Why we love her makeup

As if we needed another reason to love Selena Gomez, she made sure we had one.

Of course, we’re talking about Rare Beauty by Selena Gomez, the iconic makeup line that launched in September 2020.

The brand focuses on breaking down unrealistic standards of perfection while providing shoppers with makeup they can feel good in. ​

“​I think Rare Beauty can be more than a beauty brand — it can make an impact,” Gomez said. “I want us all to stop comparing ourselves to each other and just start embracing our own uniqueness.”

With the brand’s ethos in mind, we decided to get together and put some fan-favorites to the test in a get-ready-with-me format.

Here, we discover if Rare Beauty is worth the hype, and if popular products such as the Soft Pinch Liquid Blush and Perfect Strokes Matte Liquid Liner are all that they are made out to be.

Read our full Rare Beauty review or navigate to your desired section below.

Rare Beauty blush

Perhaps what put Rare Beauty on the map was the brand’s Soft Pinch Liquid Blush. We put the matte terracotta shade Love to the test.


Ruby McAuliffe wearing Rare Beauty by Selena Gomez
Ruby McAuliffe wearing Rare Beauty by Selena Gomez

A little goes a long way, as we only needed to apply one to two small dots onto each cheek. Though, you can apply further product as desired. Once applied, simply blend upwards using your fingers or favorite compact makeup brush

Rare Beauty Soft Pinch Liquid Blush, $20


Rare Beauty blush
Rare Beauty

Sooner than later, you’ll be enjoying a weightless, long-lasting liquid blush that leaves a healthy flush. The liquid blush is available in both matte and dewy finishes.


Rare Beauty foundation

The Rare Beauty Liquid Touch Weightless Foundation is quite possibly our favorite find yet.

Made with lotus, gardenia and white water lily, this formula helps soothe, calm and nourish the skin while evening out your skin’s tone and smoothing the look of pores. This makes it feel and act like a serum while offering medium coverage for a your-skin-but-better wear.


Ruby McAuliffe wearing Rare Beauty by Selena Gomez
Ruby McAuliffe wearing Rare Beauty by Selena Gomez

To use, we began with a single dot of foundation for the entire face. We blended using our Rare Beauty brush, though you can use a damp sponge or your fingers. A little truly goes a long way, as this foundation features concentrated pigments, but feel free to build as desired.

Rare Beauty Liquid Touch Weightless Foundation, $29


Rare Beauty foundation
Rare Beauty

According to Selena Gomez, “It just melts onto your skin, so you forget you’re wearing anything,” and we agree. Choose from 48 various shades.


Rare Beauty mascara

We can’t talk about Rare Beauty without discussing the iconic Perfect Strokes Universal Volumizing Mascara.

Created for all lash types — yes, that includes fine, straight, thick and curly lashes — this mascara does it all.


Ruby McAuliffe wearing Rare Beauty by Selena Gomez
Ruby McAuliffe wearing Rare Beauty by Selena Gomez

The mascara is not too wet where it gets all over your face (yuck) or too dry where it flakes (no thanks). Instead, it features a buildable formula that creates defined, clean, clump-resistant lashes.

We also couldn’t get over how good our lashes looked. They were long, full and didn’t flake all day.

Rare Beauty Perfect Strokes Universal Volumizing Mascara, $20


Rare Beauty mascara
Rare Beauty

The brush features a curvy body and long bristles to create length and volume. Together, your lash will be anything but average.


Rare Beauty concealer

Oh. My. Goodness. This Rare Beauty Liquid Touch Brightening Concealer is everything you could ever want and more.

Made to match your Liquid Touch Weightless Foundation shade like a dream, this concealer is creamy, hydrating and easily buildable.


Ruby McAuliffe wearing Rare Beauty by Selena Gomez
Ruby McAuliffe wearing Rare Beauty by Selena Gomez

We simply dot concealed anywhere we wanted and blended using our fingers and a small makeup brush. In no time, our dark spots and redness were gone. It’s really that easy, and we are obsessed.

Rare Beauty Liquid Touch Brightening Concealer, $19


Rare Beauty concealer
Rare Beauty

Rare Beauty recommends sweeping the doe-foot applicator under the eye and blending for covering dark circles or applying concealer to a blemish, allowing it to sit and diffusing the edges to cover a blemish.


Rare Beauty highlighter

Ready to get your glow on? If so, the Rare Beauty Positive Light Liquid Luminizer is for you.

Made to feel like a second skin, this makeup find is dewy, buildable and oh-so glowy.


Ruby McAuliffe wearing Rare Beauty by Selena Gomez
Ruby McAuliffe wearing Rare Beauty by Selena Gomez

Featuring superfine pearls, the Positive Light Liquid Luminizer lasts all day and layers over all makeup types, including liquids, powders and creams.

We applied one to two dots of the highlighter directly onto the high points of our skin, such as our cheeks, brow bones, noses and cupids bows. We blended with our fingers, but feel free to use a brush or a sponge.

Rare Beauty Positive Light Liquid Luminizer, $22


Rare Beauty highlighter
Rare Beauty

Rare Beauty also recommends adding a few dots into your foundation for an all-over glow. Choose from eight various options.


Rare Beauty primer and setting spray

Let jump into the Rare Beauty Always An Optimist 4-In-1 Mist.

It’s an all-in-one face mist that hydrates, primes, sets and refreshes while offering a glow that lasts. To say we love this all-in-one product is an understatement.


Ruby McAuliffe wearing Rare Beauty by Selena Gomez
Ruby McAuliffe wearing Rare Beauty by Selena Gomez

We use it before each and every makeup look we do, as it’s the perfect primer, and set our glam with the same spray. We stay looking fresh all day, and if we need a little pick-me-up, we simply treat ourselves to a bit more.

Rare Beauty Always An Optimist 4-In-1 Mist, $24


Rare Beauty face mist
Rare Beauty

The botanical scent is also ideal for uplifting the senses and providing you with a personal, mini escape.


Rare Beauty eyeliner

Let’s be real: achieving the perfect winged eyeliner is an on-going battle that even the most experienced makeup professionals struggle with.

Whether your main issue is making both eyes symmetrical, accomplishing your desired thickness, dealing with dried up product or all the above, you can streamline the process with a quality eyeliner.

For us, it’s the Rare Beauty Perfect Strokes Matte Liquid Liner.


Ruby McAuliffe wearing Rare Beauty by Selena Gomez
Ruby McAuliffe wearing Rare Beauty by Selena Gomez

We’ve gone through our fair share of liquid eyeliners over the years, but after being introduced to this product, we never looked back. We snagged the Rare Beauty liner as soon as possible when Gomez launched her cosmetics brand in September 2020 and have found myself reaching for the sleek liner pen over and over again.

If you’re anything like us, the thought of applying eyeliner is enough to make your palms sweat, but Selena Gomez has really given us winged liner lovers a blessing from above.

What we enjoy the most about this eyeliner is the control it offers. The pen packaging allows you to hold the liner comfortably, unlike so many smaller competitors, and the smooth application this product provides is unmatched. This baby not only glides effortlessly along the lid, it’s also highly pigmented for the perfect jet-black matte finish — neither too light nor heavy.


Camryn La Sala
Camryn La Sala wearing Rare Beauty.

For best application, shake the pen to activate color pigments and apply light pressure for thin lines, or more pressure for thicker lines.

The tip itself, made of up to 800 vegan bristles, is also pretty firm, which makes creating the point (or corner) of your wing easier to master.

The best part? It lasts for hours on end. This liner is smudge-proof and waterproof, giving you that “just applied” look, all day long. It’s is also vegan and cruelty-free, and gentle enough for sensitive skin as it contains less than one percent of synthetic fragrances.

Rare Beauty Perfect Strokes Matte Liquid Liner, $19


Rare Beauty eyeliner
Rare Beauty

It’s made without sulfates SLS and SLES, parabens, formaldehydes, formaldehyde-releasing agents, phthalates, mineral oil, retinyl palmitate, oxybenzone, coal tar, hydroquinone, triclosan and triclocarban — in other words, clean beauty.

Whether you have a ton of experience with makeup (or do), this is a great option. This liner makes achieving your ideal winged look (dare we say it) easy, so if you’ve been struggling with this task, consider changing it up with our favorite pick.


Rare Beauty bronzer

The Warm Wishes Effortless Bronzer Stick is unlike any bronzer we’ve ever tried before.

Creating an instant sun-kissed look, it’s as simple as swiping and blending.


Ruby McAuliffe wearing Rare Beauty by Selena Gomez
Ruby McAuliffe wearing Rare Beauty by Selena Gomez

Simply choose your favorite color from the lineup — we went with Full Of Life — and apply the cream bronzer to your cheeks, forehead, nose and neck.


Rare Beauty bronzer
Rare Beauty

The bronzer effortlessly melts into the skin while scupting all of the right places. And did we mention it’s not greasy or cakey but rather water-resistant and noncomedogenic? Because it is.


Rare Beauty eyeshadow

Liquid eyeshadow anyone?

This quick-and-easy eyeshadow goes from a liquid to powder is one quick application. Available in five various shades to meet all of your color needs, it’s ideal for all occasions.


Ruby McAuliffe wearing Rare Beauty by Selena Gomez
Ruby McAuliffe wearing Rare Beauty by Selena Gomez

We chose the Nearly Neutral shade for an everyday look. The liquid eyeshadow weightless, blends easily and builds for a more impactful color payoff.

Rare Beauty Stay Vulnerable Liquid Eyeshadow, $20


Rare Beauty eyeshadow
Rare Beauty

We also couldn’t get enough of this long-lasting, waterproof formula, meaning it doesn’t fade, transfer or crease.


Rare Beauty brows

Everyone loves a good, bold brow, and Rare Beauty makes it possible and simple to achieve using their Brow Harmony Shape & Fill Duo.

Available in six various color duos, this waterproof brow putty shapes and fills brows for a natural, mistake-proof look.


Ruby McAuliffe wearing Rare Beauty by Selena Gomez
Ruby McAuliffe wearing Rare Beauty by Selena Gomez

At first, the putty applies creamy and then settles into a powder. Best of all, your brows won’t smudge, fade or rub off.

The small compact also comes with a snap-in angled brush and spoolie, which is ideal for traveling on the go. So make sure not to gloss over it, or else you may miss it!

Rare Beauty Brow Harmony Shape & Fill Duo, $24


Rare Beauty brow duo
Rare Beauty

Gomez loves this product because she loves “a good, full brow” herself, and if it’s enough for her, it’s enough for us.



Rare Beauty lipstick and balm

For lipstick, we reached for our two favorite Rare Beauty finds: the Lip Soufflé Matte Lip Cream and With Gratitude Dewy Lip Balm.


Ruby McAuliffe wearing Rare Beauty by Selena Gomez
Ruby McAuliffe wearing Rare Beauty by Selena Gomez

Let’s start with the Lip Soufflé: We went with the bright red color called “Inspire.” Made with an air-whipped formula, it hugs your lips tightly while keeping them hydrated, soft and supple.

Upon application, we loved how easily it glided on and how light it felt on our lips (meaning no icky sticky feeling). Once done, we enjoyed a velvet matte finish with a blurring effect.

Rare Beauty Lip Soufflé Matte Lip Cream, $20


Rare Beauty lipstick
Rare Beauty

Not to be forgotten, we wore this red shade to a cocktail party, and after a few drinks and bites, it was still on for good.

Up next, we have the With Gratitude Dewy Lip Balm. It’s a hydrating lip balm that gives off buildable color that looks and feels good on your lips.


Ruby McAuliffe wearing Rare Beauty by Selena Gomez
Ruby McAuliffe wearing Rare Beauty by Selena Gomez

We opted for the “Thankful” shade that gives off a gorgeous sheer shine that can be applied with or without a mirror. It silky soft, smooth and always comfortable on your lips.

Rare Beauty With Gratitude Dewy Lip Balm, $16


Rare Beauty lip balm
Rare Beauty

Choose from seven shades — and if you’re like us, you’ll opt for one of each. Either way, you won’t regret shopping this gorgeous beauty find.


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