WNBA’s Natasha Cloud On Beauty & Basketball: ‘Go Watch Us Do Everything’

It’s a blazing 110 degrees, but Phoenix Mercury guard Natasha Cloud looks cool and effortless shooting hoops with fans outside Footprint Center during the WNBA All-Star Weekend. That’s despite the fact she's sporting a long-sleeve under a mesh T-shirt with the words “self aware” emblazoned on the front. “Honestly, on the court: Look good, play good, feel good. That's kind of my motto,” Cloud, whose fit is finished with jean cargo shorts, a red Phillies hat (she’s from the City of Brotherly Love), and gold grills, later tells Refinery29.

There’s no question that women’s basketball is having a moment — frankly a welcomed and long overdue one — but the momentum also includes excitement over players, their interests, and their self-expression off the court. That was especially clear during the WNBA’s All-Star Weekend in Phoenix, from pre-game tunnel fashion aka “Saturday’s hottest runway” to beauty brands like Laneige, the official skincare partner of the Phoenix Mercury, giving away its popular Lip Sleeping Masks to any fan who could drop some buckets. What’s meant to celebrate the best in women’s basketball also feels like the embrace of a new chapter for the league and women’s sports overall. One of more respect, accolades, and money for the players and a more well-rounded view of what it means to be a woman athlete. 

Just like the rest of us, Cloud is intentional with her beauty routine, and, it turns out, a day-in-the-beauty-life of a professional athlete isn’t that much different than your own. “I have my routine for my face in the morning,” Cloud says from the Laneige suite. “I have my face wash, I have my little exfoliating stuff [before] finishing up with some serum and some moisturizer, some eye cream.” At night, it’s all about washing the day off. “I know y'all know that feeling when you wash your face after a long day, and it's like, ‘Oh, I'm back to me.’” What is different though is professional athletes like Cloud work up a sweat performing their very best in front of tens of thousands of fans, at home and in person, which makes the task of looking (and feeling) your best require a bit more finesse. “I'm just big on concealer,” Cloud says. “Obviously we're going to be in front of cameras so I just want whatever blemishes I have concealed up.” 

And there are more people seeing what the cameras see than ever before. Cloud, who watched and cheered courtside for Skills Night and the All-Star Game, was one of 16,400 in the sold-out arena. A staggering 3.4 million viewers tuned in from home, smashing the previous record of 1.4 million in 2003. Last year’s game had just 850,000 viewers. 

“We want to continue to progress this sport forward, and not only just the WNBA and women's basketball, but all women's sports,” Cloud says. “We want the investment, we want y'all to bet on women. It's been long overdue, and we still have a lot of room left to grow, but it's just exciting to be a part of the momentum and to be still present and playing. .... Whether it's me nine years in or the rookies one year in, every part is so integral to the progression of our league and to continue making sure that the women after us don't have to fight the same fights.”

In the end, the WNBA All-Star Team, led by a record-breaking performance from Dallas Wings guard and second-time All-Star MVP Arike Ogunbowale, beat out Team USA, who will next compete at the Summer Olympics in Paris. But everyone walks away a winner. We saw next-generation stars Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese play on the same team for the first time. Atlanta Dream’s Allisha Gray made history after winning both the Skills Challenge and 3-Point Contest. Saturday’s game was also a preview of Team USA’s bid for Olympic gold, which, if successful, will give 42-year-old Diana Taurasi her sixth gold medal at the Games and make her the most decorated basketball player in Olympic history. On the sidelines, you saw young girls wearing their favorite players’ home jerseys or older men clamoring for an autograph from the legendary Sheryl Swoopes. 

The buzz is real — not just for what we’re seeing on the court but for the future of women’s basketball and women’s sports. And to see women at the top of their sport embracing their inner and outer beauty is a lesson that we can all take. “I think women possess the power to do both: to be beautiful and to also be fierce at the same time,” Cloud says. “Go watch us do everything.”