was moving to.

In that 5 second Google search, everything just clicked for me. I dropped out of college and got serious about this new career choice. I moved July of 2018, started at MUD that November, and finished in May 2019. I had my first “big girl job” one month later for a commercial. I continued to work short-term projects here and there and assist some amazing people (like Todd Tucker). In November of 2021, I had enough lined up that I left my day job and I’ve been a full-time freelance makeup artist ever since.

It was a huge risk to go full-time with the world still in a pandemic but I’m still here and am working frequently. I’ve gotten some jobs by being persistent but a lot came from referrals and re-hires. I met some people at LuxAngeles Studios in June of 2022 and I’ve been working frequently with them on feature films and music videos. I know that I’ve got here simply by giving it my all every time. I care deeply about my job and how the final results look. I aim to be extremely efficient in my work. I’m super grateful for the people who have given me each and every opportunity because every single one got me here today and has led me to be who I am now as an artist.

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
I’ve never openly talked about it before but the beginning of my career was a struggle for more reasons than the basic start-up struggles. I went through one of the most challenging parts of my life while I was still in makeup school and lost a lot of drive and passion for work because of what I was dealing with. It was a rough time for me, mentally. But with that, I also didn’t know many other long-term pros so navigating certain issues on sets and other issues within artistry was a challenge for me. I’m the only filmmaker/artist in the family so I didn’t have anyone to refer to. There was a lot of things I wasn’t sure was right. It was very much “learn as you go.” And of course, there’s always the challenges that come with the work itself and the people you work with. Overall, I still feel like I’ve been pretty lucky. I got past my mental funk and have since connected with some great people and have worked on some awesome things. Some of my connections and opportunities came from not only my work and work ethic but from luck. And I’m fully willing to admit that.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I don’t like to say that something “sets me apart from others.” I know there are other artists out there that are just as talented and capable as me. In this field, we’re all equal and we’re all talented otherwise, we wouldn’t be working. I think we all have certain things that stand out individually. For example, I’m really great at “no makeup” looks beauty-wise and really great at bruises and wounds special effects-wise. Every artist has their “thing” and I think that’s important to acknowledge. I’m no different or better just because I have certain skills. I believe we are all one big, talented unit. So in a weird way, I feel like that’s something that makes me “stand out.” The fact that I don’t feel like I do, but still recognizing that it also doesn’t mean that I’m not a great artist with great qualities and talent.

We’d love to hear about any fond memories you have from when you were growing up?
My favorite childhood memory is when me, my nana, my dad, and my two brothers would go to the river up in Golden, Colorado in the summers. I looked forward to it every year and it was never short of a good time. My brothers would try and catch fish, I would jump across rocks, it was always the best time for us.

Contact Info:

• Website: missyandria.weebly.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/fx.andriality 

Image Credits
Morgan Weistling George Lambriodes Michelle Romano Sam Roberts