Interview | Donni Davy of Half Magic Beauty

Before Euphoria turned glitter tears and graphic eyeliner into a global beauty movement, Donni Davy was already redefining makeup as a form of emotional storytelling. After beginning her career in film and television makeup following a photography degree from Pratt Institute, Davy quickly became known for her luminous, skin-first approach to beauty, serving as makeup department head on Barry Jenkins’ Academy Award-winning Moonlight.

Her Emmy Award-winning work on Euphoria would go on to redefine makeup’s place within pop culture, inspiring a global wave of glitter, gems, and high-pigment self-expression. In 2022, after years of creating custom looks from products that didn’t quite exist yet, Davy launched Half Magic in collaboration with A24 — a makeup brand built around multidimensional shimmer, colour, and creativity, which made its UK debut in February 2026.

We recently caught up with Davy to discuss the inspiration behind Half Magic, the products she considers essentials, and why she believes beauty is finally moving beyond the clean girl era.

What inspired you to create Half Magic Beauty?

I was inspired by the tens of thousands of DMs from people asking me how to re-create the looks after Season 1. Makeup newbies, pros, and everyone in between wanted to know how I created the colourful and glittery eye looks. The truth is, I combined eye paints and glitters from different brands, but they often didn’t layer in a compatible way. I also later found out that the glitter particles in the glitter gels I was using on the eyes were not exactly formulated for use on the eyes. With Half Magic, I wanted to create a one-stop shop for the products of my dreams.

What product makes the best introduction to the brand?

It’s so hard to choose, but two products really stand out, and we used loads of both on Season 3 of Euphoria. First is our bestselling, award-winning Glitterpuck Pressed Fairy Dust. This is your 100% go-to product for the quickest and easiest modern shimmer. I call it ‘grownup glitter’. Designed with a blend of magically twinkling glitters, it can be applied lightly for an ethereal, sophisticated sparkle or layered on top of eyeshadow or eye paint for an extra-intense, multidimensional sparkle.

Glitterpuck is such a great product because it’s a water-infused pressed powder with the glide of a gel and the staying power of a powder. You just tap and swirl your finger on the product and then pat your eyelids to get the most incredible weightless veil of sparkle over your lids that will last all day. We used a ton of the new shade from our Euphoria x Half Magic Collection on Season 3.

The other product is our award-winning Sparklestik Eye Crayon, which is one of the most user-friendly, sparkly eye products you will ever use, giving you 12 hours of crease-free sparkle and colour in just one swipe. You can use it to create smokey eyes, sparkling eyeliner, and soft washes of pastel. All you have to do is swipe on this blendable, mess-free formula and diffuse it with your finger or a brush. I love shade Noir or Never for the easiest smokey eye ever. Cassie (played by Sydney Sweeney) wore a lot of shade Cloud Kid on Season 3.

What has been the biggest challenge in launching Half Magic Beauty?

I’m lucky to have an incredibly talented team at Half Magic, as well as on the set of Euphoria. Having such hardworking and supportive teams who fully understand my vision allows me to really hone in on the creative aspects of what I do. The hardest part is finding this elusive concept I’ve heard of called ‘work-life balance’ when juggling a beauty brand, my work on set, and being a parent too.

What has been the biggest highlight?

My favourite thing is seeing the work pay off, whether it’s a look that my team and I created on Euphoria, or when a makeup product that I dreamed up finally lands in my hands, after months (even years) of bringing it to fruition. It’s been a super fun challenge to learn how to create meaningful content on social media and to see Half Magic fans create these really amazing looks. I’ve learned so much from the community!

What’s next for Half Magic Beauty?

I want to continue to use my platform and my brand Half Magic to influence positive and self-celebrating trends in the beauty industry, and dismantle the problematic and antiquated beauty and makeup standards that exist in our society, especially in regard to ageing.

I’m so glad we are leaving the clean girl makeup trend behind and experimenting with more colour and shimmer again. Glitter can be so moody and evocative, not always just a rainbow confetti mood or something to be worn at a music festival. Using makeup as a conduit for expressing emotions is cathartic and I think people need and want to feel things right now. Social media is so numbing. The clean girl aesthetic is so lifeless. Tapping into colour and sparkle through makeup will make you feel alive!

What does your daily beauty routine look like?

I don’t really have a beauty routine. I often forget to moisturise or put sunscreen on, but I’m always experimenting with makeup. I also have super long hair and I wash it once a week, which has really helped to make my scalp less oily. I use a ton of It’s a 10 Miracle Leave-In Conditioner and like to sleep in two braids to avoid tangling and create non-heat waves. My absolute favourite shampoo is Paul Mitchell’s Tea Tree Special Shampoo. It makes your whole head tingle, and when I step out of the shower I feel like I’ve just been to a spa.

What are the beauty products you can’t live without?

Right now, I always have a fan (like this one) with me to dry my eyelashes between coats of our Eyelectric Extreme Lengthening Tubing Mascara. My best advice is to ‘apply and dry’ between each coat to keep your lashes from drooping. I’m also loving Sofie Pavitt Omega Rich Moisturizer, Lumify Redness Reliever Eye Drops, Live Tinted Hueguard Skin Tint SPF 50, InnBeauty Project Face Glaze, and, of course, everything from our Euphoria x Half Magic Collection.

What person or brand would you love to collaborate with?

There are a few female directors I would absolutely love to work with. Greta Gerwig, Emerald Fennell, and Chloe Zhao!

Half Magic Beauty is available at Sephora in the UK, and at Ulta Beauty and halfmagicbeauty.com in the US. For more exclusive conversations with beauty heavyweights, explore our beauty interviews archive.