Mally Roncal is a founder, author, advocate, motivational speaker, positivity preacher, wife, and mother of three. While she originally planned to become a doctor, she took a leap of faith to follow her true passion — beauty and makeup. Roncal quickly moved to the top of the “it list” in the beauty world, traveling the globe for a decade doing makeup for some of the most famous faces in the world, including Beyoncé, Jennifer Lopez, Celine Dion, Mary J. Blige, and more.

However, looking your most glam isn’t just for Hollywood A-listers. Roncal made it her mission to share her beauty philosophy, launching Mally Beauty on QVC in 2005. She’s a firm believer — and living proof — that if you do what you love and follow your dreams, they can become a reality.

Now 52 years old, Roncal opened the Women in Retail | On the Road New York event last week by discussing several life lessons that we could all use a refresher course on.

1. Trust your whisper.

In 2002, Roncal was a young makeup artist who got a call from her agent one day asking if she would like to do Beyonce’s makeup for the premiere of the new “Austin Powers” movie?

“I walked into that hotel room … she had this gold-encrusted gown, big blond afro … my gut said to me, ‘She doesn’t need a stitch of makeup on that face.'”

Instead, she did Beyonce’s makeup in just 10 minutes — rather than the two hours celebrities are used to spending to get their makeup done — giving her glowing skin and a smoky eye.

Unsure of its reception, Roncal waited a week before getting a call from Beyonce’s agent. Beyonce was going on a world tour for her new album, “Crazy in Love,” and the singer had liked Roncal’s look the best. Would she be free for the next two years to do Beyonce’s makeup?

“It honestly changed the course of my whole life,” Roncal said. “I knew — and I know to this day — when you trust your heart, when you do the thing even when no one else is doing the thing, guess what? It’s going to work.”

2. Be your authentic self.

Roncal calls herself extra. “Big laugh, big mouth, big hair … lots of makeup, the whole thing. ” Her personality is bubbly, energetic, with the makeup and outfits to match. However, it’s not always received well.

She recalls working on a big photoshoot and being judged and laughed at by others on the shoot. A hairdresser told her she needed to “drop the schtick” and get serious if she wanted to be a “real” makeup artist.

The next day, she showed up at the shoot wearing sneakers and jeans with her hair in a ponytail, and toned down her excited energy.

“And you know what happened? It wasn’t me,” Roncal said. At the end of the day, she went home and told her husband, “I don’t care. If I can’t be me, I’m not going to do it.”

Soon after that, her agent called to tell her the photographer from that shoot loved Roncal’s energy and wanted to book her to do makeup for an Elle cover shoot.

“Even when it’s scary, even when everyone is laughing at you … you have to keep going, you have to keep believing,” she advised the audience.

3. Take chances.

Throughout her successful career as a celebrity makeup artist, Roncal always felt like she needed more, like she had more to say.

In 2003, she was the spokesperson for the biggest makeup retailer in the world. She went to that company’s leadership team and told them she wanted to start her own makeup line, and she wanted to launch it on QVC, which she had grown up watching. The retailer was naturally opposed, but Roncal took a chance anyway, and relinquished her role as a spokesperson.

She launched on QVC in March 2005 and sold out in 36 minutes.

“These are the lessons — if that’s what you want, and that’s what’s in your heart, then do it,” she said.

4. Don’t give up, even when it’s hard.

Fast-forward to Christmas 2022, and Roncal is invited to be part of a new QVC weekly live series, “Over 50 & Fabulous,” as well as a livestream talk show.

“This was what it’s all about,” Roncal said. “Let’s be honest: When you’re over 50, you can feel a little invisible in this world.”

Women in Retail Leadership Circle (WIRLC) members can watch Roncal’s full keynote, as well as other sessions from our On the Road event series, here. Not a member? Apply today!