Olympic Gold Medalist Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone Is Neutrogena’s Newest Ambassador
Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone has joined the Neutrogena camp.
The track and field Olympic gold medalist, who holds the world record for the 400-meter hurdles, has joined the ranks of Jenna Ortega and sister duo Chloe and Halle Bailey as the skin care brand’s latest ambassador.
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“Beauty, skin care and just overall taking care of myself have always been a part of my routine, even on the track, in terms of getting ready for meets. It’s a part of feeling confident when I go out and do what I love to do,” McLaughlin-Levrone said. “Being able to now be with a partner who can help exemplify that is just a dream come true.”
It’s a full-circle moment for McLaughlin-Levrone, who was in high school when she first encountered Neutrogena’s products. “It was actually the first skin care brand I ever tried to use,” recalled the 24-year-old runner, who has previously inked ambassadorships with brands such as Tag Heuer and, earlier this summer, David Yurman.
McLaughlin-Levrone’s partnership with Neutrogena is the latest in a slew of athlete ambassadorships sweeping the beauty realm. In May, Mielle Organics added college basketball star Angel Reese to its roster, just after Clinique signed England rugby player Holly Aitchison. Male athletes like Houston Rockets shooting guard Jalen Green and Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson have also gotten in on the action, signing respective deals with Un/Dn Laqr and Bubble Skincare.
“Historically, we’ve partnered with actresses and what have you, but realizing that people can be inspired by everyone — by actresses, by athletes, by creators on social — we wanted to find someone who had a lot of qualities that we admire and respect, but is also very relatable,” said Natasha Haubrich, head of Neutrogena equity and strategy.
And because McLaughlin-Levrone is routinely exposed to the elements as an athlete, the brand sees a natural fit for her to front its sun care offerings down the line.
“I do tend to have dry skin; especially running track and always being in the sun, being able to protect my skin is huge in terms of preventing wrinkles and dark spots — all those different things,” said McLaughlin-Levrone, adding that the brand’s Hydro Boost cream and SPF spray are among her regimen mainstays.
In April, Neutrogena served as the official skin care and sun care sponsor at Coachella, with Haubrich hinting additional such activations are on the way.
“We have done a lot of test-and-learns, I’ll call them, this year. We were trying to find our stride, and I think we’ve found it,” she said. “You’ll see us in surprisingly obvious places in the future.”
McLaughlin-Levrone, meanwhile, is gearing up for the 2024 Olympics set to take place in Paris next summer.
“We always talk about in training what we call ‘prehab’ — preparing now so you don’t have to rehab later,” she said, adding she takes a similar approach when it comes to skin care. “Even with sunscreen — I’m taking care of myself now so I don’t have issues later.”
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