Selena Gomez is opening up about how her relationship with makeup has changed... and for the better.
In a recent interview with Refinery29 Australia, the star discussed her simultaneous launch of the Rare Impact Fund—an initiative to expand access to mental health services and education for young people—and her beauty brand, Rare Beauty, in 2020.
“Mental health is really at our core and I'm so proud that 1% of all Rare Beauty sales globally go to the Rare Impact Fund,” the Only Murders in the Building actress told the publication, before diving into how she manages to cope with unhealthy societal beauty standards.
“There is a lot of noise out there and I do my best to ignore it. I’m really grateful to have wonderful fans and an amazing community,” she said. “My hope is that we all create a safe space to be ourselves, to be vulnerable, and to challenge unrealistic standards of beauty.”
The star also revealed how her own relationship with makeup has changed.
“It’s become a lot healthier as I’ve grown up. I used to want to wear makeup to look older or look more like other people," she explained. "Now I have a lot of fun with makeup—doing my friends’ makeup or my own. I want to accentuate the features that make me unique instead of covering them up.”
In a 2021 interview with Elle, Gomez said that she has been interested in makeup since she was 7, and it "kind of messed with me."
“You’re so young and then working. I have professionals doing my makeup, and suddenly I can look 25 when I was 16, and it was crazy," she told the publication at the time. "Then I felt like: 'Oh, I look too young all the time. I should achieve that look more. I should try that.’ It just made me question my beauty for what it was."
In the same 2021 interview, Gomez admitted to "wanting to change my face" after seeing what she described as "intense" beauty trends.
“I think the most rewarding part of creating this line (Rare Beauty) is that we create a place for people who don’t necessarily want to get work done or change their face," she continued. "They just want to embrace what they are and what they have.”
In speaking with Refinery29 Australia, Gomez said she hopes to "change the way we talk about both beauty and mental health."
"I hope all of our products capture this ethos," she added.
