Image Credit: Rare Beauty

Founded in 2019, Rare Beauty is a cosmetics company created and run by Selena Gomez. Taken at face value, it may look identical to any other celebrity-led brand. However, since its conception Gomez has instilled within it a great number of ethical values. Upon its announcement on social media, for example, the singer and actress stressed that her products are not intended to facilitate or encourage unrealistic beauty standards; instead, they are made in an attempt to break down the “pressure…to be ‘perfect.’” In a material effort towards this end, a percentage of Rare Beauty profits are donated to mental health services across the globe, including some with specific groups at their forefront like the Trans Lifeline.  It is clear, then, that this is a brand with a cause.

In 2023, Gomez launched the Made Accessible initiative. In collaboration with the Casa Colina Research Institute, an organisation dedicated to improving the lives of disabled people, the initiative aims to make products easy to use for each and every customer. Focused on catering to those with limited hand mobility, the line features products that are simple to open and close, unlikely to slip, and smooth to apply. Each of the seven products so far aligned with the initiative are listed on the brand’s website, along with a short description of exactly how the packaging is beneficial. For example, the Positive Light Liquid Luminizer – a highlighter – is said to be accessible for these three reasons: 

• Cap design allows for secure and easy grip, opening, and application;

• Applicator is easy to remove from bottle;

• Bottle size allows for a firm grip and comfortable hold.

Having this technical information on the site is bound to be helpful, and it seems to be accurate – since the products’ release, reactions have been overwhelmingly positive; Christen Roos, a woman whose genetics make her arms shorter than most, told Buzzfeed News she was “amazed” by the ease with which she could open these products. Here it appears that Gomez has successfully opened her brand up to people experiencing dexterity issues and thereby greatly broadened its reach.

More recently, this time with help from hand therapists, Rare Beauty has brought out a new accessible perfume bottle. Pictured below, the Rare Eau de Parfum features a sleek, oversized pump. Designed with ergonomics in mind, the pump allows users to spray the fragrance with any part of the hand or body; in a consumer study, around 96% of those with physical impairments found this to be true. 

Image Credit: Rare Beauty 

For me, the release of another product specifically catered to increased needs speaks volumes. It means that, two years after the origin of the Made Accessible drive, inclusivity remains a genuine, crucial priority for Gomez and her team. While it remains true – and perhaps unfortunate – that not all Rare Beauty products are made with such a priority in the foreground, consumers can rest assured that the team is actively working towards greater accessibility. Furthermore, the widespread popularity of the brand means that its initiatives are certain to reach mainstream media; such publicity can only help to raise awareness of disabilities and extremity impairments, especially in relation to the use of everyday products like makeup and perfume. Therefore, in creating these products Gomez has not only provided impaired beauty enthusiasts with a functional solution: she has also communicated, to the cosmetics industry and to society, that they absolutely deserve to be catered to.