Move over, Kylie Jenner! Inside Selena Gomez’s beauty empire: the singer’s Rare Beauty make-up brand is one of few celebrity-backed ventures to dominate – and stay – in the highly competitive market

Jul 25, 2023

Selena Gomez is the founder behind the highly successful make-up brand, Rare Beauty. Photo: @selenagomez/Instagram

On pace to triple last year’s sales, Gomez’s Rare Beauty brand continues to dominate the highly competitive US$250 billion global beauty industry – and it’s continuing to expand internationally

Not all celeb-owned brands do well – Sephora stopped selling Addison Rae and Hyram Yarbro’s lines, while Ariana Grande paid US$15 million to buy the physical assets of R.E.M – before it went bankrupt

Selena Gomez has avoided the potential pitfalls of child stardom to become an even bigger celebrity as an adult with a career that’s spanned nine top-10 pop hits; more than two-dozen platinum or gold singles; and starring in Hulu’s hit series Only Murders in the Building.

Selena Gomez owns her own make-up brand, Rare Beauty. Photo: @selenagomez/Instagram

And it’s her make-up brand that’s breaking the bank. Rare Beauty has surged in popularity since its debut less than three years ago, despite fallouts at many celebrity-backed cosmetic lines. The company has succeeded in the US$250 billion global beauty industry by creating simple, moderately priced make-up and leveraging Gomez’s immense popularity on platforms such as TikTok.

Various make-up products from Rare Beauty. Photo: @rarebeauty/Instagram

“People are looking for performance and value in their products, which Rare does really well,” says Sable Yong, a beauty writer based in New York. “Yes, it’s cute. Yes, Selena Gomez is the founder. But even if she wasn’t in the picture, they’re well-formulated products that perform really well at a fairly attainable price point.”

Eyeshadow, eyeliner and highlighter from Rare Beauty suit different skin tones Photo: @rarebeauty/Instagram

The brand is on pace in 2023 to triple last year’s sales. In 2022, the company moved 3.1 million units of its bestselling blush. The product retails for US$23, which means it alone generated about US$70 million in revenue. (The company declined to provide additional financial details, including its investor roster.)

Rare Beauty’s bestselling Soft Pinch liquid blush. Photo: @rarebeauty/Instagram

Celebrity attachment is no guarantee of a hit. Consumers can be fickle, and lots of brands tied to famous people have fizzled after a strong start. Earlier this year, Kristen Bell shut down her skincare line. Sephora stopped selling the brands of TikTok celebs Addison Rae and Hyram Yarbro.

Ariana Grande paid US$15 million to buy the physical assets of her company, R.E.M. beauty, from Forma Brands LLC, whose big bet on celebrity influencers soured and pushed it into bankruptcy.

Make up from R.E.M. Beauty. Photo: @r.e.m.beauty/Instagram