Beauty and basketball: Female athletes collaborate with major makeup brands to redefine standards

Highlighting a shift in the intersection of sports and beauty, basketball stars Judea Watkins and Cameron Brink team up with major makeup brands — Nyx Professional Makeup and Urban Decay, respectively.

The partnerships signal a move in sports culture, where female athletes are recognized for their commitment to strength on the court and self-expression through beauty, asserting that athleticism and femininity do not have to be mutually exclusive.

Watkins for Nyx

Judea Skies Watkins, nicknamed Juju Watkins, is a 19-year-old American college basketball player for the University of Southern California Trojans. With this collaboration, she becomes Nyx’s first female collegiate athlete ambassador. Watkinsjoins the brand with a mission that resonates with the “Make Them Look” campaign launched by Nyx to empower athletes through self-expression.

Nyx’s move follows recent sponsorships of the New York Liberty basketball team of the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) and the Angel City Football Club of the National Women’s Soccer League. In doing so, the company says it wants to position makeup as a tool of empowerment rather than a hurdle to athletic authenticity.

Watkins will feature across Nyx’s social and digital platforms alongside in-store displays across the US. The athlete explains her enthusiasm for the partnership: “Nyx is all about breaking boundaries and celebrating individuality, which resonates deeply with me as an athlete and as a person.”

Brink for Urban Decay

Los Angeles Sparks star  and number two WNBA draft pick Cameron Brink signed a multi-year deal with Urban Decay. With products like the All Nighter setting spray and the 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil, Brink wants to help Urban Decay “redefine what it means to be a game-changer.”

Brink says makeup has been a form of self-expression for her since she grew up watching her mother get ready and later crafting her own beauty routines before games. “This partnership is about encouraging everyone to find their own voice and express it boldly,” she says.

Urban Decay sponsored the Los Angeles Sparks for the past two seasons. Partnering with Brink, the makeup brand signals a deepening connection with and commitment to the team and the sports industry in general.

Shifting sport culture

Collaborations between female athletes and beauty brands could be seen as a cultural shift in sports, moving away from outdated ideas about femininity and athleticism. With female athletes like Watkins and Brink openly redefining the coexistence of beauty and strength, brands like Nyx and Urban Decay appear eager to support that evolution.

By championing athletes who embrace makeup both on and off the court, more companies could team up to increase visibility of women’s sports and their products.