A Glam Night Out With SI Swimsuit Digital Cover Model Ilona Maher

Follow the Olympic athlete’s behind the scenes diary as she celebrates the brand’s 60th anniversary in Los Angeles while rocking her go-to Maybelline lip shade.

Ilona Maher / Jason Sean Weiss/BFA.com

On Friday, Nov. 14, Ilona Maher joined SI Swimsuit and Maybelline for an evening full of celebration at Italian eatery Dante Beverly Hills. The private event, which featured delicious food and drinks and plenty of surprise guests, was held to celebrate SI Swimsuit’s 60th anniversary, and Maher’s September digital issue cover, which was captured in Bellport, N.Y.

The 28-year-old Vermont native kicked off glam time around 4 p.m. PT, when she sat down in the hair and makeup chair to prep for the evening. Her look for the occasion, of course, centered around Maher’s signature Maybelline Super Stay Matte Ink Liquid Lipstick in “Pioneer.”

“Especially for this lipstick, just because it’s all day long-lasting, I like to have clean, dry lips and the applicator really pin-points, so you can really get your cupid’s bow and everything all set and done,” Maher shares of her application process. “And then afterwards, I try to let it sit. You know what I’m saying? Just let it really soak into the lip, and then I’ll go eat and then I’ll go do everything else.”

Maher says she’s always been a huge fan of lipstick, and loves how the product allows her to express herself. She strongly believes that “a night out is never complete without a lipstick.” The Olympic bronze medalist is also known for wearing her go-to Maybelline lipstick on the rugby pitch, and has been doing so for the last several years. It’s now become her signature, and she says that finding the right lipstick color can help you feel “so beautiful” and “more yourself.”

“I genuinely trust it,” Maher says of the tried-and-true cosmetics brand. “In a sport like rugby, you’re tackling, you’re hitting your face on the ground, the lips are going everywhere, you have a big mouth guard in, yet this stays on. It’s just something that I know will not budge.”

The athlete proved her point by sipping on a flute of champagne after hair and makeup, which left absolutely no residue on the glass. Maher then proceeded to test out the staying power of Maybelline’s Super Stay Matte Ink Liquid Lipstick throughout the evening in order to prove the product’s efficacy.

After posing for a series of glam red carpet photos, Maher did her first video check-in at 7 p.m. PT, two-hours post application, and her lips looked flawless. During a snack break two hours later, Maher’s bold red lipstick was still holding up, even after digging into a plate of pasta and daintily dabbing her mouth with a napkin. She headed back to the party for more mingling, and at the end of the evening at 11 p.m. PT, Maher’s lipstick looked just as fresh as it did at the beginning of the festivities.

“What a night. That was amazing,” Maher states of the A-lister filled event. “The lip is still holding up, I still feel good, like I feel like I could keep going, but I also want to go to bed, you know what I’m saying? But my makeup is ready to go another round.”