Update: After gymnast Simone Biles brought home five — count 'em, five — Olympic gold medals, she took to Instagram to show off her haul. But some in the beauty community mistook her medals for something else: a brand-new set of shiny highlighters. This isn't the first time people have called out this comparison, which leads us to our next question: How has no one created these yet?
This story was originally published on June 28, 2016.
Last time we checked, the beauty community wasn't all that hyped about Olympic medals. (Our Beauty Innovator Awards are a different story.) That is until yesterday, when the official Olympics Instagram showed a photo of a commemorative 2016 Summer Olympics strobing palette and everyone freaked the eff out. Well, until they realized it wasn't actually a compact of highlighter, but instead a snap of the medals that will be awarded to champions in Rio de Janeiro come August.
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As you're probably assuming at this point, it's unlikely that Rio 2016 cosmetics will be available anytime soon. Bummer? Yes, but you don't have to place in the top three to enjoy the rather amusing mix-up flooding social media...
How did it all happen? According to the official Rio 2016 site, the new medals pay homage to nature and sustainability. The gold ones were minted without mercury (a serious problem in South American ecosystems), the silver and bronze ones were produced with 30% recycled materials, and all three will rest in freijó-wood cases certified by the Forest Stewardship Council.
In the beauty obsessives' defense, the medals do look a lot like makeup in terms of coloring, decorative imprinting, and packaging. In fact, a lot of commenters are bringing up a good point: Since one goal of the Olympics is boosting the economy in the host city, Rio de Janeiro could sell these bad boys by the boatload. For the record, the Olympics has an official online store that sells standard gifts like pens, hats, and bags — but who among us wouldn't go for a compact or two?
Click on the above IG to peep the comments, then tell us what you think in the comments below — does it look like makeup, or are we just highlighter-obsessed?
@eihpospitcher @uronIyone Wait are you saying it's not a highlighter
— Jasmin (@CutiieLouiis) June 28, 2016
@HonestlyAine @hanjanewilliams wouldn't it make like.. the prettiest highlight tho ?
— sophie wophie (@eihpospitcher) June 27, 2016
@eihpospitcher wait that's not makeup??
— Jason Mimosa (@cheprin) June 28, 2016