Meet Mary Anderson

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Mary Anderson a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Mary , thanks so much for taking the time to share your insights and lessons with us today. We’re particularly interested in hearing about how you became such a resilient person. Where do you get your resilience from?

I get my resilience from my grandma. She had a really hard upbringing, as did I. We both struggle with anxiety and depression, but she has taught me to continuously get up and fight it. Her story is such a motivation to me, and how she always gets back up from anything and always shows up.

She has taught me so much, and she deserves so much. She is my best friend and the person I go to for anything and everything. I owe her and my papa the world and can’t ever say thank you enough for everything they have done for me. I love you to the moon and back forever!

Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?

Hi! I’m Mary, or Mur, and I am a professional makeup artist. I have been doing makeup for over 10 years, and professionally for 4. I started out doing makeup on myself as a form of creative expression and now I get to do it on others for a living.

Being a makeup artist has also taught me the importance of connection and trust. I take pride in building relationships with my clients, ensuring they feel comfortable and confident as we embark on their beauty journey together. My mission is to uplift and inspire, leaving each client not just looking their best, but feeling like the most radiant version of themselves.

As I look ahead, I am excited to expand my horizons, collaborate with other creative minds in the industry, and share my passion for beauty with an even broader audience.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

A few things I think upcoming artists should know is

1.) know your why.
Why are you doing this? why do you want to be in this career? Because when you are so beat down, overwhelmed and exhausted you come back to your “why” and that is what motivates you to continue.

2.) Imposter syndrome
You have the opportunities you get for a reason, you wouldn’t get them if you weren’t ready. You have to look at everything as a lesson and what can be learned from any experience.

3.) Have a good support system
Connecting with other artists, creatives, or people in your industry is so important. Not everyone will understand what you are trying to pursue, and having that community with other industry individuals who do understand is my saving grace 100% of the time.

With all that being said , I do think there is so much advice you can give people, but at the end of the day this is everyone’s own personal journey. My journey doesn’t look the same as anyone else’s, and that is what makes this experience so special

What has been your biggest area of growth or improvement in the past 12 months?

My biggest area of growth in the past 12 months has been quitting my 9-5 job. I quit my stable income job 2 months ago with absolutely no upcoming work or income. I felt called to just leave, and I did. Everything has worked out because I am trusting my process and knowing everything works out for me always.

Now, I’m not saying go quit your job and that will solve everything. I have a few side hustles I am falling back on for income, like I also am an esthetician and I body wax. And if I need to, I can always get a 9-5 again.

I just booked a week long shoot for mid-july and I am the head of the makeup department for this project. If it’s meant to be, it will be.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @mursmakeup
• Other: Tik tok
  @mursmakeup