Ella Bright Becomes the Face of Rare Beauty Branding

Prime Video's show, Off Campus made us blush this past summer with its romantic storylines, hot costars, and fun friendships.

Now we see how 19-year-old breakout star, Ella Bright, has made all our cheeks rosy by becoming Rare Beauty's first-ever ambassador. In the "Made You Blush" campaign, Ella Bright highlights one of Rare Beauty's best-selling products, the Soft-Pinch Liquid Blush, in a cheeky nod to her character from the show.

Rare Beauty's Marketing Strategies

Rare Beauty branding centers on natural beauty, self-acceptance, and authenticity, using relatable people and real-life moments instead of traditional celebrity-led beauty marketing. Since launching in September 2020, the brand has quickly gained popularity by setting out to break down unrealistic expectations of perfection and make customers feel beautiful in their own skin rather than measured against unrealistic standards.

That positioning gives beauty shoppers, brand-watchers, and marketers a clear example of how an authentic message can resonate with Gen Z and Millennials. The brand's first global campaign, "Every Side of You," featured a diverse cast using Rare Beauty products in both exciting and mundane moments, and that same approach carries into later campaign work tied to products like Soft Pinch Liquid Blush.

Through campaigns such as "Made You Blush" with Ella Bright, Rare Beauty shows how its branding, product marketing, and mental health values work together—an effect that feels more authentic because Selena Gomez's personal connection to mental health is part of the brand story rather than a detached talking point.

Why Ella Bright Fits The Brand's Message

Aside from stating herself that Rare Beauty is one of her favorite makeup brands, specifically calling out the Soft Pinch Liquid Blush as a favorite in her routine, Ella Bright's overnight success gives Rare Beauty's branding the perfect amount of momentum to reintroduce the company's most well-known product.

Rare Beauty also has been applauded for its efforts towards supporting mental health services, and Selena Gomez's personal mental health journey helps shape that message after years of speaking openly about it. The company contributes 1% of its annual sales to Rare Impact, which works to reduce the stigma around mental health and provides resources to aid others in their mental health journeys.

Ella Bright has even mentioned her appreciation for the brand's outreach to this cause, saying she admires the project's dedication to mental well being and that it brought deeper meaning to being a part of the campaign, which feels true to the brand's message.

The Story Behind the Campaign with Selena Gomez

Ella's campaign itself makes many references to her character and storylines from her show, Off Campus. Ella's character in the show can be described as a quirky, cute, maybe even a little awkward girl who ends up falling in love with the star hockey player. Their love story begins with the classic "fake relationship" trope; however their chemistry is off the charts.

Ella's character, Hannah Wells finds herself in some steamy situations with costar Belmont Cameli's character, Garrett Graham, over the course of their fake relationship. One of their most notable moments comes from a scene in the locker room where Hannah insists Garrett will not make her blush. This moment ties in perfectly with Rare Beauty's branding in this campaign, where Ella is faced with many different men, all trying to make her... well blush.

Connecting the Character to the Message

In the campaign video, Ella claims, "People are always trying to make me blush. Problem is, no one ever can." She is then met with parody-like versions of the male characters she encounters as Hannah Wells in Off Campus. There's the hockey jock, the handyman, and the musician; however each is unsuccessful in their attempt to woo the persistent Ms. Bright.

The video ties in the Soft Pinch Liquid Blush when Ella says, "Turns out, there's only one thing that can make me blush." She is then seen applying the blush, revealing the most romantic, flirty flush of color to her cheeks and framing the product as a way to enhance what is already there rather than hiding it, so the result feels playful and feel good. That payoff also reflects how Rare Beauty promotes authenticity by celebrating unique individual beauty.

Why the Campaign Works

Rare Beauty's branding has centered itself around the notion of being easy to use during your everyday, clean-girl looks, or your boldest, night-out-on-the-town vibe, while also breaking unrealistic standards around who beauty is supposed to be for. But its deeper message has always been focused on beauty from within.

This campaign highlights that by saying men don't have to be the reason for making you blush, but you can achieve that on your own with a buildable, vibrant wash of color created with the use of the Soft Pinch Liquid Blush. The shade range allows for users with all different skin tones to find the color that works best for them, the application requires no previous skill, and the product design has also been recognized for improving accessibility for people with physical disabilities.

The Soft Pinch Liquid Blush is made for the every girl, the girl on the go, the girls' night dinners, and maybe even the occasional date or two.

Marketing Outside the Campaign: The Rare Impact Fund

Rare Beauty continues its outreach with this campaign by using TikTok to create authentic engagement with Gen Z, including having Ella Bright answer some fun questions inspired by the blush's shade names. Rare Beauty's branding has always centered around happiness, inspiration, and glee, and they do a fantastic job of reinforcing this in clever ways, such as the naming of their products.

Each blush shade is named after an emotion or an action that evokes a positive connotation toward the product and its usage. In a cute, quick video, an interviewer asks Ella some questions that incorporate some of the blush's shade names.

For example, one question reads, "What has been bringing you Joy lately?" to which Ella hilariously replies, "Green apples!" Videos like this one are important for continuing the brand's outreach because they make for a more relatable ambassador, while still connecting the dots between the product and the campaign. This social strategy helps build community, not just promote products, and supports a safe, welcoming space around the brand. It also encourages consumer-generated content and ongoing participation from fans on social media.

Ella Bright has such a girl-next-door aura about her that her using this product shows its accessibility and highlights the (no pun intended) bright feeling that Rare Beauty's products are intended to leave you with.

What's Next For Rare Beauty Brand Branding?

According to Piper Sandler's research in the Taking Stock with Teens survey, Rare Beauty has solidified itself as the second-most-popular beauty brand among Gen Z, only behind e.l.f. Beauty and surpassing Maybelline and Charlotte Tilbury. Rare Beauty launched in September 2020, and in a short time has built a clear vision that reaches far beyond makeup. This is in no small part due to Rare Beauty's incredible branding.

They know how to appeal to the younger generations who are starting their makeup journeys by making their products easy to use, with fun packaging, and now collaborations with their rising idols. The brand is also deliberate about releasing one product at a time to keep each launch focused. But they also have the competitive edge of still pulling in a more Millennial (not derogatory) crowd with their founder, Selena Gomez at the head of the operation.

Through this campaign, Rare Beauty adds relevancy to their brand by tapping a new rising star of a hit TV show that took over everyone's screens over the summer. Its popularity with Gen Z shows how firmly the brand has landed in the beauty world. Rare Beauty also won the 2020 WWD Beauty Inc Award for Startup of the Year. The brand was able to reintroduce a staple product in their line, but also give it a fresh perspective so it doesn't seem repetitive.

In summary, Rare Beauty's branding does an incredible job of staying relevant with the younger generations and creating staple items in a girl's makeup routine over time. It would be so fun to see them tap on a older Disney Channel icon such as Miley Cyrus or Hilary Duff in order to draw in more of the Millennial crowd, maybe even by creating some classic, early 2000's makeup trends!

🪽Written by Ivana Alejo