In today’s edition: ShopMy hits a $1.5 billion valuation, Priscilla Chan’s efforts to outsmart disease, and Fortune’s Ellie Austin with the top takeaways from her conversation with Selena Gomez at the Fortune MPW Summit. In the saturated celebrity beauty market, self-acceptance has emerged as a core value in recent years. A host of successful brands, including Lady Gaga’s Haus Labs, Rihanna’s Fenty Beauty and Rare Beauty, founded by Selena Gomez are, refreshingly, prioritizing inclusivity over unattainable physical norms. But can celebrities credibly build businesses around the rejection of unrealistic beauty norms that they often play a major role in promoting?
It’s a subject that I discussed
at last week’s Most Powerful Women Summit with Gomez herself. She joined us, along with Elyse Cohen, Rare Beauty’s chief impact officer, to explain how the company balances profit with purpose. Estimates value Rare Beauty, which Gomez launched in 2020, at around $2.7 billion. Thanks to products including its now-viral liquid blush, it’s one of Sephora’s top-selling brands globally. And 1 percent of all Rare Beauty sales goes to the Rare Impact Fund, a philanthropic arm focused on access to youth mental health services and education.
Selena Gomez in conversation with Rare Beauty chief impact officer Elyse Cohen and Fortune’s Ellie Austin at the 2025 Fortune Most Powerful Women Summit in Washington, D.C. Leigh Vogel/Getty Images for Fortune MediaGomez told me that she considers skepticism about celebrities promoting natural beauty “very valid.” “I’m as real as I can be… I’ll tell you all the things that are photoshopped. I’ll tell you where I got Botox,” she said onstage. Her ultimate goal, she added, is “to be remembered for what I’ve done for people.”
The GLP-1 boom, combined with a
global surge in cosmetic surgery, has created a new layer of pressure on young women—and men—when it comes to their bodies. Do brands like Rare Beauty need to change how they speak to their customers in order to meet this complex moment?
“Not at all,” said Gomez. “If anything, we’ll just double down on our [current] message and how we don’t use models. We use people [in our campaigns] who feel like they could be your best friend. So many brands have been doing this. It’s not just us… It makes me really proud.”
Some other takeaways from my conversation with Selena and Elyse:
– Gomez said she has no plans to sell Rare Beauty, despite a string of recent, major acquisitions showing that there’s a strong market for prestige, influencer, and celebrity-led beauty brands. “I’m not ready. I love what we do and I don’t want it to change,” she told me.
– Cohen stated that, despite some of Rare Beauty’s products being made in South Korea, tariffs have not materially impacted the business as yet. “For the most part, we’ve stayed true to our prices and continue to want to ensure we are a brand that is accessible across the board.”
– A number of the 30 non-profit organizations that the Rare Impact Fund partners with have been impacted this year by changes in federal funding. “Not only do these organizations need funding, they need capacity building,” explained Cohen. “Their staff are being laid off.” Cohen said the fund offers a range of strategic support to their partners. “We are not just funders who hand over checks.”
– Gomez shared some business advice from her close friend, Taylor Swift, who
shattered records earlier this month when
The Life of a Showgirl became the biggest-selling album of the modern era. “She said, ‘If you’re the smartest person in the room, you’re in the wrong room.’ And that’s why I surround myself with incredible people,” Gomez explained.
You can watch the full conversation
here.
Ellie Austinellie.austin@fortune.comThe Most Powerful Women Daily newsletter is Fortune’
s daily briefing for and about the women leading the business world. Today’s edition was curated by Emma Hinchliffe. Subscribe here.
