Help me, I have a retail problem.
Does anyone else use serious retail therapy as a way to make them feel better when you’re having a bad day? I swear, it’s like I’m wiping my tears with my credit cards these days.
And one thing that I have been splurging a bit on lately is makeup. I don’t know if I’ve been living under a rock (yes, I definitely have been) or if this happened relatively recently, but apparently Selena Gomez now has a makeup line that is available at Sephora! And as someone who is an unabashed fan of pretty much everything Selena Gomez comes out with, I had to get my hands on some of the products!
These products were all purchased 100% with my own money and of my own volition, so this is a completely unbiased and honest review of the Rare Beauty collection. These are all just my opinions. Some products work great for certain people and not-so-great for others. But hopefully, I can provide some insight into how they look and feel to educate you before you make some new purchases!
I also took it upon myself to apply a full face and spend the entire day wearing the products, so I will let you know how they hold up at the end of the post!
Disclosure: Please keep in mind that any of the links provided below are affiliate links which means that I am compensated if you do decide to make a purchase. Whether or not you do so is completely up to you!
Liquid Touch Weightless Foundation
I am pale as all heck, so I got the shade 110N which is light with golden undertones. Surprisingly, I nailed it on the guess (I usually am bad at this), and this was a pretty great shade for me! I think it will be even better during the wintertime since it was a tad too light, but I don’t think that going a shade darker would have worked either. Plus, once I had finished putting on my makeup, it looked great on my skin color-wise!
Now, I need to go ahead and adress the question that I whad on my mind when I purchased this foundation: is Rare Beauty by Selena Gomex good for dry skin?
And my answer is that I don’t think this foundation works on my dry skin.
First off–credit where credit is due–this is marketed as a non-cakey formula, and I have to agree with them there! This foundation has a thinner, more liquidy consistency with lighter coverage; because of this, I really wanted to like this foundation! I adore light coverage, buildable foundations! However, I noticed that I had immediate dry patches in the normal spots (the tops of my cheeks and my forehead).
I was also a bit disappointed because even though I used a damp beauty sponge to apply the foundation, I was having a hard time blending if I was using more than one layer of foundation. Again, this may be due to the fact that this may not be an optimal formula for anyone with dry skin (or maybe it’s just my skin).
However, I do think that it applied very nicely everywhere else on my face! It settled into my skin beautifully and didn’t oxidize into any crazy colors. So, I would say to exercise caution if you have dry skin. Personally, I know that my skin has been feeling dehydrated lately, so I am going to give this foundation another shot to see if it looks better on a day when I am feeling more hydrated. I’ll update this post with my final verdict at the end of the week!
EDIT: Later in the week (when my skin was feeling way more hydrated) I gave the foundation another try. I found that using my hands to warm up the product a bit BEFORE using the damp makeup sponge really helped the foundation apply smoothly in my drier spots.
If you do not have dry skin and you are looking for a light coverage foundation that is build-able and natural, definitely give this one a shot!
Liquid Touch Brightening Concealer
Again, pale AF, so I got the lightest shade which is 100W: light with warm golden undertones. And as someone with panda circles under my eyes, I am a sucker for anything with the word, “brightening” in the title.
I will say that though it did adequately cover my under eye circles, I had the same dryness issues with the concealer as the foundation (not a huge surprise).
So, again, if you do not have issues with dry skin and you want a very natural finish to your concealer that will not cake, I really do think that this is a product that will work for you! However, I don’t know if it is going to work on my skin.
Positive Light Liquid Luminizer Highlight
As far as first impressions go, my first thought when I swatched this on my hand was, “WOW, this is potent!” Even with the tiiiniest little dab, you get a ton of product. And at $22 per bottle, having a little go a long way is such a nice perk!
I bought the shade, “Champagne” which is the lightest and (in my opinion) the most wearable on a day-to-day basis for someone with a fair to light skin tone.
Just like the foundation and concealer, the formula of this highlight is on the liquidy side, but I actually prefer that in a liquid highlight. It applies smoothly and sinks into the skin well–adding a subtle shimmer with a small dab and then something more WHAM POW in your face with a second dab.
I actually am really loving this product as an easy, daily highlight and will FOR SURE be adding it into my makeup rotation! It definitely worked out for me much better than the foundation and concealer did!
With Gratitude Dewy Lip Balm
Okay, so I was definitely trying to limit myself to one of each product for testing purposes. I told myself that I would limit myself now and swing back and pick up more colors if I fell in love. But honestly, all of the shades of this lip balm looked SO PRETTY, so I just grabbed my three favorites based on the pictures. No regrets!
I bought Praise (a muted peachy tone), Support (a deeper pink/plum tone), and Empathy ( a beautiful rosy pink tone).
My first impression of these lip balms is that they were surprisingly pigmented. I always assume that a lip balm will have a light sheen of color, but these look and feel more like an ultra-hydrating lipstick–nothing wrong with that!
As I mentioned, these are definitely hydrating products; they feel soft and buttery and apply incredibly smoothly. And–most importantly–the colors are GORGEOUS! Of course, I only bought three, but I am more than pleased with the three I bought.
I found Empathy to be a very beautiful shade for a natural, every day look. It actually matches my natural lip color pretty well, so it is going to be great for those little-to-no makeup days.
Support is such a lovely color for the fall and winter, and I know that it is going to be in heavy rotation! And lastly, Praise is a really beautiful pinky peach shade that matched my blush (more on that later). I have light/fair skin with golden undertones, and I find this incredibly flattering on me!
Honestly, all of the shades I tried were fantastic and very wearable. I am not one for a bold lip; I prefer to keep things on the subtle side, and I think that these balms are perfect for that!
Soft Pinch Liquid Blush
Just like the luminizer, oh my goodness this is PIGMENTED! You only need a tiny little dab to get a good amount of color on your cheeks, so be careful (I used two dots on each side, and that was probably a bit too much, lol)!
Honestly, just like the lip products, all of the shades were soooo pretty, but I limited myself to one: Bliss. And truthfully, no regrets. This shade is KILLER!
Bliss was listed as a matte nude pink, and while I am normally a sucker for shimmery, dewy formulas, I have to say that I am really loving this matte! If you are looking for a universally flattering, very wearable, pretty pink blush this one is fantastic!
This is my first foray with a liquid blush, and I have to say that I am in love! It was easy to apply–just dab it onto your cheek and pat it in with your fingers. Just be careful with how much you put on your cheeks! Start with a tiny amount and build it up if you need more color!
Brow Harmony Pencil & Gel
One of the products that I was the most excited to try was the brow pencil/gel combo. I bought this in the shade “Warm Brown” even though I was kind of on the fence about what shade of brown my brows were.
Aaand I have to say that this pencil was a miss for me. To be fair, I definitely chose the wrong shade–warm brown was very warm, almost red. My brows are much darker than this!
So I’m not going to blame Rare Beauty on the color–that was definitely my fault. What I wasn’t that pleased with is how soft the pencil is. It feels like it melts away when you use it–not the best when you are paying $22 for a brow product!
And, since it was so soft when applying, I found that it was pretty difficult to apply with precision. It just felt a bit messy and looked unkempt. Again, maybe this was user error, but I just don’t think the formula is for me!
Always an Optimist 4-in-1 Prime & Set Mist
The last product that I purchased from Selena’s new line is the prime and set mist. I will note that since Rare Beauty does not have an actual powder product, I did set the makeup with my transluscent powder from Laura Merier and THEN used this setting mist.
Overall, I’d say it’s a pretty good finishing spray. When you shake it up in the bottle, you can see little shimmery bits mixed into the liquid, and that does translate a bit to the face. I do not mind a little bit of shimmer, so I didn’t mind this at all; but if you like a more matte finish, this spray may be something you skip over.
At the end of the day though, my makeup was set, and I was pleased! Also, I didn’t really detect much of a scent which is a bonus in my book!
My First Impressions of Rare Beauty
I put on a full face of Rare Beauty in the morning and went about my day in order to see how they held up. I took my makeup off at 9PM, so I spent about 12 hours wearing it all.
Overall, I think that my opinion from the initial application has remained consistent with my opinion at the end of the day. I absolutely adore the blush, highlight, and lip products. The lip products didn’t stay throughout the day, but the staying power was definitely better than your regular lip balm. Plus, I’m pretty hard on my lip products because I drink a lot of water throughout the day AND I’m a nervous lip chewer. All-in-all, I’d say that these five Rare Beauty products are well-worth the price, and I will probably add more shades to my collection in the future!
The only product that I could not wear was the brow pencil (because, again, it was totally the wrong shade), and that is also the one that I probably would not re-purchase just because I wasn’t a fan of the application.
As far as the foundation and concealer go, I would say that they held up in 90+ degree heat pretty well! Really, the only problem I had with either of those products was the fact that I just don’t think they are the best on my dry skin. The areas on my face that do not have dryness looked fantastic, but my problem areas just looked….problematic.
In the foundation’s defense, it actually looks stellar from far away and in photographs. It’s only when I get really close to my mirror that I notice the dryness. As I mentioned earlier in this post, I am going to stick with this combo for another week to see if my skin is just particularly dehydrated today! I’m rooting for these products, so I want them to work with my face!
Lastly, the setting spray….honestly, I feel pretty meh about this product. If you do not have a setting spray already, I think that this one works great and would be worth the buy. But if you already have one that you are happy with and works well for you, I don’t think you’re missing out by not buying it.
The Final Verdict
So, in conclusion, I’m pretty pleased with Rare Beauty! Although, I am not going to be replacing my entire makeup line-up with a full face of Rare Beauty products, I do think that some of these products are going to be mainstays–namely the blush and the lip products. And since the lip products worked out so well for me, I am going to be purchasing some of the lip souffles next!
Are you interested in trying out some Rare Beauty? How do you feel about Celebrity makeup lines in general? I personally love them! Let me know!
Hits:
- Soft Pinch Liquid Blush in Bliss
- With Gratitude Dewy Lip Balms in Praise, Empathy, and Support
- Positive Light Liquid Luminizer Highlight in Enlighten
Misses:
- Brow Harmony Pencil & Gel in Warm Brown
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