4 days ago
Rare Beauty reveals Selena Gomez's favourite makeup products
Imagine having Selena Gomez as your boss. For Rare Beauty's Chief Product Officer, Joyce Kim, this is her day-to-day reality. And according to Joyce, even after six years of working together, the buzz of receiving FaceTime calls from the international superstar still feels 'bonkers.'
The LA-based businesswoman was recently in Sydney as the keynote speaker for the Vogue Codes 2025 summit and during her speech she revealed some surprising facts about the pop star.
For instance, Selena is so dedicated to her beauty brand, she often spends her weekends dressed in disguise and hanging out at her local Sephora.
'She sneaks into the store, usually wearing a mask, stands near the Rare Beauty gondola and just listens to what customers are saying,' Joyce told the audience.
While she was in town we got the chance to pick Joyce's brain on all things Rare Beauty - from Selena's favourite makeup hacks, her must-have beauty products and the one beauty item that was the most frustrating to perfect.
WHAT'S SELENA GOMEZ LIKE AS A BOSS?
'She's so dreamy, I don't know how else to describe it. Being in her physical presence is dreamy. She's so kind and so vulnerable. She makes you feel like you were the only person in the room… it's so romantical.'
WHAT'S THE ONE PRODUCT SELENA USES EVERYDAY?
'The Brow Harmony Flexible Lifting Gel, it's her go-to jam. She uses it every day. She needs to leave the house with her brows done and that's her little black dress of 'I feel put together'.'
Brow Harmony Flexible Lifting Gel, $34 at Sephora
WHAT OTHER PRODUCTS ARE IN SELENA'S MAKEUP ROUTINE?
'Her makeup artist, Hung Vanngo, is the best and he uses a lot of Hope and Happy on her - he likes a tonal look. So if it's Hope on the cheek, he'll do Hope on the lip in the soft pinch lip oil.'
Rare Beauty Soft Pinch Liquid Blush (Hope), $45 at Sephora
Rare Beauty Soft Pinch Luminous Powder Blush (Hope), $48 at Sephora
WHAT ARE YOUR THREE BEST BEAUTY HACKS?
'First one is layering liquid and powder blushes. I love blush. I love that it makes me look alive. I love a liquid blush and then a powder blush right on top of it to really hold it in and set it in place.'
Rare Beauty Soft Pinch Luminous Powder Blush (Happy), $48 at Sephora
'Second one is I like to use a fluffy eyeshadow brush for my concealer. I think it gives it more of an airbrushed look verse just a flat foundation brush.'
'And I love to use bronzer as a little hit of eyeshadow on the crease to give it a little bit of depth.'
WHAT'S YOUR CHEAPEST BEAUTY HACK?
'This is very questionable, but I love Johnson & Johnson Baby Lotion. I know it's crazy. I use it for my daily moisturiser. I also use it to remove eye makeup if I don't have an eye makeup remover with me, it really breaks down waterproof eye makeup. And also, this is kind of gross, but I also use it to shave.'
WHAT DO YOU THINK IS THE MOST COMMON MAKEUP MISHAP?
'Skip sunscreen. Oh my gosh, I meet so many people that don't use sunscreen. You've got to put the sunscreen on, from your forehead down to your shoulders.'
Always read the label and follow directions for use. Prolonged sun exposure should be avoided.
WHAT PRODUCTS ARE YOU IN YOUR MAKEUP ROUTINE?
'I'm a tinted moisturiser girl. Obviously I'm a little bias but I love our tinted moisturiser.'
'And for blush, I have Hope with a layering of Cheer on top in the luminous blush that has a little bit of shimmer.'
Rare Beauty Soft Pinch Luminous Powder Blush (Cheer), $48 at Sephora
THE ONE ITEM THAT'S ALWAYS IN YOUR HANDBAG?
'My lips are really dry all the time, so I have to have some sort of gloss balm. I love our Stay Vulnerable Glossy Lip Balm. It is like a dark horse. It's got that really lovely balmy, cushiony texture, hint of colour.'
'Hair. I use Pureology shampoo and conditioner. It is such a nice lather. It's so luxurious.'
Pureology Hydrate Sheer Shampoo, $44.25 (down from $59)
Pureology Hydrate Conditioner, $47.20 (down from $59) at Adore Beauty
'Kerastase hair masks are also really good. My hairdresser just told me to get the Kerastase men's thickening version.'
Genesis Homme Bain de Masse Épaississant Thickening Shampoo for Men, $60 at Kerastase Paris
WHAT PRODUCTS ARE IN YOUR SKINCARE ROUTINE?
'I use a lot of SkinCeuticals, especially their Blemish Defence because I still get adult acne.'
SkinCeuticals Blemish + Age Defense Serum, $116 (down from $145) at Adore Beauty
'I also use their CE Ferulic, which is like a vitamin C.'
'And I LOVE Tatcha.'
'I also love the Biodance collagen mask. I literally will sleep in it for eight hours, I'll wake up, peel it off and I feel younger.'
Biodance Bio Collagen Real Deep Mask, $29 at Amazon Australia
WHICH PRODUCT TOOK THE LONGEST TO PERFECT?
'Mascara. It's such a fine balance of formula, brush wiper and the type of lashes you have. It's so personal. For the development, we tried 30 iterations of different formulas and brushes.'
