This is How Much Makeup 3 U.S. Olympians Really Wear
Olympians prepare for the Games in a multitude of ways - from eating a certain way to working out rigorously. A lot of athletes even perfect an Olympic beauty routine to prep their faces to be broadcast around the world. Cosmopolitan.com spoke with three U.S. athletes about the skin-care products they use and the makeup they apply (if any) for competition.
Gabby Douglas, 20, is an Olympic gold medalist and one of five female gymnasts representing Team USA at the 2016 Rio Games this summer.
While I'm in the gym training, I don't wear much makeup because I used to have an issue with breaking out when I was younger. Since then, I've learned that the best way to avoid those issues is being consistent with my skin-care regimen. This includes washing my face every night using a soft washcloth to remove makeup, exfoliating, and moisturizing. I use a combination of castor oil and virgin olive oil every night before I go to bed, pat on eye cream, and then use moisturizer. And during the day, I always apply sunscreen to protect my skin.
When I compete though, I like to spice things up. We all use makeup as part of our whole look when we go out to compete and really have a lot of fun with it. I believe we are all beautiful without it - we just use it to enhance the beauty that is already there! Getting ready I enjoy experimenting with eye shadow and fun lipsticks - CoverGirl's Colorlicious Gloss in "Give Me Guava" is in my bag right now - that complement my leotard, but I always apply a good matte primer before putting on my foundation, waterproof eyeliner, and mascara, and I recently started using blush and highlighter. I also always keep a pressed powder compact and in my bag because sometimes my T-zone gets a little shiny, so I like to apply powder on my face for a more matte effect.
With all the close-up HD cameras, I always want to make sure my body skin looks great too, especially since I am competing in a leotard. I've been using the Gillette Venus Swirl razor because it moves in multiple directions and makes it easy to reach every curve while shaving - even the tricky areas like my knees and ankles. I never have to worry about missing any spots.
Kelly O'Hara, 27, is an Olympic gold medalist who's heading to the 2016 Rio Olympics to compete on the U.S. women's soccer team.
I actually don't wear any makeup when I'm on the field. I like looking nice, but my main concern is how I play - to me, if you look and feel good, then you play good. On the field, I only wear Coppertone Sport SPF 30. I like it because it feels like I'm putting on lotion rather than SPF. And then after I apply sunscreen to my body, to keep flyaways out of my face, I'll run the excess SPF that's on my hands through my hair to keep it back. I used to use pre-wrap, but it ended up causing breakage, so I stopped using it.
When the weather is colder and we're training, I'll take Blistex or Aquaphor, and put it on my lips before practice. And then if it's cold and windy, I'll rub it on my nose and cheeks before practice to keep them from getting chapped. I used to do this when I'd go skiing and it worked. People would say to me, "Why are you putting that all over your face?" and I'd say, "Just try it, I promise it works."
I used to apply waterproof mascara before a game - it was the easiest thing to wear while I was playing that wouldn't sweat off - but not anymore. I don't tend to wear a lot of makeup in general. If I'm going out, I just wear mascara (Full 'N Soft by Maybelline is my go-to - I've been using it since high school), blush, maybe, like, a little eyeliner, and then something for my brows. Oh, and then sometimes I use Jack Black lip gloss. I know it's a boy brand but I love it; it feels really good on.
For me, it's really important to take care of my skin. Especially because when I see someone, and they're just so fresh and beautiful, you always notice their skin first. So having a really good skin-care regimen is a must. I just wish I would have started taking care of my skin earlier!
Haley Anderson, 24, is an Olympic silver medalist who will be competing on the U.S. women's swim team in Rio.
When I'm training, I tend to not wear anything on my skin except sunscreen and I make sure to moisturize my skin after practice with Palmer's Cocoa Butter, which I really love. The chlorine and sun really dry me out - especially since I live and train in Los Angeles, and I'm in the water for two hours at a time.
But when I compete, I want to look good after the race, so I wear a zinc-based tinted moisturizer with SPF called Vertra and I always fill in my brows. Being in the chlorine bleaches them really badly - my teammates and I actually apply Chapstick over them to create a barrier from the chlorine so our brows don't get dry! - so we always laugh and say, "We have to put our brows on now," since everyone's are super-light. My favorite brow product is the regular pencil from Anastasia. I have a lot of brow pencils in every swim bag too - I recently got one from ELF that I actually really like. I've tried almost every one you can get at Target. I'll also wear a neutral shade of eye shadow on my eyes; I like Urban Decay's Naked Palette, the one that comes in the brown fuzzy packaging.
Other than that, I'm pretty lucky in that I don't break out, so I just use a moisturizing face and body cleanser. I use Lush's Angels On Bare Skin Face and Body Cleanser. And I was recently reading about a charcoal face wash bar and picked up one at TJ Maxx, so I've been using that, and I like it a lot.
The biggest hair issue I face while training and competing is keeping my hair hydrated and healthy. Every time I get my haircut, the stylist tells me my hair is so dry and how to condition it. Like, I know! Hair oil is a must for me - recently I discovered the Bumble and Bumble Surf Infusion oil and salt spray, so I've been using that and liking it - but I can't condition it while I'm swimming because my cap would just slide off. I've also highlighted my hair twice in the past and it's been a mistake because the chlorine changes its color. So, while it would be nice in theory to always have conditioner in my hair to take care of it and to play with color, it's not a reality for me.
Out of the water, I'm pretty natural when it comes to my beauty routine. I feel like when I put a lot of makeup on, I don't look like myself anymore. I'm also not into mascara because my lashes are already so brittle and I'm afraid my eyelashes will fall out if I use it. And I'm not an eyeliner kind of girl, because it makes my goggles a mess - plus, I don't really know how to apply it.
These interviews have been edited and condensed.
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