Christella Merveille-Ilunga Model and Pageant Winner Discusses Beauty Tips

0:00Welcome to our science meets self-care with Ida Fonelli. With over 30 years in beauty and wellness and a background in medical science, Ida blends clinical knowledge with holistic care. Each week, she and her guests share insights to help you achieve healthier skin, balanced energy, and empowered self-care. Now, here's your host, Ida Fonelli. Today, we have Cristella Mervei Ilanga. She's a registered behavior technician over five years of experience, supporting individuals with autism and related disorders. She holds a master degree in elementary education and is the head of the International Organization Friends of Literacy, Furency, where she champions global literacy and education. Obviously, Cristella taught at Orchard Academy in East Providence, Rhode Island, and held various community focused roles.

1:01She was a member of the N.W.A.C.P., a duty officer with the American Red Cross and a volunteer with NAMI, where she supported mental health initiatives. She also worked as a residential counselor and held multiple behavioral health positions supporting children and families in need. Most experiences demonstrate her long standing commitment to education, equity, and uplifting others. Today, Cristella is the founder of Hair's Culture Cosmetics, where she provides personalized makeup artistry that emphasizes wellness, confidence, and self-expression. Concerned about the safety of beauty products, she actively educates clients on non-toxist health conscious alternatives. She also shines in the public sphere as a high-profile model and fashion creator featured in numerous magazines. She was appointed Miss Grand Massachusetts 2022 and previously held the title of Miss Grand Road Island,

2:03proudly representing her community in Pagents and Competition. Born in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Fidi, Cristella brings a multiple perspective shaped by her experiences, living, studying, and working in both Road Island and Massachusetts. In recognition of her influence, they created a wellness sit-as-doll in her image, encouraging young people to embrace confidence, fitness, and self-care. Passionate about advocacy, fashion, and empowerment, Cristella continues to open doors of awareness in the pageant and modeling industries, promoting a more holistic approach to health, beauty, and wellness. Welcome, Cristella. Nice to be here. Welcome. How are you? I'm good, and I'm really excited about our conversation today. Does your training as a registered behavior technician give you an advantage in managing stress and maintaining balance in your current roles as a high-profile model and pageant winner?

3:04Honestly, yes. I feel like I have the mental advantage as well as the strategic edge in how to manage relationships, how to manage on-stage presence, and also a lot of the commotion that goes on in the background and as we prepare. For sure you do. Your career experience has included behavior health positions. While those roles didn't directly address nutrition, how have they shaped your understanding of wellness, self-care, and resilience both personally and professionally? As I'm working with my clients, I have really learned how to prioritize what best fits them, and in creating that individualized approach, I've learned that I myself have to practice what I create. I need to remember that I'm an individual. There are a lot of routines and suggestions in the beauty world, but they're not always individualized.

4:04I grew not all one size fits all lifestyle, and we have to do what best suits our budget, our environment, and our personal help. Your background includes counseling people with addictions and autism, and now you're thriving as a model and beauty pageant contestant. Well, motivated that shift, and how do you bring your skills and empathy, resilience and advocacy into your work in the beauty industry? Growing up of my features were not considered a beauty standard. I lived in a predominantly Hispanic neighborhood, and that was the beauty standard. My skin color definitely made a difference, and I don't like to sugarcoat it. I'd like to be honest about that. So it shifted my focus from external beauty to just focusing on my academic strengths and my skills otherwise. That's why I was so passionate about education, and I worked so hard

5:04to present myself as an intelligent woman, and I worked so hard to study and just focus on things that matter to the community outside of beauty. What shifted was I met people in the beauty industry who recognized me for my physical appearance, which was rare to me, and it took me a long time to accept it, because I've been raised to think that you don't really look like what we want. So I'm like, okay, well, if I don't look like it, I can at least sound relevant, meaning that I can have information in my brain that can be input into the communities or in the room that I find myself in that would make me valuable. That's wonderful. You see what one person sees is beautiful, and another sees is not beautiful. It's all up to their own perspective, right? The beauty pageant industry places high expectation on contestants,

6:04maintenance programs, which include not just physical upkeep, like fitness, diet, and styling, but also mental well-being, character development, leadership skills, and professional coaching. Meeting these standards often requires significant financial investment and commitment. How have you managed these demands and what impact have they had on your journey? At first, I really relied on external help to meet these financial requirements. And mental emotional health is something that came with my health care plan. So I am fortunate to be given free mental health resources, not everyone has that. That's what I have learned later on. But as time went on, I wanted to be more independent and see how much I could stretch myself and see how much I could raise on my own. And I found that I was very capable. And when I went into the international level, that's when I recognized that actually,

7:05this is going to put me in a financial deficit. And it really took it all on my financial life in general. I put most of my money in pageantry, and I was broken every other environment, and meeting like, I didn't have money to go out with friends. I didn't have money to go on vacations. I couldn't afford other things. So I took a break off on pageantry. I recognized that, yes, this is something that I love, and I like, and I want to invest in, but I also have to remember that the rest of my life requires some type of financial input, meaning I need money aside to have to spend on birthdays for friends and family. I need to upkeep my personal life financially. I need to be able to pay my phone bill. Like, you know, I need to make so I can eat healthy. And when you're chasing a dream, which Patentry is really a dream for a lot of women, it's something that we all competing, but it's not obtainable for all of us.

8:05So it's really chasing a dream. You forget reality, because you fall into the delusion of, oh my god, this could be me, this could be my life, this could be my life, and you would do anything to be the winner. And that's when you start to recognize, okay, where are my morals? Like, where is the limit and where is the boundary? How much is too much for me to spend on something? Are there other ways to be resourceful in this matter? Coaching is expensive as well. Sorry, the sirens outside, but coaching is expensive as well, like physical fitness and like actual like interview coaching. So I had to really start to shop around and see what would fit this budget without taking me out. I'm fortunate to work in a career that pays me better than most people. That's what I learned after having a lot of conversations with girls in my community, especially in modeling. I was like, wow, I get paid significantly higher, and I learned to appreciate my pay grade.

9:09Where before I was like, this is not enough, and I was so ungrateful, but now I'm like, okay, now this is plenty. Thank you for shifting my focus. But yeah, it's really about learning to stay grounded. Because yes, you want to win. Yes, you want everything to glitch the glamour. You want the best dress out there, but if you buy the best dress out there, and then you can't afford to have your phone on or internet or to go to a weekend, get away with the girls, then you're spending too much. And that's a lesson that only experience can teach you. And it's not something I'm ashamed of. I'm glad that I experienced that because I'm like, if I ever become a coach or I get a higher position in pageantry, I'm going to hone that into women. Please don't spend your life savings on this. Like, there are other things you're going to get to do in life, and you don't want to miss out on those opportunities. Most of my experiences are pageantry, pageantry, pageantry.

10:09I missed a lot. I feel like it took a toll on my social life, and that's what I'm learning to value now. Well, you deserve it, and now we'll take time for a commercial break. Travel is part of the American way of life. When we're on vacation, we keep an eye out for anything that looks out of place. Miss your bag. When we travel from city to city, we pay attention to our surroundings. Everyone plays a role in keeping our community safe. Whether you're traveling for business or pleasure, be aware of your surroundings. If you see something suspicious, say something to local authorities. Welcome back. The modeling and pageant industries have historically been divided by rigid weight and body type requirements, are showing many to meet those standards through unhealthy means. Today, there's a growing movement for plus size and mid-sized representation in mainstream competitions. As well as pageants, this can create a dilemma of which category to align with.

11:14How do you protect your physical and mental well-being while meeting industry expectations? I first understand my body type. I know that I can be extremely thin if I work extremely hard to maintain it, but also it causes a fatigue that's not healthy for me as a person, and the urgency to consistently work out, work out, work out, it'll take up too much time, effort and energy. There are a lot of thicker and fuller-sized women who are placing in the pageant world, but I have not seen a winner who is thicker yet and until I do, I am going to be honest. I don't know if that's what they're looking for in women. The only woman who has exemplified this was Miss Universe 2021. Her nose, she was from India, and she was extremely thin when she won, and something that she did with which was so instrumental for all of us is she gained a lot of weight

12:17while being Miss Universe and did not lose it at all until after her rate. So she remained that size, and I'm sure she could have went through absurd means to become thinner, but I think it was so instrumental for her to do that because it's like this is a reality for women. You are going to gain weight, and you're not going to lose it overnight. You don't have to go through a surgery to lose it, and you can still be confident in whatever body size that you are. So we saw the extremely thin woman become very, very full. Like if you look her up and you see the difference, it's insane. And she waited until after her reign. She crowned her successor while being thicker. So when you compare when she won to when she was crowning her success, it's like two different women. But I love that she did that because it's realistic. It's what girls need to see. We all have different body types, and they should be celebrated. So she still was able to be queen while she was in that size.

13:20That's wonderful to hear. I didn't know that happened at all. That's very interesting. I'm higher. Me too. Because after that, they placed the first fuller-sized woman at Miss Universe. She was the first one full body, full figure, plate high placement. And that's what we need. We've got to see a winner at that size, but I would love to be alive for that. Because it would really help a lot of women understand that your body plate and size doesn't define beauty or confidence. What are some of the biggest misconceptions people have about the work it takes to succeed in pageantry and modeling? People believe that you need to be rich. One, people believe that you need to have a lot of support and everyone needs to like you. And people believe that you have to be the most beautiful girl on stage. If you look at the pageants, most of the time, the most beautiful, the most gorgeous, the most like appealing physically is not the winner.

14:20Because there's so much more to beauty than just what you look like physically. And when you look at the winner and you study the winner, you see that there are other beautiful attributes in characteristics of her. And that's what characterizes the winner. Like you'll see the girls with the perfect body, perfect hair, perfect everything down to even the best dress. But the winner is the most relatable girl at the time. And that's something that makes pageantry very instrumental for women. Like it changes and shifts that perspective up. Like when you grow to school, like, oh, that's the prettiest girl in school. So everyone has to like her. Well, you can be the most average girl and it still be very well like. And that's what it did for me. You can be considered ordinary and be the best in pageantry. So many times I had competed and I've watched other competitions and we look at the girls. And it's not just what you have, it's what you have inside, like not your material and your physical.

15:25But what you have inside that shines externally on the stage and to the judges. Because they're looking for someone who from the inside out, they can present on the next level or as their queen. They're the full package already. Like there's not much growth and development. And we don't want to give women that unrealistic expectation that you don't have rooms to improve. I've been a judge one time and that one of the women had said that we don't want to give them that expectation. Well, choose wound my mind and choose my entire perspective on pageantry. That's neat that you got to see both sides of it being a pageant contestant and a judge as well. And that's great to hear that they don't just look at beauty and they do look at other parts of you follow the discipline wellness and beauty routine. Can you share what that looks like for you on a day-to-day basis? Yes, it looks like drinking way more water than the average tune being.

16:27It looks like getting unnecessary hours of rest and sleep. Resting a lot, especially when the pageant is coming up like you have to cut back on working and other things I can stress you out. It looks like keeping up with your makeup and hair regimen. Like you have to know how to do your own hair and makeup and you have to be really good at it. Not regular makeup but stage makeup. So you're always keeping up with trends. But also keeping up with your skincare. Like you have to have a nighttime, daytime, take off routine. And you also have to remember to wear sunscreen so your skin doesn't look horrible. And I don't know. Like you just have to go the extra mile because on stage every little detail is seen under that light. Just the missing one little thing during your preparation season. Throw you off completely.

17:28So you really learn how to showcase the best you. But the best you isn't built the night before the pageant. It's built five months in preparation. And now we'll take time for commercial break. Hey. One hour pick-up order. Got it. Thanks. We're out of ink and I have a big meeting today. And two boxes of twist layers. Yeah. For the team. The team. Yeah. Team. Go team. Go team. Know what's better than overnight shipping? Free one hour pick-up when you order online or on our app. Add office depot office back. Welcome back. Oh, something. You just don't want to do anything and you just want to be proud. But you don't have that option. No, but it's like how bad do you want it, right? As a makeup artist with Harris culture cosmetics, what has working closely with clients taught you about wellness, self-expression and confidence?

18:28First and foremost, everyone has a different expectation of what their makeup should look like. And you have to have that keen attention to detail. And you really do have to give the client what they want. And it comes to wellness. They do look for cleanliness. So you have to make sure that your brushes are clean. Your products are like reusable and also new and up to date. Like clients are so picky. But it's good because it keeps excellence at the forefront, which we need. And also something that I've learned you have to just have patience. Like mental wellness has a lot to do with your ability to breathe. Relax and handle stress and high stress situations, which unless I'm like alone, it's very hard to find a low-stress situation. My job requires high stress situations like high demand, makeup artistry, high demand pressure, pageantry, high demand pressure, modeling, high demand pressure.

19:30The gym, high demand pressure, everything is pressure. So learning to just have patience and just to breathe. Even when you're doing someone's makeup, they can at any given time be like, you know what? Start over. I don't like this. Take it off. Start over. Like, or if they have like a friend who comes on board, who's going to say no to money? Like they got their makeup done and they're like, well, my friend is next door and she's going to the party too. Can you do her makeup? And you're like tired. They're like, oh, yeah. So learning how to pivot, manage stress, cations and pivoting. Yeah. A lot. Yeah. Working with people. You know, you have to give them what they want, right? I see that because I'm an esthetician and I deal that with all the time. You've expressed concern about harmful ingredients in your cosmetics. How do you educate yourself and your clients about safe products? And why is this such an important focus for you? Because skincare is a big deal for women especially. No one wants to break out.

20:31You don't even have the smallest pimple. Like, it would stress you out beyond belief. So you have to make sure that your products are safe to use for your client's skin type. Also, it's very scientific. If you don't know what will clash with oily or dry skin, you're basically setting yourself up to fail as a makeup artist and you're setting your clients up to fail. And the goal is to make sure that they're satisfied with the service so you don't want to do that. You don't want to set yourself up for failure. So I try my best to read out. I am subscribed to magazines. I watch YouTube videos. I just try to learn as much as I can about which are the best products. And also, I like cruelty-free products because some people are very big on that. People have opinions that you wouldn't think that they have and they have values that you wouldn't consider. And being a makeup artist actually brought that to light.

21:32You think they're just going to sit in the chair and get their face, but no. Like, oh, you're going to put this specific brand on my face. Don't you know that they have this lawsuit and this is the defamation? I don't want to. Like, I'm like, oh, I'm like, okay. So I also have that foundation and that one and that. And you have to understand that some people have big opinions and it's based off of what's going on in the media and staying up to date with the media to be like, okay, I don't want to offend anyone because they don't like influencer who's promoting the brand has some type of scandal going on and they don't want to be associated with that. Even though it's just a makeup product, do you understand? It's crazy. It's deep. And allergies too. Do you have the authority to worry about people with allergies as well, right? Yeah, sensitive skin. I always send a questionnaire for a skin-type first before bringing anything. Do you have any input on the type of cosmetics that are suitable for your skin during work roles?

22:34Oh, I guess. And no, I try because I work both sides. I try not to stress out, make the artist as much as possible. I just want them to be able to do their job and go. Oh, only complain if I look ridiculous. Like, if you make me look like a clown, I'm going to speak up. But for the most part, as long as it's not something that's going to make me oily for a breakout, I have sensitive skin. And if you're not keeping up to date with cleaning your brushes, you are going to cause me to break out. That's something that I do speak up on. And then also free, prep skincare, making sure that you clean off my face and have the right primer and the right moisturizer and sunscreen. Because makeup comes out better if you apply sunscreen. That one little step makes your makeup look better. Like, and lasts longer. People do not know that, but it does. That's a good trick for people to know now. Yeah. The issue for that tips of people would be very happy to learn that.

23:35How do you differentiate between healthy self-care and the unhealthy pressures that sometimes come with the beauty industry? Well, you have to remember to be realistic with your budget. In the end, the beauty industry does not care about our budget. Remember that. That they are promoting the best of the best. And if you don't have money to get your nails done every week, or to get a facial every two weeks, or to get laser hair removal once or twice a month, things like that, like you have to just be budget friendly and you have to pivot. So I can't afford the laser hair removal. So I'm going to go ahead and buy an air or save the regular traditional way. So knowing how to pivot based on budget, I can really advise that I could give for anybody and doing at home facials when you can. Like, of course, you want to splurge and planning. Like, if I work X amount of hours, I know I'm going to make this much money so I can actually book this appointment at this time.

24:38So at least once a month, I can go and get my facial. It can get my nails done. But I'm not going to prioritize beyond budget because it's unrealistic, especially because the beauty industry is targeting a younger audience. And for the most part, they don't like, they don't all have jobs. Like if they're parents money, you know what I mean? Yeah. Yeah, I don't know why people tell you you need laser hair removal every two weeks. You shouldn't do that. I do laser hair removal and laser hair removal. You do every two months if it's below the neck and every month if it's above the neck. It's just so people know this. If someone tells you to get it done it closer together, you shouldn't do that. Okay, that would explain a lot. They're conning you when they're telling you that you should do it every two weeks because the laser only works if it happens. The hair has to be connected to the root, okay? If the hair is connected to the root, it's not going to work. And there's three stages of growth.

25:38The hair falls out eventually. So don't ever let anybody tell you to get that hair removal closer than a month apart above the neck and two months apart below the neck, okay? You see? That's why we speak to the experts because we don't know better. And they know we don't know better. And also not everyone who does laser hair removal is highly professional. Does that make sense to you? No, the story. I just wanted to get that out there. So nobody would believe that if someone said it to them, okay? Thank you so much. Okay. As a fashion creator and pageant winner, how do you hope to challenge or shift industry expectations of what beauty should look like? So I like to shake the table. I like to stir the pot when it comes to the beauty industry, which might be a teacher and I've heard their concerns when it comes to the beauty standards. I like to use my voice to make the ugly duckling understand

26:40that one day you can be a swan without meeting those unrealistic expectations. So we want to redefine what the beauty standards. Yeah, they're telling you to be thin, but if your body cannot scientifically be thin, you're wasting your time fighting. You know what I mean? You're going to push yourself to a near-death experience trying to be skinny and your health is going to be compromised. Things like, I just want women to be as realistic for themselves as possible. Remember, the beauty standard is created for a specific woman, not all women, but a specific woman. And now we'll take time for commercial break. Do you remember the joy of being read to as a child or sharing bedtime stories with your own children? Last year, military parents missed 40 million bedtime stories with their children due to deployments. With United Through Reading, service members or video recorded reading story books and those videos are sent home where they can be viewed again and again.

27:40Give the gift of story time to a military family by donating $50 today. Every child deserves a bedtime story. Visit United Through Reading.org. Welcome back. What message do you hope Kristella, the wellness and fitness star conveys to young people about beauty, fitness, and self-care? Well, your body is different than everyone else's body, so you actually embrace your unique body type. We can all be the same exact weight and look differently. Have you ever seen one of those photos? Yeah, so having a target weight is ridiculous. You need to have the best weight for your height and also your body type doesn't have to look like Instagram models, kind of unrealistic. Loving how you look in clothing and how you feel when it comes to fitness and wellness, all about how you feel and in your clothing and in your body on a regular day-to-day basis. I have felt amazing, being sick or fuller and I've also felt amazing being thin

28:42is just about how I feel and my mentality at the time it doesn't really have anything to do with what my body actually would fly. So yeah, that's the message I want to send. If you could change one standard or expectation in the pageant and modeling world, what would it be and why? I would change the expectation to be thin as a winner in the pageant industry. I really want them to, not just what she did, her nose, what she was Miss Universe is instrumental because she did not lose the weight and kept it. I really want you to go look at her photos. She just kept it. She's like, I don't know how to tell me how to spell her name. I will. Because she really had Miss Universe has money to go get a surgery. There's no way she does it, but she didn't. But I want them to crown a Miss Universe with a fuller body because that's going to change the game. Because a lot of women, they feel like confidence has to do with being thin or having a certain weight. And that's one thing I want them to break.

29:44Break that stigma permanently on all levels. Don't just place them. Don't just make them first runner up. Don't make them the almost beauty stand them. Make a fuller woman the beauty standard so that women who are thicker growing up or girls who are fuller don't get ostracized for their weight or feel ugly or constantly compared. And when I was a teacher, I recognized that like myself, I had to overcompensate with education. I don't want women to feel like, okay, so this is my weakness. My looks are my weakness. No. Use your looks as a strength because it's not what beauty is not one size fits off. But the only way we can prove that point is if they break that specific limitation. Until they crown a winner who is not the physical appearance of the others, they're never going to change that. No, no, that's not my personal opinion. What advice would you give to young women

30:44entering the modeling or patent industries who feel overwhelmed by the demand to look a certain way? To embrace their true, unique self because that shows on stage you can look like what you think they want and lose because they're actually looking for you. Your personality has to shine on stage and when it doesn't, it comes off as authentic and they're not crowning a woman who's not hurt herself. Because you're not a real role model. Other girls have to be able to look up to you and if you don't embrace who you are, we can't use you. That's basically the deal. They need to be able to see through the makeup, the hair, the nails, the glitz and the glamour. So if you take all of that off, which a lot of the times they do, you do have to go volunteer in like low social economic neighborhoods and communities. And when you don't have all of that on,

31:45you're not hiding behind all of those things. Why are you? Because those people want to know. You have to be relatable first. So focusing so much on the standard and what you look like is kind of a waste of time. That's like the finishing touch in a work first. Hey, Crystal, I once had the chance to watch the Miss Universe constant live. We just happen to be walking down the board, walk and notice that the sign was out there. We were able to get tickets at a reasonable price. Our seats were way up in the nosebleed section. They gave us opera classes so we could get a better view of the whole experience. And yes, I'm showing my age and saying that Bob Barker was the host. As what was your favorite part? I can't remember it was so long ago, but I just remember just the whole experience. You know, it's so different when you see it live than when it's on TV. And we happen to be there. Yeah, that was odd. How do you see your role as both a model and an advocate using your platform to promote a more holistic, healthy and inclusive approach

32:46to beauty and wellness? It's the perfect platform. When you have a crown or when you're a model, you are put in the forefront so people are more likely to listen to you because there's a reason why you're given those opportunities. The industry must trust you. And when you're entrusted with something like that, the message that you send is everything. Which is why I feel like it's better for me as someone who values education or values wellness to be in those rooms. Otherwise, I probably would have lost interest along time ago. I think that's one of the key motivators that I get to spread these messages. And so many women, they need to hear that coming out of our mouths. It's not just from anybody, but from someone who is considered a beauty queen or a high profile model. Like they're saying it. So the younger girls or the demographic is more likely to listen. You mentioned wanting to open doors to new perspectives in pageantry and modeling. What possibilities do you think these industries

33:48should embrace to reflect better health, wellness, safety, practices, and self-expression? I believe that they should find a middle ground between our platform and education. Education is the best prevention and intervention to any problem. It is a solution, if not the solution. I'm not saying through a textbook at someone every single time, but just like you gave the information about how often we should get laser hair removals. So many women are damaging their bodies, their skin, their health, mentally and physically, because they're uneducated on the right practices and the right approaches. And without that knowledge, we're basically screwed for lack of a better word. And I really want to see more educated opportunities for women in modeling and pageantry, whether it's a seminar or just mentorships,

34:50just so that people can have the opportunity to pursue beauty, but not die while doing it. We want to keep the beautiful women alive, yeah. Well, these are some things I talk about on my show just so you know that. I don't ever want to watch it. I talk about things like this, okay? Pristella, Mervei, Ilanga. Transition from a registered behavior technician to a model, pageant winner, and makeup artist entrepreneur. She discussed how she balances high pressure roles while prioritizing wellness, confidence, and mental health. She also highlighted her abit could see for safe cosmetic practices, a challenge traditional beauty standards, and emphasize the importance of holistic health, self-expression, and empowerment. Through her work, including her business, Ares, Culture, Cosmetics, is that right? Pristella inspires young people and indigent professionals alike to embrace authenticity, wellness,

35:52and confidence in every aspect of life. The contact Pristella, she has an Instagram at Pristella, M Ilanga, and to contact to get makeup done from her, it's at Ares, Culture. Her LinkedIn is Pristella Mervei Ilanga. Her egg-outed, did I spell it right? Is it Pristella Mervei ILU at gmail.com? Make you Pristella for joining me on where science meets self-care. You keep her having me. You can do this episode on many platforms. Thank you for tuning in to where science meets self-care with Ida Fonelli. Ida bridges clinical science with holistic wisdom, guiding you toward greedy and skin, balanced energy, and lasting well-being. Don't forget to subscribe, share the show, and join us next time for more inspiration and practical tools to help you live beautifully inside and out. To connect with Ida, visit link tree slash Ida Fonelli.

36:54Until then, take good care of yourself. And remember, self-care is where science and soul meet.