‘Rare Beauty’ is a no-go

Singer-songwriter Selena Gomez took to Instagram Live to announce the launch of Rare Beauty, her new makeup line. Gomez claims she has been working on the makeup line for two years now. To be honest, for two years of “hard-work,” Rare Beauty seems like a massive flop for the beauty industry. 

There was an outcry on social media shortly after Gomez announced her beauty line.

A twitter user tweeted, “Imagine how tired we are of celebrities who have absolutely nothing to do with makeup coming out with beauty brands.”

Another tweeted, “Another millionaire known for singing is trying to make easy money and scam people.”

It seemed the launch had lost support before it had officially begun. 

Gomez dropped her teaser video the same day as the announcement, and, in my opinion, it made her brand seem amateur. The majority of the video was Gomez messing around and being “quirky.” This was to convey Rare Beauty’s message, which is “being comfortable in yourself” and “stop comparing ourselves to each other,” as Gomez stated in her teaser video. 

 However, this message seems to contradict the basic idea of makeup. According to Lexico, powered by Oxford Dictionary, makeup is defined as a product “used to enhance or alter the appearance.”

My interpretation of this definition is that makeup is used to make one look prettier. So, with that logic, I’m curious as to why someone preaching self-love and acceptance would start a makeup brand? 

The two concepts don’t seem to go together in a beauty campaign. I am not saying you must hate yourself to buy makeup, but I am saying I feel as if a tagline or a main focus of a beauty campaign cannot be self-love and acceptance. 

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Gomez claims she has been working on the makeup line for two years now. To be honest, for two years of “hard-work,” Rare Beauty seems like a massive flop for the beauty industry.”

To truly love yourself, you need to love the natural beauty that you are. How does natural beauty and makeup mix?

If Gomez had taken a more artistic approach, such as “release your inner artist,” as James Charles did, then it would have been adhered more to my definition of makeup. 

Not only is she trying to sell self-love with a line of products that is supposed to make you look better than your natural self, but the fact that she is launching a makeup brand at all is quite shocking. 

After all of this, I am still left wondering why someone who has just recently had one of the biggest makeup mishaps in Hollywood, would start a makeup company.

I am referring to her infamous look from the 2018 Met Gala. There was gold glitter splotched across her eyes with zero care, and her crusty lip color blended in with her skin.

Speaking of her skin, her shiny orange complexion from a recent spray tan came dangerously close to the one we currently associate with President Trump. 

Gomez claims in an interview with Allure that this makeup mishap was due to poor photography. However, I don’t buy it one bit. In a photograph with both Gomez and model Gigi Hadid, Hadid looks stunning in her delicate makeup look, while Gomez looks as though her eyes are smudged and her skin is the same color as her lips. 

In another photograph with Gomez and billionaire Kylie Jenner, Jenner looks fierce with a polished dark eye and a nude lip while Gomez looks, all in all, scattered. If she was not photographed well, like she claims, then why do others, pictured in the same photographs, look absolutely stunning? 

Gomez’s beauty line was set to drop mid-March; however, with the dangerous spread of coronavirus, the launch has been postponed until further notice, with experts estimating it will be launched in late summer.