Andrea Hurter

13 October 2022

Andrea Hurter Curro Durbanville - 2011

Taking the road less travelled and paving her own way is how Andrea Hurter approached the world. As a successful make-up artist and owner of a cosmetics company, she is no stranger to hard work and calculated risks. The road to success, though filled with twists and heartache, was one she travelled with grace and dedication.

Andrea joined Curro in 1998 as a 5-year-old when school was still held in a church. ‘I was lucky that the school provided opportunities in line with my interests.’ From a young age she followed her heart rather than traditional routes, by choosing subjects like Drama, Design and Dance Studies. ‘I cannot imagine how other subjects would have helped me as much as those are helping me today.’

After completing an advanced course in theatre and film acting – and a gap year during which she even backpacked through Europe alone – she still wasn’t ready to take on the adult world. Shortly after she enrolled for a journalism course, her mother’s cancer progressed and Andrea spent a lot of time with her in the hospital. In a clear testament to her dedication and passion, she returned to class two weeks after her mother passed away to finish her studies.

Such a tragic loss at age 23 left her more confused than ever about a career path. After a brief stint as an intern at a radio station – where she realised that she was meant to work in the creative industry rather than an office environment – she decided to continue her mother’s legacy as a make-up artist. Her make-up business soon became lucrative enough that she resigned from her recent appointment as a drama teacher.

Andrea loves seeing the power of make-up in bringing joy to someone’s life. ‘During my mother’s battle with cancer, on days that she felt incredibly low, she could put on red lipstick to feel beautiful, confident and powerful. It became her war paint.’ She wanted to give other women tools to empower themselves and lipstick was the first thing that came to mind. That’s why she started a cosmetics company called Maria Cosmetics.

She believes that you need a drive and passion to be successful in your career – and you need to enjoy what you do. Her own winding road taught her that you shouldn’t just choose the safest option or do what everyone else is doing. ‘You need to take risks. Nothing amazing ever happens within your comfort zone.’

Andrea never felt like she had failed or made a mistake in taking time to find her path. She followed her heart and took the road less travelled – the core message of her favourite poem from school. ‘Getting a job and earning a good salary immediately isn’t everything. There’s often a long road you need to walk to get where you need to be; you just need to keep walking.’

As Robert Frost wrote in The Road not Taken:
I took the one less travelled by,
And that has made all the difference