A Rare Advocate for Mental Health: How Selena Gomez’s Brand Differentiates Itself Through Impact Marketing
Rare Beauty, founded by actor, artist, producer, and philanthropist Selena Gomez, is one of the first beauty brands to market itself differently from competitors. Beyond its beautiful packaging and minimalist design, Gomez founded Rare Beauty with a mission in mind: to redefine beauty standards and break the stigma around mental health.
And this comes in an industry that has long been associated with perpetuating narrow beauty ideals, exerting a strong influence on people’s mental health, particularly in relation to eating behaviors and body dysmorphia.
Several countries have taken steps legislatively to address body image and advertising standards in the context of the beauty industry and social media. The United Kingdom’s Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has guidelines in place to regulate advertising content, in which advertisers are encouraged to avoid using digitally altered images leading to unrealisitc expectations or misleading consumers. In 2017, France passed a law that requires digitally altered images in advertising to be labeled as such, and a similar law was passed in Norway during the same year.
The beauty industry, with its unrealistic standards, photoshopped images, and lack of diversity, has often left people feeling excluded, unworthy, and anxious about their appearance.
How has Rare Beauty differentiated itself through its marketing, openness and advocacy?
2020 was a different time
When Rare Beauty was announced, many were skeptical that it would last. Myself included. It came at a time in which the beauty industry felt like it was facing challenge after challenge.
Firstly, the YouTube beauty community was grappling with its 2019 drama, as influential beauty creators were embroiled in controversies, leading to a notable decline in trust from consumers who tended to watch those channels before buying products.
Secondly, the global pandemic had brought forth unprecedented difficulties. With masks and confinement being part of the daily life, consumers were less inclined to invest in new beauty products and a change in the market was happening – skin care products. Beauty companies were losing millions due to unsold, expired cosmetics. With its dampening sales, it was causing uncertainty amongst beauty brands.
Moreover, the landscape had been further crowded with a spew of celebrity-endorsed lines. Since the lines were working well for beauty influencers, it seemed like celebrities wanted to get in on the fun. It was like the new celebrity must-do after coming out with a perfume line. Yet most of these lines failed in delivering in quality and authenticity. Lady Gaga’s Haus Laboratories came out to mixed reviews regarding performance and wearability. Kylie Jenner was coming out with new products so often that it became overwhelming. Ariana Grande signed with controversial beauty line Morphe for her r.e.m. beauty (named after her song), whose future now remains unknown… Amidst these challenges, the only celebrity line that was doing well in the heat of celebrity beauty frenzy was Fenty Beauty, by Rihanna, that stood as a testament to true innovation and inclusivity, something the beauty world finally learned to start working on thanks to Fenty’s success.
So when Gomez announced her line, it just felt like another part of overshadowing the beauty industry with celebrity endorsements that would fail to resonate with consumers instead of being innovative and creative.
Yet, Rare Beauty, like Fenty, came in authentically. The brand not only aimed to create exceptional products but was rekindling the spirit of self-expression and self-acceptance. In the face of industry turbulence, Rare Beauty brought a much-needed shift towards authenticity and empowerment in the beauty world.
Diversity Finally Celebrated in Beauty
The beauty world has a notorious reputation for failing to recognize a wide range of skin tones that leave a gap in the market for darker skin tones. Fenty Beauty was hailed as the first time that under-represented, under-served women and cultures were featured in a major beauty campaign. With 50 shades of foundation, it was truly a moment of “beauty for all”.
Hallelujah.
And Rare Beauty has followed suit in the diversity chain. It has 48 shades when it comes to foundation and concealer. It was an extensive range for a debut makeup brand, just like Fenty. In addition to the diverse range of foundation and concealer shades, Selena’s products are disability-friendly, and have started conversations amongst consumers about the lack of disability friendliness in the space.
TikTok has been a space where many have shared their experience with the brand, and have highlighted the distinctiveness of its packaging. From products with a matte finish for a better grip, flat edges to prevent rolling, easy-to-press buttons to open… their products are designed with an ergonomic approach for storing, using and applying, making them accessible to a larger audience.
A Rare Initiative for Mental Health Awareness by Business
Not only is Rare Beauty selling beauty products, but it has also been an advocate for mental health awareness through various impactful initiatives, exemplifying their commitment to making a difference beyond the world of cosmetics.
They’ve done this through multiple channels.
Along with this, they state that “1% of all of Rare Beauty sales go to the Rare Impact Fund to support mental health for young people all over the world.” By doing so, every item that is bought from Rare Beauty is a direct contribution to mental health initiatives. Ones beauty routine has now not just become an everyday thing, but by knowing its bringing some kind of meaningful change makes people support the line.
For example, on September 13th, Rare Beauty stated on Instagram it was supporting La Familia Counseling Center.
And while supporting organizations that support mental health, Rare Beauty recognizes the importance of destigmatizing mental health, and one of the ways to do so is by having open and honest dialogues. Their posts online often feature personal stories, mental health advice and tips (such as for Suicide Awareness Month in September), and inspirational messages.
A Personal Connection to Selena
So, with all this talk about inclusivity and mental health advocacy, why are these the subjects the ones that Rare Beauty decided to take on? There’s a personal connection behind these choices, and it starts with Gomez.
Since reaching stardom at the age of 15, she quickly became a Disney standout star and later a prominent figure in the entertainment industry.
Her openness about her mental health challenges has been a significant and impactful aspect of her career in both music and film. Her first single, “Who Says”, touched upon self-love. Others such as “Lose You to Love Me” and “Rare” touch on themes of self-worth and healing. She also produced the popular Netflix show 13 Reasons Why, that touches on themes such as mental health, suicide, grief and sexual assault.
In 2015, Gomez took a career break when she was diagnosed with Lupus.
In a note on Rare Impact’s page, Gomez writes: “Mental health is personal for me. Figuring out how to manage my own mental health hasn’t always been easy, but it’s something I am constantly working on and I hope I can help others work on, too.”
What We Can Learn from Rare Beauty
There’s a refreshing perspective to be found in brands like Rare Beauty and people like Selena Gomez. Rare Beauty should be a reminder that marketing doesn’t always have to revolve around boasting about being the best or pushing products relentlessly.
Instead of just focusing on their cosmetics, the center of their narrative is inclusivity, mental health advocacy, and empowerment. They’ve created a brand that stands for something more profound than mere beauty products, it stands for change and acceptance.
While these subjects are deeply personal to Gomez’s life, they have influenced so many aspects of her line. The selection of Rare Beauty’s packaging is influenced by her Lupus diagnosis, a condition that can impact her mobility due to occasional flare-ups and medication requirements.
And while there was much discussion on TikTok and other social media outlets about Rare Beauty’s packaging in early 2023, Rare Beauty didn’t come out with an official statement. They note on their website that products are designed “to Selena’s personal preferences to emphasize ease of use,” and haven’t felt the need to jump into every discussion or comment on every aspect of their brand. They let their actions, products, and dedication do the talking.
Where marketing feels at times overwhelming and insincere, Rare Beauty is a feeling and community.
A brand’s impact can go much farther than their product.
It’s not just selling; it’s about making a difference, and within that vision, Rare Beauty and Selena Gomez remain… Rare.
A note from the author
The world recoiled in horror at the terrorist attack that unfolded in Israel on October 7th. Lives of innocent civilians were lost at that festival, innocent families and children were murdered, and there is now a collective hope for the safe return of the hostages. However, the humanitarian crises that ensued in the aftermath of the attacks is indefensible — the bombing of innocent civilians with nowhere else to go, no access to food and water, and with no options to evacuate safely. It’s heartbreaking to open the news. I’ve had discussions with people that have callously labelled the lives lost of innocent Palestinian civilians as “collateral damage”, and I’ve had to block them. No child’s life should be deemed collateral damage. Civilians do not embody a terrorist group nor the decisions of their government.
Sadly, the silence from Selena Gomez, a UNICEF ambassador, has been loud. It took weeks for Selena and Rare Beauty to denounce the humanitarian (and I emphasize this word - humanitarian) crisis in Gaza. When Rare Beauty finally posted on Instagram, it had a photo with just the words “HUMANITARIAN CRISIS IN GAZA”. While the company denounced the attacks and announced it would be making donations to multiple organizations, one of the organizations chosen was International Read Cross/Red Crescent Societies — Magen David Adom, a charity that funds Israel and the IDF.
Issuing an Instagram post to condemn injustices in one location while simultaneously supporting an organization that contributes to the suffering of another population is not content for good. And it’s something that I strongly denounce. This is marketing to mislead, which is not the purpose of a company where profit should meet purpose.
