Rare Beauty joins Substack

Global – Selena Gomez’s Rare Beauty is joining a growing cohort of brands turning to Substack to strengthen consumer relationships through long-form storytelling. Launched on 1 April 2025, the Rare Beauty Secrets newsletter offers behind-the-scenes insights into product development, brand culture and the Rare Impact Fund’s mental health work – content that doesn’t fit the bite-sized mould of TikTok and Instagram.

MacKenzie Kassab, Rare Beauty’s director of creative strategy and author of the newsletter, told Modern Retail that the move was inspired by the team’s own Substack habits and the need for a platform to share untold stories. Early success came from a post on its Soft Pinch Bouncy Blush, sparking demand for more product back stories.

While Rare Beauty’s Substack remains informal and agile, it signals a shift in how brands are adopting creator behaviours and positioning newsletters as community-first, editorial experiences rather than sales tools.

In Three Key Takeaways From NRF 2025: Retail’s Big Show, we unpacked how retail is entering a new era of post-omnichannel brand eco-systems to build authentic communities and engaged audiences. Rare Beauty and Refy are two brands leading the industry with impressive community-driven marketing strategies.