In this op-ed, The Teen Edit talks about the Rare Impact Fund, created by Rare Beauty by Selena Gomez, which makes mental health care more accessible and why a mission-driven brand matters.

We knew Selena did not come to play when she launched one of the most inclusive beauty brands in the industry, creating 48 freaking shades of foundation and concealer, which literally includes every single tone of human skin. Plus, when we heard that Rare Beauty was about breaking down unrealistic standards of beauty, we fell in love with it even more. A PETA-certified cruelty-free and vegan brand that is passionate about reducing the harmful impacts on the environment and, one that is affordable, high quality and believes in the power of vulnerability, what’s not to love about Rare Beauty?

However, when we found out about the biggest mission behind Rare Beauty, the Rare Impact Fund, we immediately added all products to cart. Selena Gomez has always been open about the power of vulnerability and her mental health, so it only makes sense that she chose to create the Rare Impact Fund, which aims at making mental health care more accessible through donations.

‘The Rare Impact Fund will help support the local, national, and global organizations that have a direct impact on the well-being of Rare Beauty’s community, with a focus on underserved communities.’ 

Rare Beauty

The Rare Beauty team has taken it upon themselves to donate a total of a whopping $100 million to various mental health care organisations over the next 10 years, especially aiming to serve the underserved communities, in order to help contribute to address the feelings of chronic loneliness. 

By collecting 1% from each order placed on Rare Beauty, the Rare Impact Fund hopes to achieve their ambitious goal of $100 million, in a span of 10 years. Not only that; she’s also created a team of mental health professionals, the Rare Beauty Mental Health Council to maximise their impact. While Rare Beauty might not be the first mission-driven brand, it should certainly not be the last and here’s why. 

‘To help guide our strategy, Rare Beauty also created the Rare Beauty Mental Health Council, comprised of leaders and practitioners from the fields of mental health, philanthropy, entertainment, media, academia, and beauty.’

Rare Beauty

In the pandemic, many of us experienced days after days of endless thoughts, some, which were not so beneficial and eventually contributed to a lot of psychology paths that went down. Mental illness is prevalent in one among 5 adults and 44.4% of teens say that they suffer from various mental illnesses. These numbers are frighteningly high, but they rarely include the underserved communities.

Selena is more than just the Founder of the Brand. Due to her deep understanding of the negative effects of a bipolar disorder, which she has openly talked about, she is able to empathise with people who are suffering in the same manner as her. Selena has a massive platform and she’s clearly aware of it. Alongside with attempting and hugely contributing to bridging the gap in mental health services, she’s also normalising having bad mental health days and de-stigmatising the conservative thoughts behind mental disorders. 

It takes courage to take such a step and we applaud her for it, but creating mission-driven brands is the need of the hour. There’s no denying the fact that there is an increasing number of celebrity-created and profitable brands every year and with that, also comes a huge amount of money. If such brands with their massive audience, were able to contribute to a cause which reflects on something they have experienced, not only does it speed up the path to making a better world, but also encourages and influences their ever-growing audience to be more giving and makes them feel less lonely in what they’re going through, because they know that there is a whole community of people that are going through the same thing, irrespective of it being in a better or worse degree. Rare Beauty has now become one of the most inclusive and sought-out beauty brands in the industry.

Donate to the Rare Impact Fund here.