Like everyone else, I tune in to the Olympics to watch the very best in the world shine and dazzle at their craft. And after the sheer chaos of the 2024 Games – who could forget Raygun, the Australian university lecturer-turned-breakdancer, or the swimmer who claimed he’d built up his E. coli resistance by not washing his hands after using the loo? – I was fully prepared for another year of strange and unhinged drama (Sturla Holm Laegreid’s cheating confession genuinely stunned us all). But beyond the spectacle, I’m always just as excited to see what beauty moments the Games will deliver.
From hyper-nationalistic, Olympic-themed nails to the triumphant return of the 90s space bun, here are some of our favourite looks so far.
Alysa Liu has been one of the breakout stars of this Olympic season. After becoming the youngest-ever US figure skating champion at just 13, then retiring at 16, she has returned to the sport more confident, determined and alternative. You can’t miss Liu when she comes on the screen, with her dark eye make-up and horizontal striped hair. She told NBC New York that she’d been dyeing it herself since 2023, adding rings of gingery blonde to the crown of her head. For her Olympic comeback season, she reached out for professional help from St.Louis-based hairstylist Kelsey Miller to perfect the look.
Snowboarder Zuzana Maderova showed off her Olympic-inspired nails after winning a gold medal in the Women’s parallel giant slalom competition against Austrian snowboarder Sabine Payer. Her nails featured designs of the Olympic rings, the Czech Republic flag, and Olympic mascots, Tina and Milo.
Representing Great Britain, ice skater Lilah Fear and her skating partner Lewis Gibson performed a mash-up of the Spice Girls’ best hits on the ice. Fear performed in a bedazzled Union Jack mini dress, paired with shimmering green eyeshadow and 90s-inspired space buns.
Italian curler Stefania Constantini won bronze this week with her partner Amos Mosaner in the mixed doubles event against Great Britain. Her long manicured nails have been a hot topic this week. In a recent interview with the New York Times, she remarked that if they were any longer, they would affect her Olympic performance. Despite suggestions that she cut them shorter, she refuses, asserting that her manicurist is “a genius”.
Representing Switzerland, Swiss curler Briar Schwaller-Huerlimann painted her nails red and white to represent the Swiss flag.
