Rihanna’s Makeup Artist Shared Her Makeup Sponge Trick and I’m a Total Convert

There was a palpable buzz in the air at the Fenty Beauty Experience in New York City last week. Like anything Rihanna puts her name to, the event was executed to perfection; activations included foundation shade-matching, makeup bag customizations, and a holiday gifting station, where influencers and editors snapped photos between bites of soft pretzels and chocolate chip cookies.

But the experience’s biggest draw was access to Fenty Beauty’s renowned experts, including Priscilla Ono, Fenty Beauty Global Makeup Artist and Rihanna’s go-to pro. Ono led a makeup master class focusing on the new Eaze Drop Blur + Smooth Tint Stick, demonstrating to both her in-person and virtual audience on TikTok how to get a glowing look using Fenty products. Of course, she revealed makeup secrets along the way, including one in particular about how to best use a makeup sponge. (Spoiler: I’ve been doing it wrong this whole time.)

Priscilla Ono at a Fenty Beauty event.Mark Ganzon/Getty Images

“I completely submerge them with water and then I wring them out completely so there’s not even a drop left inside, and then I wrap them in a paper towel, so they’re just damp,” explains Ono. “You don’t want them too wet because that can separate your makeup, and you don’t want them too dry because that can take some of your makeup off.”

She says the sponge “has to be that perfect dampness. There’s a science to it.”

But that wasn’t the only trick Ono shared. When it comes to makeup application itself, the pro is a fan of “bouncing” the blender onto the skin, rather than dragging it across. “I think instead of doing that smear back and forth, you want to bounce it on the face because you want it to stay on there,” she says. “I think when you drag it on the skin, you take some of the product off and that’s when you start to get blotchiness.”

PS: We would be remiss if we didn’t remind you to clean your makeup sponges regularly (which you are, right?) as they can harbor bacteria that can a.) cause breakouts and b.) mess with the finish of your makeup—and we simply can’t have that.