Long before the world took a sharp, downward turn, earlier in 2020, Selena Gomez announced a special project we now know as Rare Beauty. And to be honest, I didn’t bat an eye. Seriously. I was so uninterested. Celebrity makeup lines are so commonplace, and most of them just aren’t intriguing to me. However, once promo shots and info started dropping for Rare Beauty, my attention was piqued. Much like Rihanna’s involvement with her beauty line, Fenty Beauty*, Gomez curated her brand from the studs, conceptualizing, formulating, and creating in a very hands on way. You can’t deny the packaging is ~v aesthetic~, but the more important question: do they live up to their claims? And the answer … Let’s just say I’m extremely interested in following the career of this brand. So let’s jump into my Rare Beauty Review.
I purchased these products right around launch, and while I was going to try to get my review out as soon as possible, I ultimately decided to linger a bit.
And I did that for a few reasons.
- Most of you, my audience, aren’t living in the beauty community space. You’re not necessarily creators, you’re real people. And you don’t buy every launch; you buy what you think is good. Which is why full, detailed, and tested reviews are key.
- I really wanted to gather my thoughts about the wearability of these products. I’ve been wishy washy about products lately, so I wanted to take my time with these goodies and really establish a relationship with them before I gave my thoughts.
But here we are, after a month with Rare Beauty, let’s see how they performed. I didn’t pick up the full line, but I did get an array of launches. So today we’ll be reviewing: the foundation, concealer, liquid blushes, matte liquid lipstick, and lip balm.
the basics
Founded in 2020 by Selena Gomez, Rare Beauty claims to offer easy-to-use, shade-inclusive products and serve as a brand to everyone. Gomez explained “the texture of [the] entire line is very flexible. You can move it around; I wanted everyone to find their perfect shade.” And I think she nailed that; you don’t have to be an artist to manipulate these products in a way that works for you.
the product
The line launched with foundation, concealer, liquid blush, lip balm, liquid lipstick, an eyeliner pen, blotting papers, a primer and setting mist, eye shadows, brow products, and tools. And the prices range from $14-$29.
The brand is also cruelty-free and vegan and available at Sephora.com* or Rare Beauty’s official website.
the packaging
I’m not going to lie; I thought the packaging of Rare Beauty was really juvenile and uninteresting at first glance. While the font still bores me (I don’t know what it is; I just don’t like it), the packaging itself has really grown on me. I like the soft matte feeling on the plastic packaging. And I enjoy the muted beige and gold accents.
One thing I really hated about the packaging at first was the rounded, ball tops on the caps. It just was unsettling for some reason. But after having the products in my hand, they don’t bother me at all. Plus, I believe I read somewhere that the tops were designed that way to be disability inclusive, making it easier to grip and open the lids (a struggle Gomez struggles with due to an ailment.)
the Rare Beauty Impact Fund
Aside from the product and modern packaging, I was sucked in by the philanthropy of it all. With the launch of Rare Beauty, Gomez also launched the Rare Beauty Impact Fund. With a fair price point, you can also feel good about every purchased knowing that it’s going toward a $100 million Gomez pledged to raise for mental health services over the next decade. She described her own experience:
I have struggled very openly about anxiety and depression and mental health. [But] the time time that I’ve taken for myself has actually just reflected in everything that I’ve been releasing. I don’t know if anyone can tell or cares but you can just see the amount of happiness that I have with what I’m given and what I’m blessed with.” – Selena Gomez
I love Rare Beauty, and really think a lot of you will too. Read below for my Rare Beauty review and favorite products from the brand!
No. 1 Liquid Touch Foundation
The Liquid Touch Liquid Foundation* is available in 48 shades and retails for $29. Honestly, I think that is a really good price tag to attach to something like this.
If you like a thicker foundation in terms of consistency, you’re going to hate this. It’s a true liquid foundation. I immediately thought of the Bare Minerals Serum Foundation I used to love. Because this consistency is very similar to that of a serum or face oil but doesn’t compromise pigment or coverage. The brand launched a face sponge and foundation brush as part of its initial launch, but I prefer to apply this with my fingers. Though I do like it with a sponge and brush as well, in that order.
In my opinion, the coverage level is pretty customizable. A couple of small dots will give you a sheer, BB-cream like result, or you can build the coverage up to about a medium coverage. Initially, I thought this was going to be very Glossier Skin Tint*-esque, but I was wrong. It’s definitely not sheer. You can definitely see that you’re wearing makeup, but it doesn’t feel heavy or look cakey.
Hot take: This isn’t oil-free, so there’s going to be some degree of separation. Give the bottle a good shake before opening.
Which leads me to the finish. While it definitely looks like makeup on you skin, the finish is really natural looking. Applied as is, you get a blurred effect that’s almost matte but not quite. My favorite way to apply this is with something really luminous underneath like the VDL Lumilayer Primer or Glossier’s Future Dew for a really radiant and dewy finish.
Take away: I have been wearing this almost exclusively since I got it. My favorite way to wear it is applied with my fingers over a luminous primer or moisturizer. And, in my opinion, the less the better.
Rare Beauty Liquid Touch Weightless Foundation*, $29
No. 2 Liquid Touch Brightening Concealer
Like the foundation, the concealer* comes in 48 shades with the same name as it’s foundation counterpart, making it super easy to find your shade. Generally your concealer will be slightly lighter than your foundation but the same in tone. So I bought 140C in both the foundation and concealer; however, if I did it again, I’d buy a slightly different shade in the concealer. I personally my concealer to be as close to my skin color as possible instead of lighter. Because I’m so fair, I just notice if I get anything that’s too light, it tends to look a little dry and just not good.
However, even with the slight shade discrepancy, I think this concealer is nice. I don’t love it. I don’t hate it. It’s really easy to blend, and I particularly like it with a damp beauty sponge. I find under the eyes, it sits well and doesn’t emphasize fine lines too much. It does a little, but honestly, what concealer doesn’t. And I find it lasts all dang day.
My qualm is that I don’t love it on the face. I am lazy, so I prefer a concealer that can spot conceal and look nice under the eye. I don’t find this one to be that effective for spot concealing. So if you’re looking for that, too, you may pass on this concealer.
And it’s just not as radiant as I’ve been into lately. That’s not to say I don’t like the finish. It’s just not my preferred finish at the moment.
Rare Beauty Liquid Touch Brightening Concealer*, $19
No. 3 Soft Pinch Liquid Blush
Honestly, I didn’t know how I’d get on with these, but I truly love them. The Soft Pinch Liquid Blushes* retail for $20 and come in 8 shades in 2 finishes:
- Happy – dewy cool pink
- Joy – dewy muted peach
- Lucky – dewy hot pink
- Grateful – dewy true red
- Bliss – matte nude pink^
- Love – matte terracotta^
- Grace – matte bright rose mauve
- Faith – matte deep berry
Soft Pinch is the most weightless, whipped blush formula I’ve personally tried. And the feeling it has while sliding across the skin is so soft and buttery and luxurious. I’ve seen some people describe these as being virtually foolproof, but I don’t know that I fully agree with that.
I think if you are a stranger to liquid blush, it may take just a little bit to familiarize yourself with Soft Pinch. It’s definitely a different experience than powders or creams. Its easy to go overboard at first. The first few times I used these, especially the shade Love, I used way too much. You need the tiniest, and I mean tiniest, amount of this to get a flush on your cheek. I prefer to blend these blushes out with my finger and do find that the formula blends onto the skin seamlessly that way. The color also lasts for hours.
Rare Beauty Soft Pinch Liquid Blush*, $20
^the shades I purchased
No. 4 Lip Soufflé Matte Cream Lipstick
I’ve used a lot of matte liquid lipsticks, and so many of them claim to be a “velvety matte.” But the reality is a lot of them still end up drying out my lips and flaking off mid-day. These matte cream lipsticks go on so smooth; I saw someone compare them to brownie batter. And that’s honestly the best description. Smooth like brownie batter.
The formula is really similar to the blush formula. It’s a lightweight, whipped texture and glides on smooth while how drying down to a creamy, velvety matte finish. I will note, it doesn’t dry down completely, which I like. But if you’re looking for something that won’t transfer, this isn’t it.
Lip Soufflé* retails for $20 and comes in 12 shades:
- Courage – nude mauve
- Brave – muted terracotta^
- Fearless – deep mauve rose
- Thrilling – true brown
- Motivate – watermelon pink
- Inspire – bright red (Selena’s go-to)
- Ascend – deep fuchsia
- Energize – bright coral
- Strengthen – dark coral red
- Heroic – true berry
- Transform – deep wine
- Daring – muted lavender
Rare Beauty Lip Soufflé Matte Lip Cream*, $20
^shades I purchased
No. 5 With Gratitude Dewy Lip Balm
And the last product I picked up from the line is the With Gratitude Dewy Lip Balm*. If you combined your favorite lipstick with your favorite non-sticky lip balm, it’s this. The balm is lightweight but hydrating on the lip. And the color is pigmented but somehow offers very little transfer. I picked up the shade Thankful, which is a nude mauve, but the range offers 8 gorgeous shades:
- Honor – clear
- Praise – muted peach
- Blessed – bright coral
- Empathy – rose mauve
- Thankful – nude mauve^
- Appreciate – cool brown
- Support – plum brown
- Compliment – muted berry
Rare Beauty With Gratitude Dewy Lip Balm*, $16
the bottom line
I’m going to be watching the career of Rare Beauty with great interest. I’ve enjoyed the products I’ve tried. My standouts are definitely the foundation, lip balms, and liquid blushes. After the initial launch, the dropped a couple of eye shadow palettes. And while the color stories didn’t interest me much, the swatches look amazing. It’s definitely a brand on my radar for sure. And as the line grows, I’m sure there will be a Rare Beauty Review part 2.
Better late than never is my Rare Beauty review. Overall? I really am loving this brand, and I’m excited to see what else they come up with. Are you interested in anything from the brand?
Plus, Sephora has some really great sampler sets from the brand that I think would be great if you’re interested in trying the brand. I talked about two of them in this post.
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