let's makeup

Selena Gomez Wants to Talk About Beauty and Mental Health

Photo: Rare Beauty

Selena Gomez knows about beauty. She knows the highs: multiple stints in People’s “Most Beautiful” issue, fans flooding the comments of her new music video with compliments, having the best makeup artists in the world work on her face. Then there are the lows: namely, being endlessly scrutinized by fans and the media over her looks and mental health.

Although her own journey with beauty hasn’t always been positive, Gomez is trying to make the experience better for others with her new line of makeup, Rare Beauty. In a group Zoom call last Friday, the red-lipsticked singer-businesswoman looked cozy and relaxed, with a blanket on her lap and an array of her products behind her.

Gomez said, “My philosophy with makeup probably changed when I started having conversations with myself. I have talked very openly about my struggle with anxiety, depression, and mental health — it’s something I had to learn. On some level, I think everyone should find a way to learn that. With therapy, the time I’ve taken for myself has been reflected in everything I’ve been releasing.”

Talking to fans, she explained, made her realize that she needed to challenge beauty standards. “It flabbergasted me how these young girls need to feel like they have to be a certain way. I wanted to break that mold. I don’t judge you — wear your makeup however you want to wear it. But what I’m realizing is that it’s beyond that. It’s about how you feel inside. I still work on it. I’m not perfect by any means. I have moments when I’ll be like, Ugh. No.

Although the movement toward increased inclusivity isn’t new — just ask Rihanna — there are a few unique things about the Rare Beauty line. It features 48 shades of foundation and concealer.

In addition, Rare Beauty is one of the few beauty brands to directly talk about mental health. Gomez says that she hopes the Rare Beauty community will “challenge beauty norms by shaping positive conversations about self-acceptance and mental health.” One percent of the brand’s beauty sales will benefit the newly created Rare Impact Fund, with the goal to raise $100 million over the next ten years to directly benefit “mental health services, with a focus on underserved communities.”

Rare Beauty’s product names and shades are also approved by your therapist. The brand’s tinted chapstick is called the With Gratitude Dewy Lip Balm, and the highlighter, Positive Light Liquid Luminizer. Lipsticks have names like Inspire (Gomez’s signature red), Ascend, Support, and Compliment.

If this makes you feel inspired to shop, you can find it all available now at Sephora.

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Selena Gomez Sees a Link Between Beauty and Mental Health