RARE BEAUTY
SELENA GOMEZ IS REFRAMING THE BUSINESS OF BEAUTY
BY LUCY FELDMAN
You would not think the most-followed woman on Instagram would be able to walk through one of New York City’s biggest tourist attractions unbothered. Yet here she is, strolling in a pair of cozy booties through Central Park with a travel mug of tea tucked in her arm, very nearly blending in. If not for the security guard and personal assistant trailing discreetly behind, Selena Gomez might be any other person out for fresh air on a drizzly May morning.
This is, to put it mildly, surprising. But she shrugs it off. “I don’t really have anything impressive going on at all times,” she deadpans, gesturing to her casual getup. “Or anytime, really.”
It’s a funny thing to hear from someone who has been on TV since she was 10 years old, found success as an actor and pop star, and is now the founder of a business reportedly worth $2 billion. Gomez, 31, is one of the most recognizable people in the world, and yet she’s right—as we meander down a pedestrian path and into the mud, most of the people around us seem not to notice her.
Gomez has cultivated an everywoman quality and a mastery of public vulnerability—hers is the kind of fame that comes from growing up alongside your fans, offering an example of what it’s like to fall in love, try things, and make mistakes. Her openness about her mental health has endeared her to millions of young people coping with the isolating experiences of anxiety, depression, and other disorders. And she has channeled all of that into her company, Rare Beauty, a rising player she bills as a beauty brand that, instead of selling an unattainable image, aims to help people feel good about themselves.
Mental health and makeup may not seem like an obvious pairing, but Gomez’s vision has paid off. Rare Beauty, not yet four years old, is a top seller at Sephora and available in 36 countries, according to the company. After launching in 2020, annual sales grew 100% from 2021 to 2022, and 200% the following year; they’ve hit $400 million for the 12 months ending in May.
Rare Beauty’s products, from a liquid highlighter to a body and hair mist with names like Positive Light and Find Comfort, are designed to be inclusive in terms of shade range and easy-to-use packaging (crucial to Gomez herself, who takes a drug for lupus that can cause her hands to shake). Gomez says Rare began not with her ideas for specific makeup products but instead with her hope to support people struggling with their mental health. So she launched the company with a philanthropic arm, the Rare Impact Fund, with the goal of raising $100 million in the brand’s first 10 years, and pledged that 1% of all product sales would be funneled into the foundation. With $13 million raised to date, the Rare Impact Fund has given grants to 26 organizations across five
