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On Wednesday, President Biden signed a bill forcing TikTok to find a new owner within a year or face a U.S. ban. While the app’s fate hangs in the balance, one thing remains certain: its powerful position in the realm of beauty marketing.
Rare Beauty, founded by Selena Gomez and launched in September 2020, has grown up on TikTok. Its Soft Pinch Liquid Blush, seen in posts with the hashtag #rarebeautyblush, has been used in over 60,000 posts. As of September 2023, the hashtag had 1.8 billion views.
“[Rare is] the quintessential celebrity founder and creator-led brand,” said Ajay Salpekar, head of beauty for TikTok Shop U.S. “It has strong resonance with the audience on TikTok and TikTok Shop.”
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Now, starting with a VIP event on Friday, Rare Beauty and TikTok Shop are co-hosting the latter’s first-ever IRL pop-up in Los Angeles. It will be open to the public all weekend. The activation follows Rare and TikTok Shop’s “Super Brand Day” joint promotion, which allowed the brand to have a mega TikTok Shop spotlight on its Soft Pinch Luminous Powder Blush launch from April 4-7.
TikTokers have long had a love affair with Rare Beauty, which currently has 3.8 million TikTok followers, and its blush. In 2021, a post by creator Ferny Zambrana (253,000 TikTok followers), in which she accidentally puts on too much of the famously-pigmented product, exemplifies how the product has motivated people to have more fun with makeup, said Ashley Murphy, Rare Beauty’s vp of consumer marketing.
When the brand expanded the Soft Pinch blush franchise with the addition of its Soft Pinch Luminous Powder Blush in March, it presented an opportunity for Rare and TikTok to leverage their strong relationship. Just prior, the brand had been “ramping up” its use of TikTok Shop, Salpekar said.
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“What we’re trying to engender is more conversations,” Salpekar said. “That [benefits] the brand, as well, because the more creator and consumer conversations there are, the better the product is understood and the better [it performs in] the marketplace.” Rare and TikTok have invited both creators with whom they have existing relationships and those they have yet to work with to the pop-up.
As for why an IRL experience felt relevant for TikTok as a digital platform, Salpekar said, “TikTok plays a role in the shopping journey, particularly for Gen Z, both online and offline. The Gen-Z audience is used to seeking discovery and inspiration on TikTok, no matter where [they’re purchasing], whether it’s on the brand’s site, at a retailer or on TikTok itself. We recognize the role we play in consumer shopping decisions, and so does the brand.”
Rare Beauty has held many pop-ups in its relatively short lifespan — and they’ve been known to elicit lines that go on for blocks. “Community is at the heart and soul of Rare Beauty, and hosting pop-ups gives us the opportunity to bring people together and feel good doing it,” Murphy said. “Our community gets to experience the brand in a new way, but most importantly, they make connections with one another.”
Salpekar added, “Pop-up stores are very much part of Rare Beauty’s DNA. [They are] one of the ways the brand grew as explosively as it did. They’re very authentic to the brand, and [this iteration] allows TikTok to participate in the online and offline journey that consumers have, too.”
Of the April 4-7 Super Brand Day Activation, Murphy explained that it was a joint marketing effort, but not a pay-to-play opportunity. For Rare, the main investment was the team’s time. During each of the four Super Brand Days, Rare Beauty went live on TikTok for an hour. On TikTok’s side, the investment was primarily in the involved design and UX.
During the Super Brand Days, a TikTok search for “Rare Beauty,” “Rare Beauty Super Brand Day” or “Rare Beauty Selena Gomez” transformed the app into a Rare-dedicated experience defined by curated videos. The four-day campaign had several components. Brands that are given Super Brand Days are prominently featured in TikTok’s Shop Tab and given a dedicated landing page and banners promoting the event. For the same period, creators were rolling out shoppable content with dedicated Rare Beauty hashtags and TikTok was sending push notifications promoting the Super Brand Day.
“Rare Beauty is the first brand to take over the search tab,” Murphy said, noting the brand’s ability to change the app experience when certain search terms were used during the event. The only other entity to do this was Taylor Swift, for the Eras Tour. “On the search tab, consumers saw a custom interface based on what Soft Pinch product they were looking for. For example, if they were looking for Soft Pinch Lip Oil, they could tap on the lip oil tab and view demonstrable, shoppable videos,” she said. To further amplify the event, the brand tapped seven creators for paid partnerships.
Each day, the brand offered a different gift with a purchase of $50 or more. Depending on the day, that included its Always an Optimist Illuminating Primer Mini, its Find Comfort Tinted Clutch, its Hydrating Under Eye Patches or a branded makeup case.
“[TikTok Shop] is all about content and creator commerce, or what we’re calling community commerce. And we focus on working with brands that know how to use the creators on the TikTok Shop platform to drive discovery.” Salpekar said.
Rare Beauty is only the second brand in the U.S. to host a Super Brand Day on TikTok Shop. The first was E.l.f., from March 31-April 3. Most recently, hair tool company Beachwaver was featured from April 12-16.
“[TikTok] approached us, knowing that we’re always open to testing and that we perform quite well organically,” Murphy said. “From there, we created the program together.”
Rare Beauty declined to comment on sales resulting from its Super Brand Days. According to Murphy, the goal for the initiative was to “drive mass awareness” around the Soft Pinch Luminous Powder Blush and to “help drive clients to shop the collection on TikTok Shop,” which is mutually beneficial for both parties. “We know our consumer is spending their time on TikTok, and it’s important for us to meet them where they are,” Murphy said.
According to Salpekar, pointing to TikTok data, 70% of TikTok users say they discover products and brands on TikTok, and 84% say the app plays an important role in influencing their purchases. In January, Bloomberg reported that TikTok was aiming to grow the size of its US e-commerce business to over $17.5 billion this year.
As for Rare Beauty, rumors of a potential acquisition are currently swirling. It has been reported that its net sales now exceed $400 million. In 2022, Bloomberg reported that its Soft Pinch Liquid Blush alone had driven $70 million in sales.
Collabs of the week
Joe & The Juice x Agmes
Joe & The Juice has teamed up with cool-girl jewelry brand Agmes on a set of friendship necklaces. The necklaces feature a charm of a silver avocado or a gold vermeil egg to celebrate the juice chain’s new Eggcado breakfast sandwich. The set will retail exclusively on Agmes’s e-commerce site for $600.
“Breakfast is often the loneliest meal. So, for the campaign, we cast a group of talented fashion and food tastemakers to help us visually [encourage] people to come together for breakfast,” said Juliana Goldman, founder of Potion PR, which helped cast and conceptualize the campaign. The cast includes celebrity chef and nutritionist Shauna Faulisi, multidisciplinary artist CJ Hart, and fashion influencer Lilly Sisto, among others.
“When I heard that the sandwich is a play on how egg and avocado are friends, that pretty much sealed the deal for me,” said Morgan Lang, founder of Agmes.
I asked Lang if she was concerned about making an egg and avocado seem cool in jewelry. “I’ve had organic or food references in Agmes collections for a long time, whether Calla Lillies of different scales in my Botanical collection or even the Artichoke Pendant that’s always held a sentimental place for me. With the avocado and the egg, it felt like a natural, cheeky way to create pieces that could be shared and show love in a fun way. It’s not much of a concern what others may think, if we’re true and authentic to ourselves, then there’s nothing to be concerned about,” she said. Shop it here.
M.M.LaFleur x The New York Liberty
The WNBA remained in the spotlight this week as M.M.LaFleur, known for its professional attire, released a collection in partnership with the WNBA team the New York Liberty. The collection is part of a multi-year partnership between the brand and the team, which includes members of the team’s executive leadership being outfitted by the brand.
The six-piece capsule collection, available on the brand’s e-commerce site, features a print based on a vintage map of Brooklyn, where the team plays at the Barclays Center, and the team’s signature seafoam hue. Head coach Sandy Brondello has already sported it courtside.
“Our goal is to ensure the women of the New York Liberty community feel confident and polished in every aspect of their lives so they can command rooms and drive change without worrying about what to wear,” said Shelby Goldfaden, M.M. LaFleur’s director of merchandising, adding that the collection prioritizes sophistication and comfort.
Spate Trend Watch: PHAs are the new ‘it’ chemical exfoliant
PHA Toner is gaining traction. Its average monthly Google search volume is smaller, hovering at around 3,000 on average, but that represents 132% year-over-year.
The category is being fueled by products including the Glow Recipe PHA + BHA Pore-Tight Watermelon Glow Toner, The Inkey List PHA Toner, the Benton PHA Peeling Toner and the Some By Mi AHA.BHA.PHA 30 Days Miracle Toner. And K-beauty is a clear influence, evident in both the products and the brands dominating the space.
A PHA, short for poly-hydroxy acid, is a chemical exfoliant with a larger molecular size than an AHA, or alpha hydroxy acid. As such, it penetrates the skin less, making it a better choice for more sensitive skin types. Consumer searches for toners indicate an interest in daily-use products for gentle exfoliation.
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