Selena Gomez Launches Rare Beauty Makeup Line to Support Mental Health

Celia Shatzman
·7 min read

All products and services featured by Variety are independently selected by Variety editors. However, Variety may receive a commission on orders placed through its retail links, and the retailer may receive certain auditable data for accounting purposes.

Since she was a kid, Selena Gomez has spent a lot of time in a makeup chair. Between that and her iconic red lips, it’s clear she knows her way around a makeup bag. So it was practically inevitable for her to launch her own makeup line, Rare Beauty, which just exclusively hit Sephora shelves. Rare Beauty goes more than skin deep, as 1% of all product sales, plus funds raised by partners, will go toward the Rare Impact Fund to support mental health services. The Rare Impact Fund aims to raise $100 million over the next 10 years to provide mental health services for underserved communities, making it one of the largest corporate mental health funds.

Rare Beauty has a deeper message as well, which was always Gomez’s intention. She spent two years creating the line that is meant to go beyond the products, boosting people’s self-esteem by encouraging them to honor what makes them different and unique through self-expression with their makeup. Rare Beauty intends to disrupt the unrealistic and often harmful high standards that society places on unattainable physical perfection. Instead, Rare Beauty encourages everyone to accept themselves and learn self-love along the way.

“I’m so excited to release beauty products that not only feel great, but also celebrate what makes each of us rare,” Gomez, founder and creator of Rare Beauty, has said. “These products aren’t about being someone else, it’s about being who you are, whether that’s rocking a full face of bold makeup or barely any makeup at all. Makeup is something to enjoy, it’s not something you need. I want every person to feel beautiful exactly as they are.”

Gomez was involved in every step along the way. Rare Beauty is comprised of light-as-air and breathable formulas with buildable coverage to allow everyone to customize their look. Its fresh finish doesn’t hide — it flaunts individuality. The line is comprised of 14 categories and 150 skus that were all carefully formulated and diligently tested, including three tools. Available in the U.S., Canada and Mexico at Sephora.com, Sephora stores (including Sephora inside JCPenney) and RareBeauty.com, Rare Beauty will expand their global presence by launching in more regions in 2021. If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, Variety may receive an affiliate commission.

These are a few highlights from Selena Gomez’s Rare Beauty:

 

1. Rare Beauty by Selena Gomez Liquid Touch Weightless Foundation

To literally cover all the bases, the liquid foundation is available in 48 shades, ensuring everyone can find their match. The airy formula boasts buildable coverage, but whether you opt for medium or full coverage, it’ll have a natural finish. Designed to work with all skin types, it has a doe foot applicator to make applying it a cinch. Chock full of skin-loving ingredients including lotus, gardenia and water lily, it will soothe and feed skin, making for comfortable wear all day long. Since its base is similar to a serum, that means it won’t cake or clog pores. $29, sephora.com

 

2. Rare Beauty by Selena Gomez Perfect Strokes Matte Liquid Liner

A classic cat eye is one of Gomez’s go-to looks, so of course her liquid eyeliner is perfection in a bottle. Inspired by a calligrapher’s pen, it’s made up of more than 1,000 individual vegan bristles that will allow you to draw thin or thick lines with absolute precision. A clever ink cartridge ensures the color keeps flowing, plus the pitch black color won’t budge, since the matte formula is long wear and waterproof. $19, sephora.com

 

3. Rare Beauty by Selena Gomez Lip Souffle Matte Cream Lipstick

Now you can rock Gomez’s signature bright, bold red lip — and 11 other shades — with her Lip Souffle Matte Cream Lipstick. In case you’re wondering, her hue is Inspire. The matte liquid lipstick is whipped for its featherweight feel and packed with pigment to deliver loads of color. Incredibly hydrating, it won’t cake or dry out your pucker. Thanks to ingredients like a botanical blend of lotus, gardenia, white waterlily and vitamin E, it feels as pretty as it looks. $20, sephora.com

 

4. Rare Beauty by Selena Gomez Positive Light Liquid Luminizer Highlight

It’s easy to find your light with this luminous liquid highlighter. Available in eight shades, its light-reflecting pearl particles bestow an instant glow, while lotus, gardenia and white water lily nurture skin. The highlighter can be worn solo wherever you want radiance or mixed into foundation for an all over gleam. $22, sephora.com

 

5. Rare Beauty by Selena Gomez Soft Pinch Liquid Blush

Rosy cheeks will be yours with the silky Soft Pinch Liquid Blush that has major staying power and seamlessly blends into skin. The buildable liquid blush comes in eight shades: four dewy and four matte. $20, sephora.com

 

6. Rare Beauty by Selena Gomez With Gratitude Dewy Lip Balm

A tinted lip balm is a makeup mainstay for its multitasking abilities to deliver hydration and a touch of color. All eight shades boast a natural dewy finish with sheer color and subtle shine. Shea butter, lotus, gardenia and white water lily keep your pucker moisturized all day long, helping lips look fuller and feel healthier. $16, sephora.com

 

7. Rare Beauty by Selena Gomez Liquid Touch Brightening Concealer

Just like the foundation, the brightening liquid concealer is available in the same 48 shades to offer a match for all skin tones. Though it feels lightweight, it offers serious coverage, ranging from medium to full, with a radiant finish. The sweat-resistant, hydrating formula gives it staying power and prevents it from caking or flaking. It works equally well to camouflage dark circles, redness or breakouts and won’t sit in fine lines. $19, sephora.com

 

8. Rare Beauty by Selena Gomez Brow Harmony Pencil & Gel

A bold brow can instantly make you look done up, even if the rest of your face is bare. This dual-ended retractable brow pencil and tinted brow gel creates perfectly groomed brows. The pencil is triangular shaped for incredible precision, while the shape can be set with the lightweight tinted brow gel that never feels stiff or crunchy. It comes in eight shades, including Selena’s shade of Cool Brown. $22, sephora.com

 

9. Rare Beauty by Selena Gomez Blot & Glow Touch-Up Kit

Gomez herself developed the design for this first-of-its-kind Blot & Glow Touch-Up Kit that delivers complexion perfection on the go. The refillable two-in-one compact includes 100 linen-blend blotting papers that soak up excess oil and a radiant talc-free powder-filled puff that delivers a blurring effect while zapping shine without looking chalky. $26, sephora.com

 

10. Rare Beauty by Selena Gomez Always an Optimist Illuminating Primer

The Always an Optimist Illuminating Primer has many talents and works on all skin types. The lightweight gel primer contains ultra-fine pearls to give off a coveted lit-from-within radiance; a hydrating and soothing blend of ingredients such as lotus, gardenia and white waterlily to calm stressed-out skin; and a silicone-free formula to smooth the complexion to prep it for makeup. $26, sephora.com

 

More from Variety

Best of Variety

Sign up for Variety’s Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.