Rare Beauty
An American cosmetics brand founded by Selena Gomez that combines accessible makeup with mental-health advocacy and inclusive design.
Last updated October 14, 2026
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Overview
Rare Beauty is an American cosmetics brand founded by singer and actress Selena Gomez. The company was established on February 22, 2019, publicly announced in February 2020, and launched on September 3, 2020. Its name comes from Gomez's third studio album, Rare, released in 2020. From the beginning, the brand was presented as more than a celebrity licensing project: Gomez described it as a platform intended to challenge narrow beauty standards, reduce pressure to appear perfect, and encourage consumers to view makeup as a means of self-expression rather than concealment. The brand's initial assortment included complexion products, lip products, brow products, liquid blush, and lip balm. Its launch received attention for offering 48 foundation shades and for emphasizing products that could be used across a broad range of skin tones and makeup preferences. Rare Beauty also positioned itself around vegan and cruelty-free formulations and packaging designed with recyclable materials, Forest Stewardship Council-certified paper, and water-based inks, according to the brand's published descriptions. Rare Beauty's most visible commercial success has been its liquid blush franchise. The products became widely discussed on TikTok in 2022, where their high pigmentation and small applicators generated extensive demonstrations, reviews, and user-created content. The resulting visibility helped make the blush range a defining part of the brand's identity and contributed to its reputation as one of the fastest-growing celebrity beauty brands on social media. Rare Beauty is distributed through its own online store and retail partners including Sephora. The brand's retail presence spans North America, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East, and it expanded to Ulta Beauty in the United States on February 1, 2026. The company has also extended beyond color cosmetics. In December 2023 it introduced The Find Comfort Body Collection, comprising a hydrating body lotion, hydrating hand cream, body and hair fragrance mist, and Stop & Soothe Aromatherapy Pen. In the same year, it introduced its Made Accessible initiative, working with the Casa Colina Research Institute to assess packaging usability with people who have upper-extremity disabilities. The resulting design considerations included matte surfaces intended to improve grip, spherical caps, and more ergonomic forms. Mental-health advocacy is central to the brand's public identity. Gomez created the Rare Impact Fund to increase young people's access to mental-health resources and set a goal of raising US$100 million over ten years. Funding is intended to come from a portion of Rare Beauty sales together with contributions from foundations, corporate partners, and individuals. During its first year, the associated nonprofit provided US$1.2 million in grants to eight mental-health and education organizations, including the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence and Didi Hirsch Mental Health Services. The organization also launched Mental Health 101, an education and advocacy initiative focused on improving mental-health literacy and encouraging greater investment in services for students. Rare Beauty has achieved substantial commercial scale while remaining privately held. Public reports described estimated 2023 revenue at approximately US$300 million, while other reports cited US$370 million in 2023 sales and more than US$400 million in net sales for the twelve months ending in February 2024. Reported valuations exceeded US$2 billion in 2024 and US$2.7 billion in 2025; these figures are estimates rather than publicly filed market capitalizations. The brand has received industry and digital-media recognition, including a 2020 WWD Beauty Inc. Startup of the Year award and a 2024 Webby Award for Best Social Brand Presence in Fashion and Beauty. Its current strategy combines high-visibility products, creator-led digital marketing, expanded distribution, accessible packaging, and philanthropy tied to mental-health access.
History
Rare Beauty emerged from Selena Gomez's interest in creating a beauty business organized around self-acceptance rather than conventional celebrity glamour. The company was founded in February 2019, and Gomez formally announced it publicly in February 2020. In her launch messaging, she described the project as an effort to challenge unrealistic standards and reduce the influence of comparison, photographs, likes, and online comments on people's sense of identity. The brand's name was taken from Gomez's 2020 album Rare, linking the cosmetics venture to a broader creative period in her career. Rare Beauty launched on September 3, 2020, initially through its own website and Sephora. The opening range covered complexion, lips, brows, and cheeks, and included 48 foundation shades. This breadth of complexion shades helped establish inclusivity as a core commercial and communications principle. The company also promoted vegan and cruelty-free products and packaging choices involving recyclable materials, FSC-certified paper, and water-based printing inks. The brand's growth accelerated through social media, especially TikTok. Rare Beauty's liquid blush became a highly circulated product in 2022, with users posting demonstrations and debating its unusually concentrated pigmentation. Rather than relying only on traditional advertising, the brand benefited from tutorials, reviews, creator activity, and consumer-generated application content. The blush became a signature product and a major driver of brand recognition. Rare Beauty developed a parallel institutional identity through the Rare Impact Fund. The fund's stated purpose is to increase young people's access to mental-health resources, and the organization set a ten-year goal of raising US$100 million. Its support model combines contributions associated with Rare Beauty sales and donations from foundations, corporate partners, and individuals. In its first year, the nonprofit provided US$1.2 million in grants to eight organizations working in mental health and education. It also created Mental Health 101, an educational and advocacy program designed to improve awareness and encourage investment in school and student mental-health services. In 2023 the company broadened its assortment with The Find Comfort Body Collection, entering body care, fragrance, and aromatherapy. It also began the Made Accessible initiative with the Casa Colina Research Institute. Testing packaging with people who have upper-extremity disabilities informed design changes such as matte finishes for grip, spherical caps, and ergonomic shapes. This extended the brand's inclusion message from shade range and communications into product usability. By 2024, Rare Beauty was described in public reporting as one of Sephora's best-selling brands and one of the fastest-growing celebrity beauty brands on social media. It received a 2024 Webby Award for social brand presence and was recognized by Time among influential companies. Reported sales and valuation estimates indicated rapid growth, although Rare Beauty is privately held and does not publish the same level of audited financial information as a listed company. The brand expanded its retail footprint again when it became available at Ulta Beauty in the United States on February 1, 2026. Its development illustrates a model combining founder visibility, digitally amplified hero products, inclusive design, international distribution, and a cause platform centered on mental health.
- 2026
Ulta Beauty availability
[1]Rare Beauty became available at Ulta Beauty in the United States on February 1, expanding its retail distribution.
- 2024
Webby social-brand recognition
[1]Rare Beauty won a Webby Award for Best Social Brand Presence in Fashion and Beauty.
- 2023
Expansion into body care
[1]The Find Comfort Body Collection extended the brand beyond color cosmetics.
- 2023
Made Accessible initiative begins
[1]Rare Beauty collaborated with Casa Colina Research Institute on packaging usability and accessible application design.
- 2022
Liquid blush becomes a viral product
[1]Rare Beauty's liquid blush gained extensive TikTok attention and became a defining product line.
- 2020
Public announcement
[1]Gomez announced Rare Beauty publicly in February and described the brand's focus on individuality and challenging unrealistic beauty expectations.
- 2020
Commercial launch
[1]Rare Beauty launched on September 3 with makeup products including 48 foundation shades.
- 2020
Rare Impact Fund established
[1]The brand's associated philanthropic fund began work to expand young people's access to mental-health resources.
- 2019
Company founded
[1]Selena Gomez founded Rare Beauty on February 22, 2019.
Products and positioning
Inclusive, digitally native beauty with a strong mental-health and self-acceptance mission.
Makeup · 2020
Complexion products
Rare Beauty's original complexion assortment included foundation and concealer products designed to support a broad range of skin tones. The launch's 48 foundation shades made shade inclusivity a visible part of the brand's market positioning and helped distinguish it from narrower celebrity-led makeup launches.
Makeup · 2020
Soft Pinch Liquid Blush
The liquid blush franchise is Rare Beauty's most recognizable product family. Its concentrated pigmentation and compact applicator became central to its social-media popularity, particularly through TikTok tutorials and demonstrations. The product's visibility helped make cheek color a defining part of Rare Beauty's commercial identity.
Makeup · 2020
Lip products
The launch assortment included matte lip creams and lip balms. These products formed part of the brand's initial effort to offer a complete everyday makeup routine rather than a single hero item, with formulas and shades intended to complement the complexion and cheek ranges.
Makeup · 2020
Brow products
Rare Beauty entered the brow category at launch with eyebrow-defining products. The line contributed to the brand's initial full-face assortment and reinforced its positioning as an accessible, coordinated makeup system.
Body care and fragrance · 2023
The Find Comfort Body Collection
Introduced in December 2023, The Find Comfort Body Collection includes hydrating body lotion, hydrating hand cream, body and hair fragrance mist, and the Stop & Soothe Aromatherapy Pen. The collection broadened Rare Beauty into body care and sensory products while retaining the brand's comfort-oriented wellness language.
Marketing campaigns
- 2025Valentine's pop-up for Los Angeles wildfire relief
Los Angeles
Selena Gomez and Rare Beauty organized a Valentine's-themed pop-up whose proceeds supported Direct Relief's response to Los Angeles wildfires.
Outcome. Directed proceeds to disaster-relief efforts.
- 2022Liquid blush social campaign
Global social media
Consumer demonstrations and creator content on TikTok drove widespread attention to Rare Beauty's liquid blush and its highly pigmented formula.
Outcome. The blush became the brand's signature viral product.
- 2020Rare Beauty launch campaign
United States · Online
The launch communication framed Rare Beauty as a response to unrealistic beauty expectations and encouraged consumers to embrace individual differences rather than pursue perfection.
Outcome. Established the brand's inclusion and self-acceptance positioning.
- 2020Mental Health 101
United States · Education and community channels
The Rare Impact Fund launched an education and advocacy initiative focused on mental-health literacy and improved access to services in educational settings.
Outcome. Extended the brand's mental-health mission beyond product sales and philanthropy.
Brand decisions
2026
Expand U.S. retail distribution through Ulta BeautyStrategyBackground
Rare Beauty had previously been distributed through its own website and Sephora, with international availability across several regions.
Action taken
The brand became available at Ulta Beauty in the United States on February 1, 2026.
Aftermath
The move increased the brand's physical retail reach in the U.S.
2023
Extend inclusion into packaging accessibilityStrategyBackground
The brand sought to address usability barriers affecting people with upper-extremity disabilities.
Action taken
Rare Beauty partnered with the Casa Colina Research Institute to test packaging and introduced changes including matte finishes, spherical caps, and ergonomic forms.
Aftermath
Accessibility became part of the product-design process in addition to shade and communication initiatives.
2023
Enter body care and fragranceProduct launchBackground
Rare Beauty had established a strong color-cosmetics business and sought to broaden its product scope.
Action taken
The company introduced The Find Comfort Body Collection with body, fragrance, and aromatherapy products.
Aftermath
The assortment expanded from makeup into adjacent personal-care categories.
2020
Build the brand around inclusivity and mental-health advocacyStrategyBackground
Gomez positioned Rare Beauty as a response to unrealistic beauty standards and the social pressure to appear perfect.
Action taken
The company combined broad shade availability, self-acceptance messaging, and the Rare Impact Fund with its commercial launch.
Aftermath
The combination became a defining element of Rare Beauty's identity and differentiation from other celebrity beauty brands.
Recent events
- Unconfirmed
Rare Beauty announces vegan makeup brand debut[3]
Rare Beauty is set to debut at Sephora on September 3; Selena Gomez said the products would be vegan and cruelty-free.
Rare Beauty launches its first #WeAreRare community call[4]
Reported:
Rare Beauty launched its first #WeAreRare community call, inviting people to share their stories and Sephora Color IQ and Instagram handle. Up to 50 selected participants would be featured in a campaign.
Sources4 sources
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