Some people just light up a room when they walk in. You know the ones—they radiate positivity, take the time to greet everyone around them, and when they leave, you realize your face hurts from all the smiling.
That’s how it felt when I met Mally Roncal at the QVC Master Beauty Class. She’s a celebrity makeup artist who’s worked with Beyoncé, J-Lo, and RuPaul (just to name a few)—but despite her very starry resume, she makes everyone she meets feel like an A-lister. Case in point: After we were introduced, she politely excused herself and I watched as she cried happy tears at the sight of a QVC customer she knew by name.
Despite all the tears, hugs, laughs, and cheek kisses, Roncal’s flawless makeup didn’t move—like, at all—during our long day together. I, on the other hand, tend to avoid giving hugs on a night out (for fear of my makeup transferring to a shoulder) and somehow still end up looking like a raccoon by the time I get home. So I was desperate to talk makeup tips with Roncal, adopt her long-lasting look, and maybe steal a bit of her radiance.
No surprise: She was *seriously* helpful, sharing four of her go-to makeup tips for everyday wear. Check them out, and then snag the Mally Beauty products I’ve been using (and loving) to incorporate her tips into your own routine.
1. Sculpt your eyes with shadow sticks
If you asked Roncal to pick just one item from her line to use every day, she’d decline to answer (because she treats all her products like her babies). Push her a bit, though, and she’d go with the Evercolor Shadow Stick, which acts as an all-in-one primer, eyeshadow, liner, and brush. Oh, and obviously it holds strong against the day’s activities, including any kind of tears. I tested out the moonlight shade, and, sure enough, it didn’t crease or move an inch.
“The thing that I love about [the shadow sticks] is, because there’s no powder, you can really sculpt your eye the way you want it,” Roncal says. “You can literally just draw it on your eye, create the shapes that you want, and make your eyes look bigger or wider.” Her tip? Always apply on a naked eyelid—that means no foundation, concealer, or other products underneath—since the primer is built in.
2. Prep and set your skin with a sheer primer
Ever seen photos of celebrities that seem to spotlight the white circles under their eyes? That’s from setting their makeup with translucent powder—something Mally hasn’t used on her clients since high-definition TV came out. Instead, she relies on the Evercolor Poreless Face Defender, a sheer primer that mattifies the skin and reduces the look of pores and wrinkles.
To keep your makeup from budging all day, Roncal recommends using it as both a primer and a setting powder. First, swipe it on top of your skin care to lock in all that good stuff, and then sandwich on another layer after you finish applying your makeup. After just a week of adding this step to my routine, I’ve noticed that all the oily build-up I used to get after a day of wearing makeup has basically subsided. Thank you, Mally Beauty.
3. Use concealer to highlight
This brightening concealer isn’t just makeup, Roncal says—it’s skin care, too. Formulated with jojoba oil, hyaluronic acid, and turmeric, this plush pen can help hydrate your skin while it evens out your complexion. And take it from me: It does an impeccable job covering up those pesky dark circles.
One of my favorite Roncal tips of the day? Use the concealer to create a circle of light on your face that makes you look more awake. “I like to use [a little] on the outer corners of the eyes to lift in between the eyebrow, and a little underneath the bottom lip,” she says.
4. Apply your lip mask with a gua sha
Two things I love? Lip masks and gua sha-ing—so the Relax and Recharge pod, which comes with both, caught my attention. Applying the lip mask with the gua sha tool helps to smooth the lips, Roncal says.
Don’t stop at those beautiful, bright lips, though. Roncal recommends using the tool on your laugh lines and your forehead’s “11” lines, so you can gua sha long after you’ve swiped your little tub of lip mask dry (while you wait for your new one to arrive in the mail, of course). Commit these long-lasting makeup tips to memory, channel Queen Bey, and bring on *all* the happy tears.
Note: Prices taken at the time of publication and are subject to change.
