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For many, Rare Beauty is synonymous with its bestselling Soft Pinch Liquid Blush ($25), easily recognizable by its gold, rounded top.
In July 2022, the product made a splash in the business world when Bloomberg reported that the brand had sold $70 million worth of the hero SKU — and that was nearly three years ago. Since then, it has expanded the franchise with its Soft Pinch Luminous Powder Blush, launched in March 2024; and its Soft Pinch Tinted Lip Oil Stain, launched in March 2023 — both share that signature gold cap. The Soft Pinch franchise is the brand’s most popular, a rep for the brand told Glossy, though they declined to share more specifics.
Now, Rare Beauty is gearing up to make a substantial addition to the famous franchise with Tuesday’s announcement of the new Soft Pinch Liquid Contour ($28), available in seven shades.
For the launch campaign, the brand stepped away from using solely its famous founder for the first time in its history — Rare Beauty launched in September 2020. Instead, it cast six creators to star alongside Selena Gomez to highlight the shade range and promote product education. It tapped Daus Mendoza (667,000 Instagram followers), Anastazia Dupee (371,000 Instagram followers), Tatyana Lafata (@tatlafata; 425,000 Instagram followers), Vidya Gopalan (@queencitytrends; 314,000 Instagram followers), Lisa Joy (@alejayofficial; 530,000 Instagram followers) and Melinda Berry (@melinda_melrose, 1 million Instagram followers). It should be noted that some of these creators have even larger followings on TikTok, but the ultimate fate of the app remained unknown at press time.
In casting the campaign, Rare was seeking “creators who align with its mission and authentically support [the brand],” said Jessica White, vp of PR and influencer marketing. It had six shades to cast matches for, but “we didn’t just aim to check that box,'” she said. Instead, “We look for people who are rare, inside and out.”
For example, White noted that Berry caught Rare’s eye when her content about its highlighter went viral. The brand then invited her to its Rare Impact Fund Benefit as a vibe check. “Especially when you’re going to shoot with Selena, … we care about people’s character,” White said. “Not only does her energy translate from the screen — when you watch her, she’s so infectious, you can feel her energy — but it’s [also apparent] in person. She really embodies the Rare ethos.” All of the creators in the campaign were selected for similar reasons.
Rare has prioritized its creator relationships since its inception, said White. “We have really built relationships with creators. We’ve been monitoring them for a very long time,” White said.
The OG Soft Pinch Liquid Blush was one of the first products to go viral on TikTok. Initially, White recalled, it wasn’t a positive — creators struggled, and ultimately learned in real-time, how to control the product’s now famed heavy pigment.
Therefore, when considering how to educate consumers on how to use its Liquid Contour, Rare knew creators would be helpful.
The official name of the campaign is “Dot. Blend. Done,” which, Rare Beauty CMO Katie Welch noted, riffs on how Gomez herself uses the brand’s Soft Pinch products.
The cool-toned Soft Pinch Liquid Contour is intended to be a true contour product that “enhances what you love about your face,” Welch said. Rare’s existing Warm Wishes Effortless Cream Bronzer Stick, a December 2021 launch, is, by contrast, a true bronzer.
The campaign will be featured on a Times Square billboard, which will be active between February 6-17. Rare’s marketing efforts around the launch will also include activations at Sephora Times Square, as well as in-store educational events at other Sephora locations. The creators featured in the campaign will post on their own social media pages on Wednesday, as well. In February, Rare will orchestrate a trip to bring the six creators who starred in the campaign to see themselves featured on the Times Square billboard.
Rare began teasing the new launch a few weeks ago. On January 6, creator Madison Handley (@madisonlhandleyy; 6,500 Instagram followers) posted a Reel teasing the upcoming launch. Handley was one of a select group of just 20 creators to receive a mailer designed to pre-hype the launch. It contained the hero blush, the brand’s Positive Light Liquid Luminizer Highlight and, in the middle, an empty component with the same Soft Pinch packaging. In the Reel, Handley says, “Rare Beauty is teasing us,” and notes that she thinks the launch is going to be a liquid bronzer.
“[This product is] something that people have been asking for since we launched Soft Pinch [Liquid Blush]. We heard that from our field team. We’ve heard that on social, in DMs, and in our comments,” Welch said. “The formula is so beautiful, so easily blendable — we’re excited to see how people use it and how it comes to life on social, just like Soft Pinch Liquid Blush came to life on social.”
