Rare Beauty Launches Lip Oil
Selena Gomez’s Rare Beauty is launching its Soft Pinch Tinted Lip Oil, $20, in eight shades.
Over the past few years, lip oil has become a fan favorite beauty product, especially on social media — videos tagged #LipOil on TikTok have 1 billion views — and other brands, including Hermès and Nyx, have launched their own versions within the past year.
More from WWD
Given consumer interest, lip oil was always on Rare Beauty’s product launch roadmap.
“Lip oil is definitely a category our community has been asking for since launch, but we didn’t want to rush a product to market just to meet a specific trend,” said Rare Beauty chief executive officer Scott Friedman. “In this case, our product development team spent a considerable amount of time working on an innovative formula that Selena fell in love with, and once we knew we had something special, we made the decision to bring it to market. The product itself is what drives the business strategy.”
In launching the product, Gomez, who recently became the most-followed woman on Instagram, was inspired by the key factors of the brand’s bestselling Soft Pinch Liquid Blush, $23 — videos tagged #RareBeautyBlush on TikTok have garnered 1 billion views.
“Soft Pinch Liquid Blush has become one of our bestselling products and it was so well received by our Rare Beauty community so I knew that I wanted to extend the family with another colorful, highly pigmented formula. The liquid blush was a big inspiration from the packaging, to the final effect of adding a flush of color that’s really comfortable to wear,” Gomez told WWD.
Rare Beauty’s chief product officer Joyce Kim doubled down on the importance of launching an extensive shade range, noting that oftentimes it can be difficult to formulate a wide array of colors when it comes to lip tints and oils.
“But just like the rest of our assortment, when we think about product innovation, creating a wide range of shades that will be flattering for any skin tone is a top priority,” she said.
Aside from the shades, the team focused on texture as a key differentiator for the product, which is formulated with jojoba seed oil and sunflower seed oil to provide hydration and protection.
“It’s different from other lip oils on the market because the texture is unlike anything I’ve experienced in a lip oil. It applies as a jelly texture, but transforms into a hydrating lip oil that feels nourishing,” Gomez said. The “Only Murders in the Building” star noted she enjoys applying the product over the brand’s Kind Words Matte Lipstick, $20, or the Kind Words Matte Lip Liner, $15.
The brand noted that this launch is just one of several to come over the next few years, as they aim to innovate in the category.
“We’ve been working closely with Selena on some compelling new projects, not just through 2023 but all the way out through 2025, so there will definitely be more products coming from Rare Beauty each season,” Kim said.
Industry sources estimate the lip oil could garner more than $30 million in retail sales its first year.
Best of WWD
