Cameron Brink Never Shies Away From A Full Glam Moment

It’s been a week of major news for 22-year-old Stanford senior forward Cameron Brink. Most notably, she just declared for the 2024 WNBA Draft. “It makes me more excited for next steps, but also I’m savoring these last moments with my team,” Cameron shares over Zoom. “These are my last games wearing a Stanford uniform and I’m just really enjoying the time with my teammates and my coaches.”

As if heading into the professional stage of her athletic career wasn’t huge enough, Brink also just announced her partnership with Bumble as a member of its Class of 2024. She’ll be joining a group of 50 game-changing female athletes the app teamed up with last year to provide mentorship, networking, and personal development resources in celebration of the 50th anniversary of Title IX.

On top of her mountain of athletic accomplishments (four-time All-American and WBCA Defensive Player of the Year, two-time Pac-12 Player of the Year, the list goes on), Brink also has a true passion and talent for her favorite hobby: beauty. She might be the darling of the women’s basketball world right now, but she’s also breathlessly excited to talk all about skin care, makeup, and hair care — and has the best tips for looking great on and off the court.

Ahead, NYLON chats with Brink all about workout hair masks, her favorite TikTok follows, and why getting ready is always the best part.

I can tell that you have different modes — there’s “athlete” and then “full glam.” Tell me a bit about what your daily beauty routine is like.

My favorite, almost meditative, parts of my day are getting ready and winding down. When I wake up, I usually have early practice, so I always go wearing sunscreen. I love [Supergoop] Glow Screen.

I’m a huge hair girl. My hair is prone to breakage, so I try to keep it strong. I try not to wash it every day. I wear two French braids when I play, so I'll put in a hair mask, like Amika’s, and then braid my hair with the mask in. I’ll leave it in for the four hours I'm practicing and when I wash my hair out after, it feels great.

When did the French braids become something you do for every game?

My best friend Brooke Demetre, who I brought into my Bumble partnership, is the one who does my braids every single game. I don't even know if I'm going to do that in the W, because I won't have her. It's like a sentimental — ever since my freshman year, it's kind of always been my thing. I love how it's very feminine and girly, but it also gets my hair out of my face. My hair doesn't break as much when I do it, and I can put a hair mask or hair oil in it.

Can you think of a game or an event that was a really big win for you? Walk me through that day beauty-wise.

Going all the way back to my freshman year, I think of the National Championship game versus Arizona. It was mid-pandemic, so it didn't have as much attention as it usually would, maybe, but we won. That's all that matters.

The prep for that day actually started the night prior. When you're in season, you're always in the gym and don't see sunlight, so I used tanning drops — either Tan Luxe or Isle of Paradise — and mixed them in my moisturizer. When you wake up the next morning, you have such a nice glow.

This was freshman year, so actually, Brooke wasn't at Stanford yet — she’s a year younger than me — so one of my dear friends, Alyssa Jerome, who was a senior on my team at the time, braided my hair. I've always had someone else braid my hair. I'm incapable.

I do wear makeup to play and practice, but I keep it light because I'm constantly rubbing my face with a towel. I do concealer, and I make sure to set it really well so it doesn't come off. And I’ll put the Benefit Benetint on my lips — I kind of lined my lips with the tint to give them a fuller look — and I put it on my cheeks, too. Because it’s a tint, it doesn't sweat off. And then brow gel, mascara — I feel like mascara changes everything — and setting spray. I love the One/Size setting spray now, but think I used Urban Decay at the time. When the game was over, I remember thinking, “Oh, it kind of stayed.”

It’s all part of the presentation!

Obviously, I want to look presentable. You know — look good, feel good, play good — I believe in that. But it’s really just for me. It’s a routine thing and it’s fun.

How does your beauty routine change if you’re going out with your friends?

I will never shy away from a full face. I don't really wear foundation, but I love a full-coverage concealer like the Hourglass concealer, and that's my base. My eyebrows are actually microbladed, so it makes that super easy. But I’ve recently been using the Refy Brow Pomade and it's amazing. Lately, I've also been loving Patrick Ta makeup. He has this matte eyeshadow palette that has a great cream black for winged liner. One of my favorite features of my face is my eyes, so I always do something to accentuate them. I feel like more people should know about Lumify eye drops. I try not to use them every day, but when you use them before a night out and you're wearing a wing or something, it makes the whites of your eyes look so bright, they pop like crazy. And I've actually been wearing red lips more — so I will go the whole nine yards. I love doing my teammates’ makeup and all the time I'm like, “Can I do it for you?” I always say the best part about going out is spending time with your girls and getting ready.

Do you have any beauty icons, or people you look to for their style?

So many. There’s @kensnation on TikTok — I saved one of her videos because I know when I get my makeup done for drafting, it’s the look I want. I love the way she does her face. But there are so many people. Margot Robbie, her makeup is always flawless, I love Zendaya. I love how Mario Dedivanovic and Patrick Ta do makeup. A dream of mine would be for Patrick Ta to do my makeup. I would lose it. And I love Alix Earle, too — whenever I see [Ta] do her makeup, it’s always absolutely amazing.

You already know what you want your makeup to be for draft day?

Yes. It's like a bronzy, matte eye — but dramatic. In the video, the look had a wing with the liner going all the way into the inner corner. It makes her eyes look so catlike, and I just love that. I kind of like the idea of a lighter brow and a heavy eye, and then the rest of the face bronze-y and a little bit of blush. I like a full face.

Post-game or practice, what’s your winding-down skin care routine?

I use micellar water to take off my eye makeup because it can be tricky, and then I do an oil-based cleanser first; I like the Tatcha one, and then a water-based one. I use CeraVe because it's cheap and it’s the best. It’s funny I actually struggle more with back acne in season than with face blemishes because I’m always wearing these compression shirts and these sports bras. So I've been using stuff from Nécessaire on my body — the Body Retinol, and I use the salicylic acid body wash on my back.

I'm in the process of building up my skin’s tolerance to handle retinol. I use tretinoin, but my skin is sensitive, so I use the tiniest amount. Then I'll go in with vitamin C, which I use mostly in the morning, but sometimes I'll do it at night. Drunk Elephant has a really good one.

I try a lot of things. I try to use a lot of essences, like the Rhode Glazing Milk, and there’s the Hourglass Equilibrium Restoring Essence that I’ve recently been using. I’ve also been using the Caudalie Reservatol Lift serum and the Vinoperfect Brightening serum for dark spots. And then just a bunch of moisturizer and eye cream. I use two different ones right now: Weleda, which is a really thick cream, and the Charlotte Tilbury Magic Water Cream, which is nice and hydrating and helps with redness. Before I go to bed, I like to let it sink in for a little bit. I feel like if you do skin care right before you go to bed, it all comes off on your pillow. I love it all. I know this is not necessary, but it's so fun for me.