Janel Parrish Learned Her Holiday Beauty Hacks From Hallmark

Mariah’s got company. In a move few saw coming from the actress who once played a villain on Pretty Little Liars, Janel Parrish is emerging as an IRL queen of Christmas. Since wrapping the show—and her run in the To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before films—Parrish has starred in a steady stream of holiday movies for Hallmark (including this year’s Christmas on Duty), picking up plenty of festive beauty know-how along the way.

We caught up with the actress and TJ Maxx partner as she store-hopped aboard the brand’s double-decker Maxxinista Express bus (which is transporting fans to stores in select cities throughout December) to learn more about how she beauty-preps for the holidays. Ahead, see how Parrish keeps her skin plump while filming in frigid Canadian locations, her trick for weaving lip care into her makeup routine and why she’s entered her cleaner eyeshadow era.

Don’t Mess With the Classics

“I love Christmas makeup,” Parrish says. Her go-to holiday look? “It usually includes something red for the Christmas spirit, of course, I like a little black eyeliner for a cat eye and a red lip. The hair and makeup department for the Hallmark holiday movies usually put me in that kind of look, and though my approach to festive makeup hasn’t changed much since doing these movies, I now feel like I get to bring it to the screen.”

On Sourcing the Best Beauty Deals

“I truly love beauty products. It’s just fun to play,” she says. “I love the beauty section at TJ Maxx, because every time I go, I find something different. If I’m shopping for my mom, I know what kind of lip color she likes, and I try to look for that. I’m going for me, I’m usually going to try to find some punchy red lipstick, like I’m wearing today. I don’t have a strategy exactly, but I do like to hit multiple TJ Maxx stores because you find different things at each location.”

Makeup Tricks Learned on Set

“I really love doing makeup looks. I’m always learning new makeup tricks on every single movie that I work on and from every single makeup artist that I work with,” she says. “One that I learned just a couple of days ago is to put on lip balm before applying lip liner to diffuse and soften the lip look. I really like the look, and it’s a trick I used today.”

On-Screen Holiday Makeup vs. IRL Holiday Makeup

“For film, especially if it’s Hallmark, we always want to keep a soft beauty look,” she says. “Today, to bring the Christmas spirit and the festive cheer, I went for a brighter, orangey-red lip that matches my outfit. In my earlier years, I loved a heavy, smudged-out black eyeliner look, but lately I’ve been really liking a cleaner eyeshadow look paired with a bold lip.”

The Power of Multi-Masking

“Another good skin-care hack for wintertime is sleeping in sheet masks overnight, and waking up with glass skin. I’m a really big fan,” she says. “Also, eye patches go a long way, especially if you put them on for 30 minutes or so while you do the rest of your face. When it’s time to take off your eye patch, your undereyes look bright and ready to go. I did it today.”

On Embracing Ever-Evolving Beauty Looks

“I am very lucky to have been able to grow up on sets where I’ve had professionals help me choose my hairstyles and the best colors for my skin. I’m grateful that I’ve been able to learn those things from professionals on set. But I still really love to mix it up and play,” she says. “We all go through different moods and eras, and my style is always changing. I’m sure there was an era where I cut curtain bangs that did not look good on my face shape, but ultimately, I think beauty is such an expression of self and I like to change my beauty to reflect whatever mood I’m feeling.”