Sleek multicolored colored lip gloss tubes populate classrooms as students hop on the latest beauty trend: Rhode Beauty’s peptide lip tint. While scrolling through social media, it is almost a guarantee that you will come across the name Hailey Bieber at least once. Born to actor Stephen Baldwin in Tucson, Arizona, Hailey Bieber has secured her name as the founder of one of the most influential makeup and skincare brands of the century. Rhode Beauty’s success has been exponential due to Bieber’s ingenious marketing, which leverages social media presence as well as the aesthetics of the brand itself. While on the surface it seems as though Rhode Beauty is just another celebrity-owned makeup brand created as a cash-grab, there is more to Rhode than meets the eye.
Throughout Rhode’s lifespan, the brand has often been linked to the term “Clean Girl Makeup,” a more minimalist approach to beauty focused on emphasizing one’s natural beauty rather than overriding it. This makeup style emphasizes glowy skin, flushed cheeks, perfectly done eyebrows, and long natural eyelashes. “Clean Girl Makeup” aligns perfectly with Rhode because the brand has always gravitated towards simplistic packaging and products that supply a softer, more natural look. Though on the outside “Clean Girl Makeup” products may appear as though they can be used by everyone, there have been clear gaps in the way makeup brands have gone about releasing products catered towards this makeup style.
Oftentimes these large makeup brands simply create products meant for people with lighter complexions and skin tones, ignoring those who do not fit into this category. While the idea of people with darker complexions being heavily ignored in the beauty industry is not a novel concept, it would appear as though, societally, have moved in the direction of progress. This, however, is not the case; the beauty community has instead been running in circles, still ignoring the concept that inclusivity is the bare minimum.
However, this is where Rhode sets itself apart. The company has been taking strides to combat exclusivity by reframing “Clean Girl Makeup” as accessible to everyone, regardless of skin tone or complexion. When Golloria George, a prolific influencer in the beauty space criticized the brand’s lack of inclusivity, the brand responded to this feedback with action. On June 20, 2024, Rhode Beauty released a collection of “Pocket Blushes” intended to be worn on the cheek or lips for a “glowy finish without a greasy feel.” While on the surface the blush seemed it would be open for everyone, this proved to be false.
While most people with lighter complexions were raving about how well it worked for them, people with darker complexions were saying the complete opposite. Golloria, known for reviewing products on darker complexions, claimed that instead of giving her the promised glowy, flushed look, the blush looked “ashy” on her skin tone. Golloria then went on to state “I just feel like in 2024 if you’re gonna drop anything complexion [related] that it should be able to work for any skin tone.”
While most brands would push this criticism under the rug and ignore consumer complaints, Rhode instead decided to reach out to Golloria herself to get to the bottom of the issue. A few weeks later, Rhode released a reformulated pocket blush made to suit people with darker complexions. “This is why you advocate for yourself,” Golloria said. “You see what happens whenever you’re not complacent? And that’s what we call redemption.”
When looking at this incident from an outsider’s perspective, it may not appear to be a big deal; however, when we look at the way people with darker complexions have been historically ignored in the beauty industry, we can see the significance of Rhode’s response to Golloria. Instead of preserving her brand image by suppressing her complaint, Bieber used it as an opportunity to fortify her brand’s inclusivity, allowing consumers of all complexions to use the product.
