No One Understands The Young Hollywood Aesthetic Like Melissa Hernandez

Iconic beauty moments aren’t born without the visionary artists that create them. In Behind The Glam, TZR gives you an inside look into the careers and inspirations of the industry’s top artists.

Surely you’ve heard this motivational expression once or twice before: “Luck is when preparation meets opportunity.” In the case of celebrity makeup artist Melissa Hernandez, you can ascribe her runaway success to a combination of intense preparation, serendipitous opportunity, and sheer natural talent. Had any of these elements not materialized, she might not be the industry bigwig she is today, working on the most talked-about aesthetic moments of the year from A-listers like Sydney Sweeney, Olivia Rodrigo, Eva Longoria, and Jennifer Coolidge — Hernandez’s signature style seems to attract cool girls from every generation.

Growing up in a tight-knit, traditional Mexican-American family in Los Angeles’ San Fernando Valley, Hernandez was at once geographically close to the heart of Hollywood, but it could also feel like a world apart. As it happens, a chance encounter with actor-singer Hailee Steinfeld took Hernandez from a cusp-of-graduation college student to internationally acclaimed makeup artist.

Ahead, Hernandez opens up to TZR about her journey through the industry, her personal beauty beliefs, and how her cultural heritage informs her approach to artistry.

How She Got Started

Hernandez’s early introduction to makeup will sound familiar to many with Latinx backgrounds. “I grew up in a very traditional Mexican household where beauty was often associated with strictly special occasions, and at these events, the women in my family would get dressed up and wear makeup to celebrate,” she shares with TZR. “There was also a sense of modesty and respectfulness tied to appearance, especially for young girls like myself.” Still, Hernandez was intrigued by her mother’s products and how transformative they could be, and would often find herself sneaking a bit of eyeliner here and there. The beauty industry, though, wasn’t nearly as accessible or relatable as it is today, so Hernandez’s appreciation for the products grew through watching the women she admired in real life apply it. Her older sister, for example, was a cheerleader and a devotee to of-the-day trends like burgundy lip liner. Hernandez loved the delicacy, the focus, the time it took to draw on, and the way her sister felt about herself after getting it just so. “I think that’s where my love for makeup started,” she muses. “Over time, as I got older, I think I began to see it as a way to sort of express individuality and enhance natural beauty.”

Because of her more traditional upbringing, Hernandez listened to her parents’ advice to seek out a classic undergraduate education, then get started on a stable 9-to-5 career. That meant sidelining makeup as purely a hobby. She started school for broadcast journalism — an education which is, to this day, still heard in her upbeat, clear voice and concise phrasing — but got a part-time job at a MAC retail counter at the same time. A seemingly inconsequential choice at the time, that after-school gig wound up being the catalyst for Hernandez’s entire career.

That First Big Break

While working at the MAC counter in 2016, Hernandez just so happened to run into Steinfeld, whose scheduled artist canceled on her and was in need of an emergency glam session. Steinfeld loved the way Hernandez did her makeup, and their relationship blossomed from there. A few months later, she got a call from the actor’s mother, explaining that she was going on an international tour. “‘Would you be open to traveling with Hailee?’” Hernandez , who was just three months out from graduating, recalls. She remembers ruminating over the phone call in the library, turning the information over and over in her mind. “I was like, ‘What am I doing? I'm never going to get to travel the world. I'm never going to get this opportunity again. Makeup is what I love,’” she says. It was decided. She ran home, grabbed her passport to scan and send over to Steinfeld’s team, and found an airline ticket in her inbox an hour later.

Not too long after wrapping those international dates, Hernandez was, as they say, booked and busy. She lived the rockstar-on-the-road life traveling with Meghan Trainor on her own concert series, did Steinfeld’s makeup for the Golden Globes, and started to see her work appear on massive billboards and in Sephora. “I grew up in the Valley, and I never really left that little bubble,” she explains. “I never imagined myself being in this position.”

These days, it’s nearly impossible to see a major red carpet without one of Hernandez’s clients. Take Olivia Rodrigo for example. Her latest appearance at the Grammys, her Coachella performance with No Doubt, the day she made her relationship official with Louis Partridge at the 2024 Venice Film Festival — Hernandez was there for all of it.

Her Personal Beauty Philosophy

Part of why Hernandez has such an illustrious client list is her singular approach to beauty. “Makeup is is all about enhancing what's already there,” she explains. “I really believe in that approach. I think it's about bringing out the best version of someone without without doing too much.” She expertly balances fresh, modern trends with classic appeal, like she did with Sydney Sweeney’s metallic look at the 2022 GQ Men Of The Year Awards. Hernandez gave the young star a timeless cat eye, but jazzed it up by opting for a steely shade of silver liner that matched the breastplate she wore on the red carpet. In fact, Hernandez says that’s one of her favorite creations yet.

With that timeless-meets-trendy vision, it makes sense that two of her ultimate beauty muses are both iconic for their personal take on red lipstick: Marilyn Monroe and Selena Quintanilla. It’s also clear just how much Hernandez’s upbringing and culture have influenced her work. “The entertainment industry can be tough, but I feel like watching my parents work hard day in and day out has given me a unique perspective and resilience,” she shares. “I think being a part of the creative industry where diversity is increasingly valued, has allowed me to connect with a variety of artists and clients.” That said, Hernandez points out that there have been plenty of moments where she’s felt she has had to work disproportionately hard to get certain opportunities and be taken more seriously in a broader sense.

Still, she’s aware of her status as a personal and professional role model for plenty of aspiring creatives of all backgrounds. “It's empowering to bring my my heritage into my work, and I’m proud to represent my community in an industry that's slowly becoming more and more inclusive.”

To pay it forward, Hernandez tries to respond to every DM she possibly can.