The Secret I Kept All Summer
Picture this: tiny pink packages hiding in my drawer for weeks. If anyone opened that drawer before September 3, 2020, heads would roll. I had almost the entire Rare Beauty collection – long before it hit Sephora shelves or rarebeauty.com. And the only other person on earth who knew every single shade and formula as well as I did? Selena Gomez herself.
We talked for a long time before we even touched the makeup. Because to her, this launch was never just about lipstick and blush.
Why Does This Brand Feel Different?
Have you ever scrolled for an hour and suddenly hated the way you look? Yeah, me too. Selena told me that feeling is exactly why Rare Beauty exists. “People think beauty means a thousand likes,” she said. “I wanted the opposite – to remind everyone that you’re already enough.”
That’s not just pretty talk. From day one, Rare Beauty gives 1% of every single sale to the Rare Impact Fund. The goal? Raise $100 million over ten years for mental health help in places where almost no one gets it. In the first four years they’ve already passed $12 million. Real money going to real therapists, school counselors, and community groups. That hits harder than any highlighter ever could.
Okay, But Is the Makeup Actually Good?
Short answer: stupid good. Long answer: keep reading.
Selena and her team spent two full years testing everything. They made over 100 shade samples, threw most away, and started over until things felt right on every kind of skin.
The Foundation That Made Me Skip Foundation
The Liquid Touch Weightless Foundation comes in 48 shades – real, thoughtful ones. Not just light, medium, dark with a prayer. My weird yellow-green-olive-with-red-spots skin finally found a match in 200C. It melts in like your own skin got a soft-focus filter. First day I wore it? I put on the Always An Optimist Illuminating Primer underneath and literally forgot to add foundation. My face just looked… awake. Brighter. Happy.
Blush That Looks Like You’re In Love
Soft Pinch Liquid Blush is scary pigmented – one dot the size of a pencil eraser is enough for both cheeks. Tap it in with fingers and suddenly you look like you just laughed really hard or kissed someone you like. There are dewy finishes and matte ones. I reach for the dewy “Hope” on weekends and the matte “Truth” when I have Zoom calls.
Lips That Stay Pretty All Day
With Gratitude Dewy Lip Balm saved my dry, pale lips. The shade “Empower” gives just enough berry so I don’t look dead on camera. And Lip Soufflé Matte Lip Cream in “Inspire” – that bright tomato red Selena wears in the “Past Life” video – somehow stays put through coffee, tacos, and talking nonstop.
Eyes Became the Main Character
Remember 2020 when half our face lived under a mask? Selena does. That’s why the brow and liner game is strong. The Perfect Strokes Matte Liquid Liner has the thinnest, sharpest tip I’ve ever used. Even on days when my hands shake from too much coffee, I can draw a wing without disaster. Brow Harmony Pencil & Gel fills sparse spots and holds hairs in place without crunch.
Little Things That Fix Big Annoyances
Always an Optimist 4-in-1 Mist – say that five times fast – has niacinamide and hyaluronic acid. Two spritzes and makeup looks fresh again. And the Blot & Glow Powder Puff? Genius. It’s a soft puff already loaded with powder. Toss it in your bag, pat your T-zone at lunch, done. No flying powder cloud, no dirty brushes.
So, Who Is This For?
Everyone who’s ever felt ugly because of a phone screen. Everyone who wants makeup that feels light and looks real. Everyone who believes a lipstick can do more than change your face – it can help change someone’s whole day.
Rare Beauty isn’t perfect – no brand is – but it’s honest. The shades work on more people than most lines ever try for. The formulas play nice with acne-prone, dry, oily, and combination skin. And every time you buy something, a tiny piece goes to someone who needs to hear they matter.
That’s the rarest kind of beautiful there is.
