Interview: Selena Gomez On Driving Change Through Her Rare Beauty Brand

Strong, genuinely nice, and resilient, that’s how global sensation Selena Gomez is perceived, and that’s who she really is. The 29-reay-old star talks to Madame Figaro about her Rare Beauty brand, the positive message she wants to send through her label, and how she is supporting mental health. 

On a Zoom call from Los Angeles, Selena Gomez welcomes us with her dog in her arms and her perfect blonde hair. She’s wearing a suit, and it looks great on her. After all, the actor, musician, former Disney Channel star, is now beauty mogul and a businesswoman. Not only her Rare Beauty brand has gone global, recently launched at Sephora France, Selena has also partnered with La’Mariette on a brand-new swimwear collection, so now she’s poised to become a fashion mogul too.

What prompted you to launch your beauty brand?

I didn't want to launch a makeup line for the sake to launch a brand. What interests me is cultivating beauty from the inside. The idea was to tell those who would buy Rare Beauty products: you are beautiful, you are special and here is a place where you can try different things on your lashes, lips, and eyelids ... with a big range of colors.

How do you relate to makeup?

My mother was a makeup artist. I really liked watching her. I was fascinated by all these colors, the incredible tints she put on eyelids. I started working when I was 7 years old, I had to wear makeup from that age so I think that has almost always been a part of my life. It's a passion that followed me on TV, in music, in movies ... In short, all the time!

Why does mental health have such an important place in the genesis and history of the brand?

I attach a lot of importance to it because I myself had struggles with mental health and I really wanted my brand to break down the unrealistic standards of beauty and become a safe and welcoming space in beauty and beyond. With Rare Beauty, we have a goal to raise $100 million over the next ten years for the Rare Impact Fund, to facilitate access to mental health services for all those who need them, to ensure that this subject is addressed at school, and quite simply to make the population more aware of this problem, to make it something less taboo.

Between the world of beauty and that of music, you make a little difference, don't you?

No, they are connected. In both cases, it is a question of creativity, of art. You can try amazing things with your makeup and turn into a different person.

What is your makeup routine, even if you end up doing little makeup on your own?

Believe me, it happens to me sometimes: when my friends invite me to dinner at the last minute for example! So I put on an illuminating base to bring in the light and then a little foundation but just a touch because it is quite pigmented. Then I apply blush. In short, something quick with a nice lipstick to finish, because it's a bit my signature.

What is the makeup advice that you follow scrupulously?

I believe in taking care of my skin. It's really important. I always remove my makeup at night: I use La Mer skincare products to cleanse and moisturize my skin. I also learned some makeup tips like how to place your blush to structure your face a little more. I love the one I named Soft Pinch: I love its color, you don't have to use a lot of it and it really lasts all day.