Is Selena Gomez's Rare Beauty Makeup Line Worth It? Here's Our Reviews
If you listen to Gloss Angeles, you know how we feel about celebrity beauty brand launches. Yes, we’re on the more critical side, but can you blame us? Every week, there’s at least one actor, singer, or influencer coming out with a new line. So when Selena Gomez announced she was launching a beauty brand last year, we were wary — would this be the kind of brand she’d just slap her name on and quickly push out product? Or would she surprise us all and be the biggest launch in beauty since Fenty? We weren’t sure, but as Selena Gomez fans, we hoped she would turn these jaded beauty vets into excited makeup lovers again. And guess what? Selena did just that. In Kirbie’s words, “she did the damn thing!”
Listen to our interview with Selena.
Rare Beauty is a rare celebrity beauty brand launch — no pun intended. From the packaging to the formulations, it’s easy to see that there was a lot of thought, time, research, and effort put forth into creating this line. And she didn’t just launch a few products either —Rare Beauty features a foundation, a concealer, two lip products, an eyeliner, a brow product, blush, highlighter, brushes, a sponge, a mist, a primer, and a blotting kit. Not only could you create a full face with Selena’s collection — you could create several, whether you want an effortless dewy glow or full on glam.
The entire collection launches on September 2 at 9 p.m. PST. If you’re wondering what products you should buy from Rare Beauty, here’s our reviews.
Kirbie’s Top 3:
LIQUID TOUCH BRIGHTENING CONCEALER, $19
“I am a concealer fiend these days. This one is perfect for someone who needs a little more coverage than the Rare foundation, which is more of a tinted moisturizer and face oil hybrid. I suggest picking up two concealers: one that’s more warm-toned for the under-eye and one that matches your skin tone for all-over coverage. Buildable and brightening, you can find your perfect shade match on Rare Beauty’s website. And don’t sleep on the tools! The pyramid-tipped sponge and concealer brush create a natural-looking finish. One thing to note: the concealer and foundation both contain gardenia florida fruit extract. This ingredient can be calming to some but irritating for others.” — Kirbie
“I’ve been stanning over liquid blushes these days, as you may know from listening to the pod. One of my favorite parts of the Rare Beauty collection is that the products include doe foot applicators. Usually I like to rub cream or liquid blushes onto my fingertips to sheer them out, but I apply Soft Pinch directly onto my cheek and blend with the sponge or a blush brush. It looks like an intense mount of color at first, but sheers out for a perfect flush. And the blushes come in two finishes: dewy or matte. My favorites are Bliss (a coral matte) and Joy (a dewy orange-red). It’s Selena’s must-have as well!” — Kirbie
WITH GRATITUDE DEWY LIP BALM, $16
“While I do love the Lip Soufflé, I am a stickler for glossy lip products that don’t have to look *too* perfect. The With Gratitude lip balm packaging, first off, is great. It stands up and doesn’t roll around everywhere, it’s easy to identify, keeps my lips feeling soft and comfy. All the good stuff. I really love Honor, a translucent, traditional balm, but the balms with actual color pack a punch which enhance my lip shape without looking overdone. I’ve been really into Thankful, which reminds me of a ‘90s brown — a perfect shade for me for fall.” — Kirbie
Sara’s Top 3:
LIP SOUFFLÉ MATTE LIP CREAM, $20
“If you know me, you know that I love nothing more than a creamy, velvety lip product — one that goes on smooth, feels comfortable on my lip, is super pigmented, and last, but certainly not least, doesn’t dry my pout out. Rare Beauty’s lip soufflé checks all those boxes and then some. It’s a super buildable lip that can create whatever kind of lip you desire — a more natural stained look to a bold, statement lip. I find that even after re-applying throughout the day, the lip color doesn’t flake or feel dry, and it stays put — perfect for face mask-wearing. My personal favorite shades are Heroic, a pink berry hue, and Inspire, a punchy, coral red. I can’t wait to try the entire collection of shades!” — Sara
PERFECT STROKES MATTE LIQUID LINER, $19
“This matte liquid liner means business. It doesn’t waste your time, requiring you to clean up after it or use it so delicately to create the perfect wing. Somehow, everything about it — from the component to the brush tip to the formula — all work together in unison so you can create a flawless cat eye in a few seconds. Because of my smaller eye shape, it can be difficult to create a precise wing or line my lash line without creating too thick of a wing. I found that this liquid liner’s calligraphy-like brush tip really allowed me to create as thin of a line as I wanted. The formula is also super pigmented so I didn’t have to go over the same line a hundred times, which is something that I have had to do with other liquid eyeliners. My only critique is that it doesn’t also come in a brown shade, but I’m keeping my fingers crossed there’ll be shade extensions.” — Sara
BROW HARMONY PENCIL & GEL, $22
“I’m big on brows and will quickly be able to tell you whether I like a brow product or not. I knew almost upon trying this product that I was very into it. First off, I love a dual-sided brow product because my brow routine is a minimum of two steps, even on my casual, “no makeup” days. One side features a triangle-shaped brow pencil. You can use the tip of the triangle to create fine, hair-like strokes or use the entire pencil tip to fill in your brow. The other side is a brow gel that is on the wetter side, but dries quickly to set your hairs in place. The Brow Harmoney Pencil and Gel come in eight different shades. I use Deep Brown. “ — Sara
What to Know About the Rest of Rare Beauty
LIQUID TOUCH WEIGHTLESS FOUNDATION, $29
Described as a “foundation elixir,” this product claims to keep you glowing with buildable coverage. This foundation could easily go from medium to heavy coverage depending on how much you use. Offered in 48 shades, ingredients like lotus and white water lily are meant to soothe and calm the skin. It also contains sunflower seed oil, which gives this formula a oil-serum feel. If you have oily skin, you may find this product moves around on the face, however, it contains ingredients like isohexadecane, an ingredient known to create a powder finish, which can also potentially keep antioxidants from penetrating the skin, so you may not experience that at all. Additionally, it includes ingredients that are emollient and add a creamy texture, like hydrogenated polyisobutene, a synthetic oil which is often used to replace mineral oil or silicone in cosmetics, as well as dimethicone. We must provide a gentle warning as it contains gardenia florida fruit extract. As Kirbie mentioned previously, while it can be an anti-inflammatory ingredient, it can also be a skin irritant to some.
As mentioned on the podcast, this reminds us a lot of Kosas’s Tinted Face Oil strictly on how it feels; we noted that’s the one Kosas product that simply doesn’t agree with our skin. Similarly to Kosas, it does have sunflower seed oil, but that’s really where the comparisons stop; Kosas’s Tinted Face Oil comes in 16 shades, is made with more oil-based ingredients, is considered “clean at Sephora” and offers more of a wash of color vs. coverage. We haven’t had any skin issues with the foundation, but let us know what you think should you pick it up.
POSITIVE LIGHT LIQUID LUMINIZER, $22
This is a liquid highlight that gives a “lit-from-within-glow.” That said, it is more on the shimmery side, so to create a truly natural highlight, we suggest using it underneath your preferred coverage product. Or don’t! You’ll get an out-of-this-world shine. We like that it comes in 8 shades and undertones because “glow” is different for everyone. As mentioned with the foundation, this also includes lotus flower extract which seems to be the a marquee ingredient for Rare.
ALWAYS AN OPTIMIST ILLUMINATING PRIMER, $26
This primer is silicone-free, so you won’t experience pilling when using it. The gel formula includes what the brand describes as “ultra-fine” pearls that provide a gentle glow to the skin. This isn’t a highlighter by any means, but if you have been going sans-makeup these days (who hasn’t?), it’s a great option to help miminize the appearance of pores and offers a decent glow, too. This is one of those primer formulas that’s great for the summer or those who need a little oil-control. The good news? You can test this baby out without a huge commitment, as they offer a travel size for $14.
ALWAYS AN OPTIMIST 4-IN-1 MIST, $24
We won’t suggest choosing the mist over any other product, but if you’re in the market for a setting spray that has a dewy finish, this isn’t a bad choice. We personally stan for Urban Decay All Nighter to keep makeup put and we’re recently obsessed with Peach & Lily’s Glass Skin Veil Mist for a bump of hydration throughout the day, but this one does the job(s) at a lower price point. It contains niacinamide, which makes it a nice pre-makeup step.
Have you noticed anything missing from Rare? That would be powder. The range is committed to glowy, fresh-looking skin. For some of you who die for a matte coverage product, you might be thinking, “SOS!” Sara didn’t need powder after using the foundation; Kirbie powdered with Stellar Beauty’s HAZE Cosmic Finishing Powder after applying both the foundation and the concealer and while it did mattify, the foundation kept its glow. This touch up kit may have been influenced by Selena’s red carpet experiences: inside the compact there’s oil-blotting sheets and a powder-infused puff to absorb excess oil. A long-standing makeup artist trick is to powder a puff, put it in a Ziploc and stick it in the client’s purse when sending them to a red carpet. The compact is not thin enough to fit into a clutch, but we have a feeling once award shows go back to normal a travel-size Blot & Glow kit may be featured in the bathrooms at the Dolby Theater, Microsoft Theater, Beverly Hilton and Staples Center. (Perhaps Selena will send this product to her beauty crush, Jennifer Lawrence? We can only hope to see her on a red carpet soon!) Our only concern is how many uses you’ll get out of the puff and how to get a replacement when necessary.
Points of Differentiation
One reason we as beauty journalists have been so receptive to Rare as a brand is the plan to raise $100M over 10 years for the Rare Impact Fund. It shows the brand has a long-term vision, which is important to people like us that report on new brands daily, and should be to you, too.
Rare is a vegan, cruelty-free, paraben-free brand, but the marketing doesn’t shove it down your throat. We believe these things will be standard in the feature and won’t be points of differentiation for any brand. There are natural ingredients formulated with effective synthetic ingredients, which we are in favor of.
We mention in the episode that this isn’t “Instagram-face” makeup. The products are geared toward everyday, every-person use.
We like how there’s coverage products that cater to different skin types. The foundation is an oil-serum which benefits those with dry skin; the concealer contains similar ingredients but provides more coverage and dries more matte. The blushes come in two finishes (dewy and matte). Because the brand is launching with a full face right from the start vs. periodic product drops, everyone can find something that suits their skin tone, skin type, eye shape, preferred lip product, etc.
The overall theme that’s present is attainable beauty. It’s not geared to cover up but and it’s not necessarily a makeup junkie’s brand. It’s the everyday person who wants to feel good and may feel overwhelmed when it comes to the options they have to choose from; this collects everything they need (sans mascara) in one place.
As far as formulations go, Selena created a team of powerhouses within the industry to bring her vision to life. We have no doubt some of the best formulations were created specifically for Rare. (As we said, the lotus extract seems to be a point of differentiation.) Going through the ingredients of each product, it doesn’t appear there’s many erroneous ingredients (if any at all); everything serves a specific purpose (emulsifiers, surfactants, etc.).
We encourage you to put on your own reporter cap and do some digging on the companies behind other celebrity brands. Selena is a celebrity, so of course we compared this launch against other celebrity collections. Unlike the ones we see launching new products every other week or “selling out” quickly with each drop, we feel confident that Rare Beauty’s intentional brand will be around 10 years from now (along with Fenty). As for the others? They unfortunately may become extinct.
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