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In case it wasn't already apparent, we're somewhat in the advent of a celebrity beauty brand boom. However mysterious the conception and structuring of these star-studded brands are, one clear standout has been a beauty line created by none other than Selena Gomez — you know, the multi-hyphenate singer-songwriter, actress, activist, entrepreneur, and a constant source of inspiration for people across the world. Rare Beauty, which is sold exclusively at Sephora and rarebeauty.com, is at the top of its game. Case in point? The illustrious brand won a 2021 Readers' Choice Award for best new brand and also picked up a Best of Beauty Award in the same year for the Stay Vulnerable Melting Cream Blush. (Warning: You'll become obsessed with the bouncy, melt-into-your-skin texture and potentially buy all five shades at once.)
"I had always wanted the name Rare," Gomez told us during her cover interview back in 2020, when she was gearing up to introduce her brand to the world. "[Rare] has become the identity of my brand and who I want to be, which is showing people that being diverse and different, whatever was happening, I wanted it to feel like you were included," she revealed. Gomez's refreshing openness toward her own journey with mental health naturally extends to her business. As soon as Rare Beauty launched, 1 percent of sales started being funneled straight into the Rare Impact Fund, which serves to increase access to mental-health resources and programs, especially for underserved communities. With the added help of funds from partners, the goal is to raise $100 million over the next decade. We love to hear it.
Now that we've covered Gomez's undeniable impact, we'll be focusing on the beauty products themselves. Whatever you need in the makeup department (and whatever the future of the brand may hold), chances are Rare Beauty has you covered. Blushes (cream and liquid), lipstick (liquid, cream, gloss, and balm so far — whew), foundation, concealer, liquid eyeliner, and highlighter barely scratch the surface. So where are you to start? Scroll through to read about seven of our favorite Rare Beauty products that are worth adding to your makeup collection. Come and get it, one might say.
All products featured on Allure are independently selected by our editors. However, when you buy something through our retail links, we may earn an affiliate commission.
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The Stay Vulnerable Melting Cream Blush won over two Allure editors practically upon first glance, so are we really surprised it won a Best of Beauty Award less than a year after debuting? "Using the word 'melting' in the name was a very intentional choice because that's exactly what these blushes do upon touch," news editor Nicola Dall'Asen says. "And that [creamy] texture combined with tons of pigment is exactly what makes it so easy to apply either with fingers or a makeup brush." This liquid-like, water-resistant formula lends your skin a gorgeous wash of soft-focus color you'll want to wear all year round. (We certainly do.)
And if you're wondering if the shades (Nearly Apricot is shown above, but there are five total) show up on darker skin tones, the answer is a resounding yes. "These blushes didn't come to play any games [and] leave a healthy dose of pigment," editorial assistant Gabi Throne shares, calling out the shades Nearly Rose, Nearly Berry, and Nearly Mauve in particular.
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Senior commerce writer Sarah Han is a fan of the Liquid Touch Weightless Foundation, which blends out like a dream and has the feel of a serum-like, skin tint sort of situation. The main difference, however, is that the lightweight formula is easily buildable up to medium coverage, which is perfect for concealing areas of redness and dark spots. The sizable, doe-foot wand makes application a total breeze, too. Just shake the bottle and dot the pigment as needed. If you don't mind getting your hands a little messy for a few seconds, you can blend and tap the formula in with your fingers if you feel like forgoing the tools.
Contributing editor Jessica Chia says she usually skips foundation and concealer altogether because it's difficult for brands to match her yellowish-greenish-brownish skin tone (aka, what some chalk up to "olive"), but noted that the 200C shade of the foundation and complementary Liquid Touch Brightening Concealer does the job perfectly. The pinkish (and not too yellow or orange) color blended with ease over her redness and acne scars. She isn't the only person complimenting the inclusive 48-shade range, since it's also one of our favorite, on-point foundations for dark skin tones.
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Gomez once said that "finding a mascara that works for you is just as personal as finding your go-to foundation," and we couldn't agree more. But Rare Beauty's Perfect Strokes Universal Volumizing Mascara lives up to its name and works like a charm on all lash types, whether they're naturally fine and sparse, or thick and full. This pitch-black, long-wearing formula hugs each individual lash and pumps them full of volume, lift, and length, as well as conditioning castor oil for a soft, comfortable finish.
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For a sheen that just won't quit, Stay Vulnerable Glossy Lip Balm is the lip color for you. Available in five gorgeous shades (Nearly Mauve shown above), these nonsticky glosses are spiked with a nourishing blend of sunflower seed oil, water lily, and lotus seed to keep lips smooth and hydrated as hell. "I really liked the [Nearly] Neutral shade because, despite the sheerness, its gorgeous caramel hue looked lovely on my lips with some brown liner," Thorne says. There you have it — your new favorite, impossibly comfortable lip tint that's conveniently easy to throw off before a last-minute meeting.
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If you've ever wondered what it's like to spritz the liquid equivalent of a floral bouquet onto your face, we've got news for you. The Always An Optimist 4-in-1 Prime & Set Mist does just that. Han isn't usually one to rave about facial mists, but this mood-lifting formula is worth all of the praise. Besides the soothing blend of lotus, gardenia, and white waterlily that she fell in love with upon the first whiff, Han appreciates that the ultrafine mist is spiked with niacinamide and sodium hyaluronate (a form of hyaluronic acid) to brighten and plump her complexion. Layer it under makeup to prep your skin, over makeup to set your work with a dewy finish, or keep it by your side as a cooling refresher throughout the day. (Han does all three, naturally.)
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While she wore Soft Pinch Liquid Blush in Grace (a matte bright rose mauve) on her Allure cover, Gomez told us she likes to tap the Bliss shade (the lightest shade in the range, a matte nude rose) onto her cheekbones, in addition to adding a speck of color on her lips. Chia is also a fan of the liquid pigment, which she describes as "so textureless and pigmented that it looks like you're really flushing with color" — color, mind you, that stays pigmented, creaseless, and natural-looking all day. There are four dewy and matte finishes each so you can easily customize your sunflower-seed-oil-infused glow.
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Gomez told us that she has the winged look mastered because the tip of the Perfect Strokes Matte Liquid Liner is just so straight and smooth. Han wholeheartedly agrees. "I can't pinpoint exactly what it is, but the fluid formula, combination of the sturdy but flexible brush tip [which apparently has over 1,000 soft vegan bristles], and easy-to-grip size of the pen itself is near magic," she says. "I was shocked that I could draw both cat eyes in under than a minute."
This gentle-glide formula never tugs on your lids while it draws precise, matte-black lines. Shake well to activate this long-lasting, waterproof liner and alternate between light pressure for thinner lines and slightly higher pressure for thicker, bolder lines and cat-eyes.
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