Amanda Durante(I)

Amanda Huginkiss, born Amanda Durante, is a NYC based makeup artist that specializes in character design. From a very young age Amanda was captivated by the images she saw on her mother's rock and roll album covers, from super glam rock stars such as David Bowie, Alice Cooper, and the New York Dolls, to the more subtle rockers like Tom Petty and The Ramones. Amanda's mother would bring her along when she went out in New York City's Greenwich Village. She was fascinated and inspired by all the different people and street art she would see. It was like the album covers came to life and she was mesmerized by it all. When Amanda turned 18 she joined the NYC shadow cast of The Rocky Horror Picture Show. It was there that Amanda put makeup on herself for the first time. She learned how to transform herself into the characters from the film and realized she truly loved it. As time went on Amanda started pursuing a career in acting while modeling for pin up shoots and entering pin up beauty pageants. She has won many titles such as Miss Nashville Boogie and Miss Asbury Park. She has been featured in ads, album covers, magazine covers, music videos and calendars. After a while, the other models and actors Amanda was working with started asking her to do their hair and make up for the shoots that did not have a professional makeup artist onset. It was then that Amanda realized she didn't necessarily love that she was transforming via makeup. She loved creating the transformation. Once Amanda had this realization, she knew the only way to have a successful career was to have formal training. She quit her job and enrolled in the Make Up Designery (MUD), completing the Master's Program. It was during this intensive training that she designed makeup for a series of beauty and fashion photoshoots and designed a range of characters. She has worked on several horror short films and television series with a range of up and coming directors and talented cast and crew. Amanda continues to be inspired by her home, New York City, the melting pot of the world. She is honing her skills and creativity daily by calibrating with other artists, models, directors, and photographers she looks up to. By doing so she hopes to create characters that will mesmerize and inspire others the way all those album covers did for her.