Simone Biles isn’t only good at doing backflips and handsprings. The 4-time Olympic gymnast also has commendable makeup skills for someone who rarely wears it. She’s lived most of her life completely barefaced. “No makeup, no nothing,” Biles told Vogue.
For competitions though, the 23-year-old, does her own makeup. “I taught myself,” said Biles.
Before taking the mat, Biles, who is Vogue’s August cover star, preps her skin with a cocktail of SK-II products: a cleanser, sheet mask, and essence. And then she adorns her face in products from Black-owned beauty brands such as Fenty Beauty and Pat McGrath.
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“I usually go for a gold look,” Biles explained, as she dusted the gorgeous hue onto her eyelids during a demo on Thursday. “It’s nice on my skin.”
Biles notes that in gymnastics, however, makeup isn’t what’s important.
“Beauty is no competition. For me the importance of beauty in gymnastics does not matter what you look like, it’s what you do on the mat,” said Biles. “Does makeup make me feel better? Yes, but it’s what I do there on the floor that really, really matters.”
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