If you’re like us, you’ve probably wondered what everyday stuff famous people add to their carts — like hair spray or an electric toothbrush. We asked Olympic cross-country skier Jessie Diggins, who won her second World Cup title this spring, about the face glitter, peppermint gum, and hand cream she can’t live without.
This whole week I’ve been outside in my garden digging holes in the dirt, and I want to protect my skin and be conscious of wearing sunscreen and stuff. That’s why I like lip balm with sunscreen. The sunscreen I use is also Dermatome, which makes sunscreens including one that’s mineral and one that’s sport. And I honestly love to mix the two — that’s a pro tip. If you’re sweating a ton, sometimes the mineral sunscreen can leave a white paste. And when I mix the two, it’s like this awesome blend.
One of my things is that I race with glitter on my cheeks. I think you can probably find it on my Instagram pictures, but I would draw “USA” in an ombré red to blue. You can be super gritty and super tough and super fierce, but it also has to be fun. The glitter has spread to the Minnesota High School League — they all wear glitter now. And at the Minneapolis World Cup, I’ve never seen more grown men with glitter in my life. It’s biodegradable, which was a big thing for me. Glitter’s going to get everywhere.
I have all Near & Native’s different scented candles around the house, and the wooden wick sounds amazing as it burns. They’re made with coconut wax. The white pine is also just so calming and fresh. It’s not just the smell — it crackles like a tiny miniature fire.
I’ve raced every single World Cup of my entire career on Salomon skis. And I’ve raced over 300 World Cups. I’ve been with them for a long time, but in the summer I train with Salomon gear as well. I really like the Ultra Glides. When I’m out on the trails for hours and hours, they’re super comfortable. They have a wider toe box, which I appreciate. I can literally run for hours in them. And they also have the traction I like: On rocky, ruddy trails, I want traction, that padding off road. But they’re also good for city running and the gym. When I’m doing jumps, I want them to be springy. I want to feel fast.
This gum is my favorite, and I will travel to Europe with a bunch of it so that I have it with me. It helps me if I tend to get car sick, so if I’m driving on a winding road through Italy, the strong mint flavor helps with that too. It’s been my favorite for ten years.
My plant babies! Some of my air plants I’ve had for nine years, and I’m obsessed with my orchids. I’ve got all these little houseplants, and every time I get another one, my husband’s like, “Another thing that I have to keep alive all winter …” And so we name them. My bonsai is named Harold in a Potter because it’s the tree who lived, because he didn’t kill it in the last seven years. I love plants. I traveled with this tiny bulb from World Cup to World Cup for four weeks, watching it grow and bloom. I flew with it on the airplane, holding it. It was a carry-on. I mean, it was very extra. All my teammates were like, “You sure you want to do this?”
My hands get really dry. Really, really dry. And again, when you’re outside all the time, especially on sprint days, you’re out there for six hours, gloves on, gloves off, you’re sweating. It just dries your hands out. So I really love this L’Occitane hand cream in the classic silver tube. Sometimes the really good hand lotions are so greasy that you put it on and you’re like, I can’t do anything now. This one is thick, but not greasy, so I can put it on every night.
I have the Team USA pair of these Oakley shades. When you’re racing, you can get a pole tip to the face, and so you really have to wear them.
I’m a headband girl. I really like the bands from Skida. It’s a woman-owned brand out of Vermont. One of my best friends and teammates, Julia Kern, has her own collaboration print line with Skida, and every year it changes. This year it was the Spicy Peppers, and that was really fun. And last year it was Sundial. And so I like wearing her. On the theme of gear being cute and functional, I like wearing the matching headband and Buff, the whole thing. I like supporting my teammates.
I really like Maurten’s products for fueling. It’s hard to find a bar that is mostly just carbs, not a ton of fat, not a ton of protein, because when you’re eating it an hour before the race, that’s more to digest. You really just want it to be mostly carbs. Very simple. I also like its gels.
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