Ilona Maher Tests Kissing Capabilities of Lipstick for Major Makeup Brand Partnership

The 2024 SI Swimsuit digital cover model’s longtime go-to lip product is just $13.

Ilona Maher was photographed by Ben Watts in Bellport, New York. / Ben Watts/Sports Illustrated

Ilona Maher recently took “the ultimate pucker test” for her latest campaign with Maybelline, and we’d say she passed.

For the ad, the professional rugby player and two-time SI Swimsuit model teamed up with fellow Olympic teammate, Nicole Heavirland, who “coached” her in a promotional reel for the makeup brand’s Super Stay Matte Ink Liquid Lipsticks ($13). In the 24-second clip shared on Instagram, Maher bicep curled a duo of lipsticks and tested its transfer-proof technology by smooching a white sheet of paper while completing a set of her pushups.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Ilona Maher (@ilonamaher)

“I’ve worn Maybelline's Super Stay Matte Ink for years, from dressing up to matches and major tournaments, so collaborating with the brand on this campaign was truly a full-circle moment,” Maher said in a statement on her newest partnership with the cosmetic company on Sept. 15.

In November, two months after her SI Swimsuit debut on its September 2024 digital cover, the athlete gave us the inside scoop on her longtime relationship with the lip product. “I genuinely trust it,” Maher explained. “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.”

Ilona Maher was photographed by Ben Watts in Bellport, New York. Swimsuit by Eres. Necklace is custom by Brent Neale. / Ben Watts/Sports Illustrated and Maybelline

The athlete—who recently wrapped up a trip to England for the Women’s Rugby World Cup earlier this month—doesn’t shy away from making a statement on the field. A fan of lipstick since her youth, she told The Cut in August 2024, it just made sense to wear it while in action.

“Everyone is always saying how masculine rugby is and that you have to be a certain way to play, and I didn’t like that,” she told the outlet at the time. “So I was like, ‘Why can’t I just wear it on the field too, and feel pretty on the field?’ It’s not like it’s gonna stop me from tackling hard.”

Ilona Maher / Karl Bridgeman/World Rugby/World Rugby/Getty Images

That’s for sure. The 29-year-old multi-hyphenate can truly do it all, and looks good while doing it. Plus, you can twin with the SI Swimsuit model—because she doesn’t gate-keep her go-to shades on the field.

Maher disclosed to The Hollywood Reporter, “For games, I wear [the shade] Self Starter, which is kind of a coral-y one.” The outlet further also confirmed that her “classic red” shade is named Pioneer.”

For more SI Swimsuit content directly in your Google feed, add us as a preferred source!

---

More Ilona Maher:

feed