Selena Gomez’s Rare Beauty Just Dropped a Contour That Shows What the Beauty Industry SHOULD Look Like
We all recognize Rare Beauty for championing diversity with innovative products and extensive color ranges. Listening to consumers’ demands, the brand’s latest addition is the Soft Pinch Liquid Contour. Rare Beauty launched its new product on January 21. The accompanying campaign features founder Selena Gomez and a group of well-known content creators—a first for the brand.
About the new drop
Available in seven shades, the Soft Pinch Liquid Contour is described as a product that complements a “wide variety of undertones.” Similar to Rare Beauty’s hero product (a liquid blush), the contour is highly pigmented and retains a creamy finish.
The Soft Pinch Liquid Contour’s formulation leans on cooler tones—unlike many products marketed as contours but serving a bronzer’s purpose. (Quick beauty lesson: A bronzer is meant to tap into warmer tones to give the skin a sunkissed appearance. Meanwhile, contours are cool-toned, so they enhance shadows and add structure to the face.)
On the internet, beauty enthusiasts, particularly those with darker skin tones, have commended Rare Beauty’s new drop. Black creators remark that the liquid contour’s darkest shade is perhaps one of the darkest in the market, catering to people often overlooked in the industry.
In addition to the inclusive color range, the product’s diversity-driven campaign has quickly gained traction online.
What is Rare Beauty doing differently?
Not long ago, beauty brand founder Luisa Chima outraged the internet when she claimed that “dark skin [tones] are uncommon.” Her unfortunate statement was an attempt to justify her brand, Kaba Beauty’s limited color range. A few days before she took to TikTok, a beauty content creator had gone viral for criticizing Colombian beauty brands. In the video, model Jhorcellyth spoke up against beauty brands disregarding Colombia’s large Black population and promoting dark-skin products with white women.
This wasn’t the first time a beauty brand has been criticized for failing to meet social responsibility standards. In 2024, Youthforia was criticized for creating a black pigment foundation.
With beauty brands often criticized for their exclusive shade ranges and lack of ad representation, Rare Beauty stepped up for the launch of the Soft Pinch Liquid Contour.
“Rare Beauty absolutely crushes by not just telling us this is an inclusive share range,” says content creator Brooke Yoakam (@thebrandblueprint) in a TikTok video. “But actually showing us and partner[ing] with creators of all different shades to prove this contour works on everyone.”
Social media personalities Daus Mendoza, Anastazia Dupree, Tatyana Lafata, Vidya Gopalan, Lisa Joy, and Melinda Berry joined Gomez in the campaign images. The group showcased seven shades of contour meant to work for most skin colors.
Rare Beauty’s VP of PR and influencer marketing, Jessica White, told Glossy that the brand “didn’t just aim to check [the diversity] box.” Instead, they selected “creators who align with its mission and authentically support [them].”
How are people liking it?
If TikTok is any indication, Brown and Black beauty creators love Rare Beauty’s new launch. Several creators have praised the contour’s blendability and ease of use. True to the campaign’s name (Dot. Blend. Done), the liquid contour can be applied in small dots and blended to sculpt the face.
Brazilian internet personality Tatyana Lafata, also part of the campaign, demonstrated how to apply it. In a TikTok video, Lafata first defines her face with the liquid contour, then layers it with the famous Soft Pinch Liquid Blush.
And in case you’d like to recreate Selena Gomez’s look in the campaign, one of our favorite Latinas in beauty posted the official breakdown. Cynthia Di Meo, Global Artistry Director at Rare Beauty, published a video on Instagram, guiding viewers step by step to achieve the same look. The glam, of course, features the new liquid contour and some of Rare Beauty’s star products.
Inclusivity in the beauty industry
Although the number of brands expanding their shade ranges has dramatically increased in recent years, the beauty industry has systematically excluded minority groups by catering to light skin tones and reinforcing Eurocentric beauty standards.
Since its launch in 2020, Rare Beauty has been a true game-changer. Fostering a community that values authenticity and inclusivity, the brand has become one of the best-selling in the market. Case in point: per data company YipitData, more than 26% of Sephora’s blush sales belong to Rare Beauty.
Additionally, the brand has supported several causes through the Rare Impact Fund, mobilizing funds for organizations dedicated to increasing access to youth mental health services and education.
While many celebrity-led brands have disappeared over time, Rare Beauty and Selena Gomez are proving that, unlike common belief, social responsibility and profitability can go hand in hand.
