The beauty industry is officially betting on sports. Some may try to chalk this up to the Taylor Swift effect, but that doesn’t give women—and their varied, multifaceted interests—enough credit.

My guess? With pioneering beauty brands like Covergirl, Sephora, Essie, and Fenty leading the way, gender and pay equality in sports will soon follow.

The contrasting worlds of beauty and sport are now more aligned than ever with huge brands investing in big collaborations. Here, a writer discusses why.

It is beauty that allows sports to stay relevant in the long and the short form, to the old and the new.

Essence Beauty joined the beauty talk with top athletes moderated by Girls United to discuss the beauty in sports on the BeautyCon™ stage.

8 Female Athletes Who've Defined Their Own Beauty Standards Olympians and world champions reveal how they overcame body shamers while conquering their sport ...

Athletes Feats: Beauty industry puts female sports stars in the spotlight Facing a cosmetics slowdown, retailers hope to pump up sales with female sport stars.

LSU basketball star Flau'jae Johnson opens up to PS about beauty in sports — and why it’s on an “uphill trend.” ...

Athlete Aimee Mullins: Beauty in Sports Can Be 'Liberating' "We can define for ourselves what beauty means," the Paralympic Chef de Mission tells PEOPLE ...