Chicago Sky: How Dana Evans is changing face of women’s basketball

Before games, Chicago Sky guard Dana Evans makes sure her hair, nails and makeup — including her signature eyelashes — are right. She follows a routine step-by-step to ensure her look lasts a whole game with products she swears by.

Pregame rituals for athletes typically include wearing a specific type of socks, listening to a certain song or applying eye black. They’re preparing for battle, getting ready to go out and ball. In women's basketball, that list has grown to include a beauty regimen.

"You want to still be able to be you while playing basketball," Evans told the Tribune. "You want to still feel good. I always say when you look good, you play good."

And this season Evans will help break new ground in the beauty realm for the Chicago Sky, as the WNBA team partners with Opulence Beauty, a Black-owned brand of which Evans is a minority owner.

In just about any women's basketball game, you’ll see players in wigs, weaves, lashes and polished nails. A growing number of players, especially Black women, view on-court beauty and self-expression as a way of showing confidence.

Last week at training camp, Evans, with her waist-length hair in a bun, perfectly manicured brows and lash extensions, was the last player to finish practice. Known for her clutch shooting, she was getting some extra work in on her 3-pointers. Evans’ approach to being a beauty and a beast on the court has caught the attention of college players.

"It's very empowering to young athletes who may look like me or just to put women's basketball out there more," said Rickea Jackson, a forward at Tennessee. "You can still be pretty and a great hooper because there's just a stigma of athletes being boyish, and I just want to show you can be a girly girl and still be a beast on the court."

Tennessee forward Rickea Jackson shoots a free throw during a game against UMass on Nov. 10, 2022. (Wade Payne/AP)

Fans of the women's game long have asked where the beauty brands were, but only a few have partnered with the WNBA. In 2020, Glossier became the league's first beauty partner and as of the 2022 season remained the only one. Hero Cosmetics became the first beauty sponsor of the New York Liberty in 2022.

Tania Haladner, the Sky vice president of integrated marketing, said the team's deal with Opulence Beauty will "showcase Sky players on and off the court, connect the WNBA with contemporary culture and beauty trends and share their amazing beauty products and eyecare education with our fans."

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Opulence was born out of filling a gap in the eyelash market and personal safety concerns.

Dr. Anika Goodwin, a board-certified ophthalmologist in Reidsville, N.C., and founder of Opulence, hopes to use the deal with the Sky to educate fans on eye care. Goodwin started wearing lash extensions when she was a surgical fellow in Detroit. She was extremely busy but wanted to look put together — and lashes were a quick, easy way to do it. But after years of wearing extensions, Goodwin needed a change.

Dr. Anika Goodwin, a board-certified ophthalmologist and founder of Opulence. (Diplomatic Enterprises)

"They gave me quite a bit of confidence when I had them on," Goodwin said. "I discovered how much damage I had caused to my natural lashes over the years. This still didn't change my desire to want my lashes back."

After trying different types, Goodwin became increasingly concerned about the products she was using so close to her eyes and started to play around with magnetic strip lashes.

"They were so heavy," she said. "And being a tinkerer, I got one of my little 11-blade scalpels and started shaving the lashes down and making it thinner. There were a lot of women in my professional circles who love lashes, too, but didn't feel comfortable gluing things to their eyes. This was not just a more convenient alternative for me but a healthier way to maintain my natural lashes and a much safer method than glue. And that's how Opulence was born."

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Goodwin and her magnetic lashes appeared on Season 12 of "Shark Tank," and she received funding from guest judge Kendra Scott. Evans’ marketing agent saw Goodwin on the show and reached out.

Since the two connected, the partnership has grown. Opulence has lash vending machines on Louisville's campus — Evans’ alma mater — and hopes not only to bring beauty to Sky fans but embrace women athletes’ place in the beauty landscape.

"I think women in sports just don't get the same shine and the same attention and the same public recognition as the men," Goodwin said. "They are practicing, traveling, playing entire games, sweating and going all-in while still looking fabulous doing it. That is an accomplishment."

Chicago Sky guard Dana Evans on media day at the team's practice facility on May 10, 2023, in Deerfield. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune)

For Evans, a beauty brand embracing athletes sends the message to companies everywhere "to believe and invest in women. We can be so versatile." She wears the lashes every game.

The Opulence brand extends beyond Evans and the WNBA. KK Bransford, a guard for Notre Dame, is one of the brand's ambassadors and points to Evans as one of her on-court beauty inspirations. Fighting Irish coach Niele Ivey, known for her courtside fashion, encourages her players to look good, Bransford said. Before the NCAA Tournament, it's a tradition at Notre Dame for player to paint their nails green.

"I think it's super important being able to look how I want to look on the court," Bransford said. "Being on TV is probably the biggest stage where people see us. I see (perceptions) changing now in the women's game, and I’m just grateful to see that."

What's next for the future of beauty in women's basketball? Bransford, Evans and Jackson hope other brands will see the value in athletes as well as fans.

For Goodwin, working with athletes was not just about seeing them as beauty influencers but connecting with who they "authentically are." She hopes Opulence's partnership with the Sky will empower and encourage others to do the same and help create more opportunities.

"Who said that women's sports had to be lackluster?" she asked with a laugh.