Juju Watkins Teams with NYX Professional Makeup

NYX Professional Makeup has partnered with University of Southern California Women’s Basketball star and 2024 First-Team All-American JuJu Watkins to continue to build the beauty brand’s presence in the women’s sports industry, an area in which CPG companies, including those in beauty, are investing marketing dollars.

The partnership marks one of the first professional makeup brands’ endorsement deals for a female college basketball player, introducing Watkins to NYX Professional Makeup’s audience of more than 30 million social media followers.

“I am thrilled to partner with NYX Professional Makeup to help further amplify their mission to inspire beauty enthusiasts around the world and embrace their own personal style,” said Watkins. “NYX is all about breaking boundaries and celebrating individuality, which resonates deeply with me both as an athlete and as a person. I’m looking forward to working with a brand that embraces creativity and encourages everyone to feel confident in their own skin.”

A rising star in the sports world, Watkins embodies the beauty brand’s values of inclusivity, diversity and community. Watkins, who was recently named to Sports Illustrated’s “Most Influential Athlete” list and winner of “Best Breakthrough Athlete” at the ESPYS earlier this year, is also a champion of authenticity. In addition to being a role model for aspiring athletes, Watkins is establishing her charity “Good JuJu” to support young basketball players from her hometown of Watts in South Central and across the greater Los Angeles area.

‘Make Them Look’ Campaign

In her role as ambassador, Watkins will star in a variety of national NYX Professional Makeup campaigns across the brand’s social and digital platforms, encouraging athletes to “Make Them Look”—a tagline the brand coined earlier this year to empower the loud, proud and authentic self-expression of female athletes. Watkins will also make her retailer debut with a prominent feature on the brand’s in-store displays nationwide.

NYX Professional Makeup champions for cultural change across the women’s sports industry by encouraging more viewership, support and celebration of female athletes. In the last year alone, the brand kicked off the first cosmetics sponsorships of the WNBA’s New York Liberty team and NWSL’s Angel City Football Club. With more in store for 2025, the “Make Them Look” campaign strengthens the brand’s dedication to advancing women in sports and celebrates self-expression, officials said.