Come & Get It: Selena Gomez’s Route to Rare Beauty’s Success
From ongoing dramas with famous celebrities (are you team #Jelena or team #Jailey?) to becoming the most followed female on Instagram, Selena Gomez seems to always be trending.
Now, she’s trending for another reason – the announcement of Rare Beauty’s new tinted lip oil. For those of you who don’t know, Rare Beauty is Selena Gomez’s hugely successful makeup brand, which has been praised by fans and makeup artists alike. Despite being launched during the pandemic, Gomez beat all odds and ended up creating one of most popular celebrity makeup brands in an already saturated market.
Her newest tinted lip oil apparently took 2 years to perfect, with an innovative jelly-like consistency as opposed to most lip oils out there. It was inspired by the Rare Beauty Blush, and if that’s anything to go by, we bet that these lip oils are going to be a hit.
So what sets Rare Beauty apart from any old celebrity makeup brand? We unpack it all in our blog.
Why Rare Beauty is Dominating the Beauty Game
There has to be a good reason why Rare Beauty managed to rake in $60 MILLION in its first year alone, and now reached cult status. And now that we think about it, there are many reasons why the brand is doing so well:
Prior Fame From Music and Acting
We can’t deny that Selena Gomez’s singing and acting career played a huge part in getting Rare Beauty some traction. From starring as Alex Russo in The Wizards of Waverly Place to releasing pop hits like ‘Come & Get It’, Selena Gomez was no stranger to the public eye.
Even without ensuring the products are good quality (which, luckily, they are), there would’ve been a flock of ‘Selenators’ rushing to buy Rare Beauty products purely to support their idol. Considering Selena is now the most followed female on Instagram with over 400 million followers (and counting), it’s safe to say that she’s a pretty well liked figure. And with so much popularity comes a huge platform and impressionable audience to promote your products to.
Positive Brand Mission
Now more than ever, consumers value brands that do more beyond just selling quality products. They want to see brands that actually strive to make a positive impact on the world – and Rare Beauty does just that.
Selena Gomez has always been a very public advocate for supporting mental health, as well as other issues, and ensured this message shines through her brand. Coinciding with the launch of Rare Beauty was that of the Rare Impact Fund.
By contributing 1% of all sales to the Rare Impact Fund, over the next 10 years Gomez aims to raise at least $100 million to help finance mental health services.
But it’s not only external efforts that make a difference. The premise of the Rare Beauty brand itself aims to improve our relationship with ourselves by encouraging everyone to embrace the features that make them unique, or ‘rare’ rather than mould ourselves to meet a single beauty standard. Putting out a relatable message further cements the positive social impact that Rare Beauty tries to have on our society.
Dedication to Inclusivity
Just like Rihanna’s Fenty Beauty was praised for its focus on inclusivity, so was Rare Beauty. While Fenty Beauty launched with 40 shades of foundation in 2017, Gomez took things up a notch with 48 shades of Rare Beauty foundation, but who’s counting? Ok, we might be, for research purposes of course!
Rare Beauty boasts over 100 products and counting, with the newly announced lip oil proving our point. Stocking everything from Rare Beauty Blush to Rare Beauty Highlighter, there’s bound to be something for everyone’s needs.
But did Selena stop there? Heck no!
Beyond being aesthetically pleasing, did you know that Rare Beauty’s packaging is especially designed for inclusivity too? If you look at the brand’s base products, like the famous Rare Beauty Blush for example, you’ll find that there is a small sphere at the top of each applicator. This sphere helps disabled people, such as those with reduced tactile ability to more easily open, close and apply the product.
And to top it all off, Rare Beauty’s price point is relatively affordable compared to competing brands like Charlotte Tilbury, which also sells popular liquid blush products, for example.
Creating High Quality Products
Selena Gomez has worked hard to prove that people shouldn’t just buy her products for her name. They actually do what they’re supposed to – and more.
Despite being around for less than 3 years, Rare Beauty has already won some pretty impressive awards. For example, the Rare Beauty Soft Pinch Liquid Blush won for ‘Best Fake Flush’ at the 2022 Harper’s BAZAAR Skincare Awards. The Always an Optimist Soft Radiance Setting Powder and Rare Beauty Lip Soufflé Matte Lip Cream also both won awards at the Glamour Beauty Awards in 2022 for best powder and lipstick respectively. The list goes on, and who knows – maybe the new Rare Beauty Lip Oil will be next to claim a prestigious prize!
Even professional makeup artists and reviewers have been singing the praises of Rare Beauty, so it must be doing something right!
Combining eCommerce With Brick-and-Mortar Stores
We’re sure you’ve come across some articles saying that brick-and-mortar is dead, but brands like Rare Beauty suggest otherwise.
Rare Beauty followed Fenty Beauty’s footsteps and partnered with beauty retailer giant, Sephora, launching its products both on the Rare Beauty website and in store.
While die-hard Selenators would have been happy to just visit Rare Beauty’s website, selling both online and in physical stores opened doors (literally) to allow more people to discover the brand from foot traffic.
We know that Sephora is already a popular and established place to shop for makeup. So by stocking Rare Beauty in the first place, it increases the level of trust around Rare Beauty as a legitimate and quality brand that deserves a spot in the store.
The Power of TikTok
TikTok’s ability to make products go viral can’t go unnoticed. Heck, it deserves its own paragraph!
A perfect example of this is the Rare Beauty Blush. A simple search on TikTok will reveal floods of videos of users trying out the blush, pretty much gobsmacked at how pigmented it is. Many users even say it’s the most pigmented blush they’ve ever seen, before demonstrating that a mere 1-2 drops is all you really need to give your cheeks the perfect rosy glow.
TikTokers have even been seen trying out the blush as a lip product with some pretty good results, so it’s no surprise why Rare Beauty decided to expand to lip oils.
Rare Beauty has effectively leveraged the power of TikTok in marketing, running its own account with 2.7 million followers and making use of User Generated Content (UGC) as well as trending sounds. Being versatile and tapping into the unique quirks of different platforms is extremely important these days. The brand’s Senior Director of Consumer Marketing clearly knows what’s up, stating that “the content that works on Instagram is not going to work on TikTok.” It’s all about knowing what your audience wants and tailoring your strategy accordingly.
Helping Your Brand Shine Like Rare Beauty’s Highlighter
It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to realize that social media is a major player in the game of brand building. That’s why it’s important to make sure that your online presence reflects your values and mission, and that you’re making a positive impact on your audience. That’s where we come in!
Our agency, First Page, is dedicated to helping you create an impactful social media campaign that not only represents your brand, but also makes it stand out. We take the time to get to know you and your values, so that we can create a campaign that resonates with your target audience and makes a real impact.
So if you’re looking to boost your brand’s online presence and awareness, make sure to give us a shout!
