Cover FX Partners With Underdog Athletes: Interview

Nearly all of us have a story about being picked last. Whether you were that kid staring at the ground while your fourth-grade classmates argued over who would have to put you on their kickball team or the lone friend who didn’t have a date to senior prom, this particular formative experience is so ubiquitous, it’s almost become cliché. As someone who’s had quite a few of those last-man-standing moments throughout her life (it’s worth mentioning that both of the previous examples were ripped from my own personal history), I’ll be the first to tell you that it sucks. But . . . what if it didn’t? What if, instead of disappointment, we chose to celebrate simply being part of the game?

Such is the idea behind Cover FX’s first-of-its-kind campaign, which hit the Internet in full force today. Inspired by the “Mr. Irrelevant” title given to the last-picked player in the NFL draft, the brand chose three underdog female athletes to serve as ambassadors for its sweat-proof foundation. The goal? To flip the script on what success can mean for women in sports.

The brand tapped soccer star Talia Gabarra, basketball player Angel Jackson, and tennis pro Solymar Colling as the faces of its new Total Cream Cover Foundation ($44), because though they may not be top-ranked players, they’re still out there working — and sweating — just as hard.

“I say to the underdog: Always be your own biggest fan, and don’t stop fighting. When people say that you can’t, prove to them that you can.”

“I was the last one to get drafted into the WNBA, and admittedly it did hurt — but being picked last doesn’t mean you’re out of the race,” Jackson, who started her rookie season with Las Vegas Aces earlier this year, tells PS. “My whole career, I’ve felt like I had to prove myself, but with the WNBA, I set the standard for myself that I deserved to be there. I earned my spot, and now I’m here and ready to work.”

Cover FX’s decision to highlight these particular athletes is unheard of, and especially important given the pay disparities between men’s and women’s sports. Though strides have been made toward equity over the last few years, the gender pay gap still very much exists — some estimates report that female athletes make 21 times less, on average, than male athletes in the same field of play. Case in point? Caitlin Clark, the top pick for the 2024 WNBA draft, signed with the Indiana Fever with a base salary of $76,535. Zaccharie Risacher, who was picked first in this year’s NBA draft, signed a four-year contract for $57,027,437.

Even some of the top players in women’s sports have to take on second jobs or play overseas to supplement their incomes, and for many, scoring big brand deals is critically important for making ends meet. Historically, though, these types of ambassadorships have been reserved for the best of the best — like gymnastics superstar Simone Biles, who was recently named as the face of K18 hair care, or two-time gold medal track and field star Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, who was the first athlete to star in a Neutrogena campaign. But as Cover FX puts it, “Even if you’re not at the top, putting yourself out there is still a strong feat in itself and should be recognized.”

“There are still great athletes who can be great ambassadors — even if we’re not in the top 10 in the world, we’re still out there putting in the work,” says Colling, who caught up with PS on Zoom from a tennis tournament in Tunisia. “We’re still out there putting in the work, and if I were a boy who played football, I’d be making millions by now because I was a top 20 All-American college player. I hope other brands can look at this campaign and take some ideas because there are so many female athletes who would love to work with brands they love, but it’s hard to get your foot in the door.”

No matter where they are in the rankings, these women make it a point to put their best faces forward any time they step out to compete, which is where Cover FX’s Total Cream Cover Foundation comes in. All three of them wear the sweat-proof foundation to play, and live by the sort of “look good, perform better” ethos that’s dominated the growing intersection between sports and beauty of late.

“Confidence is one of the most important aspects to optimal performance, so it’s amazing that this product can build beauty and confidence for athletes of every caliber,” says Gabarra of the sweat-proof, skin-friendly formula that’s “easy to apply and doesn’t clog pores.”

Jackson echoes these sentiments, adding that she sees her “game face” as an extension of her individuality on the court. “We may all be on one team, but we’re not going to all look the same or play the same,” she says. “I love how makeup allows people to embrace themselves because you could be a starter or on the bench, but you still have that personal identity that makes you you.”

And for Colling, wearing makeup on the court is a big part of staying true to herself — no matter where she stands in the rankings. “I’m a girly girl, for sure, and I compete better when I feel confident in myself. I like to dress up and put on makeup because when I feel pretty on the court, it makes me play better,” she says, confirming that the foundation stayed put during her match that day in North Africa. “We can want to look pretty and be good at our sports. Because why not?”

In addition to sharing the same favorite game-day foundation, these three athletes share a common belief that being the underdog has pushed them to become the best versions of themselves. “Being an underdog might have a bad misconception because you don’t want to be someone who’s overlooked, but in a way, it’s a blessing because you’re given space to put your head down and work,” says Colling. “At the end of the day, it comes down to believing in yourself.”

“This campaign is about being the best version of you and projecting that to others,” says Jackson. “I say to the underdog: Always be your own biggest fan, and don’t stop fighting. When people say that you can’t, prove to them that you can.”

When Gabarra was the last addition to the US Women’s National Soccer League, her attitude was markedly different from the one she’d had about being picked last in elementary school. “I think people grab onto this idea of ‘Oh, it’s so bad, you were picked last,’ but at the end of the day, I was drafted into the NWSL from a very competitive pool — a lot of people didn’t get drafted at all,” she says. “I was never like, ‘Oh my gosh, what am I going to do?’ I always thought of it as an honor to be [included alongside] some incredibly powerful female athletes. That’s the approach I take, and I want to set the standard that you can be proud of anything—it’s all about perspective and not caring about what anyone else believes.”

Zoë Weiner is a freelance beauty and wellness writer. Her work has appeared in Bustle, Byrdie, Cosmopolitan, PS, GQ, Glamour, Marie Claire, Allure, Self, Brides, and Teen Vogue, among others, and she was the senior beauty editor at Well+Good.