Rare Beauty vs Rhode: Inspiring E-commerce Content Marketing Comparison

In 2025, e-commerce sounds like Coachella with thousands of stages. With everyone shouting, it’s difficult for listeners to focus. Content marketing is all about helping your brand’s voice be heard in such an environment.

When customers feel ‌feelings thanks to your content, they stick around and buy more. Live examples of that are Rare Beauty and Rhode, two beauty empires powered by Selena Gomez and Hailey Bieber. 

Let's take a look at how they won hearts and made money from e-commerce content marketing. You can borrow a page or two from their playbooks to build your own community and generate a steady income from your brand fans.

Don’t Wait — Get Results

The Common Challenge: Standing Out Without Selling Out

Today’s shoppers scroll faster than ever. They have seen it all and are tired of content that feels like direct advertising. Who likes it when someone tells them what to do? It's activating some kind of inner teenage rebellion. “You want me to buy your product? Then I won't buy it even harder now!"

Two beauty brands, Rare Beauty and Rhode, chose different emotions for their content, but both nailed them:

• Rare Beauty's content is about: "We're the good guys. Join our community and think well of yourself." 

• Rhode's message is more like, "We're the coolest. Be with us, and know that you're on top of the hill."

Both are working in the most cutthroat industry on earth — dominated by legacy powerhouses like L’Oréal and Estée Lauder — and make everyone pay attention. So, that works!

To nail e-commerce content marketing, these brands carefully tested what works and what does not. They have already spent on tailoring their strategies the kind of money that could fund a small country. 

And now we can borrow their playbooks for free. We just need to watch these e-commerce content marketing case studies and learn. Lucky us! 

Rare Beauty Success Story: Emotional Connection Through Authenticity

At the heart of their content strategy is a human connection — making people feel seen, included, and part of something good. 

The Story

Selena Gomez wasn’t the first, the second, or even the tenth celebrity who launched a beauty brand. But Rare showed up with a mission, and that made it special. 

The brand stands for self-acceptance, mental health awareness, and inclusivity. Selena is very open about her own struggles, so the brand's message felt real. More like a friend passing you the glow-up advice you actually need.

They created a special Rare Beauty Mental Health Council to guide their content strategy. It’s a squad of experts in mental health, philanthropy, and media who know how to get the job done.

The greatest part, that they’re not just talking. One percent of every sale goes to the Rare Impact Fund, which actively helps people. 

So, why buy just a lipstick when you can get a lipstick and support a charity?

Winning Strategies

Let’s peek behind the curtain to see how Rare Beauty makes customers blush. Is it just cosmetics, or have they fallen in love with the brand? 

Tactic 1: Purpose-Driven Content 

Rare builds its mission into the brand’s DNA — every video, caption, and partnership connected back to a purpose. They’re very consistent in their content messages, and that builds trust.

Brand gathered people who feel that the brand genuinely stands for something beyond profit. They gladly buy from, stay loyal to, and advocate for the brand. And feel amazing about that! 

Tactic 2: Radical Inclusivity, Front and Center

Rare Beauty has a shade range of 48 skin shades on its website and always uses a kaleidoscope of faces in every campaign. There is their way to stand for inclusivity. 

A broad shade range doesn’t just feel good. It opens the door to entire market segments that other brands overlook. That means more karma and more customers altogether.

Tactic 3: User-Generated Content as Jet Fuel

Rare Beauty thrived on user-generated content. Their buyers gladly share their experiences and become brand storytellers. Every tagged post or shared video is like a mini billboard that Rare Beauty didn’t have to pay for.

Brand fans have already posted over 406,000 videos using the hashtag #RareBeauty on TikTok. That’s huge! 

Tactic 4: Mastering Native Platforms

Social media platforms, especially TikTok, love quick, imperfect videos — so Rare Beauty played by rules. No polished ads!

The brand first made people aware of their products with fun videos and got everyone talking about them. Then they added Shop Ads (where users can buy directly) and Interactive Add-Ons (polls, stickers, links) to turn users' interest into sales.

TikTok loves creators whose content users enjoy, so they made ad prices more affordable for them. In one case, Rare paid 22% less per click and kept their sales strong — even during slow shopping months.

Results

• Revenue jumped from $350M in 2023 to over $500M in 2024. It shows that their marketing directly brought in sales.

• Their Soft Pinch Liquid Blush went viral. Brand sold over 3 million units, pulling in around $70 million.

• TikTok Shop generated over $1 million in the first half of 2025. That’s huge for an in-app store!

• They have through-the-roof UGC participation and genuine community buzz.

Rhode Success Story: Turning Minimalism into a Lifestyle Brand

Brand’s content strategy is all about the desire to become a trendy IT girl and be part of the cool girls' community.

The Story

In 2021, Hailey Bieber posted a video where she said, “If I don’t go to bed looking like a glazed donut, then I’m doing something wrong”. 

And just like that, the glazed donut skin era was born — the huge trend that inspired Hailey to launch her brand Rhode. 

At the core of the brand is the idea of "skinimalism": that you don't need a 15-step Korean skincare routine to look great. Rhode began with a few standout products that promise us mortals a "holy glow."

Rhode didn’t try to please everyone. They targeted IT girls and “Clean Girl” devotees. Think soothing, neutral tones of gray, beige, and brown. Think of a cool girl's atmosphere.

Brand started DTC-only on social media platforms, grabbed its target audience by the inbox from day one, and built a loyal community. 

Winning Strategies

Let’s take a look at the e-commerce content marketing tactics Rhode used to win over every cool girl’s heart — and see what lessons your brand can politely borrow. 

Tactic 1: Sell the Founder’s Lifestyle

Hailey uses her TikToks and Get-Ready-With-Me videos to blur the line between “influencer” and “bestie.” 

People are more likely to buy from someone they know and like. They want to be inspired by someone and emulate their routine and lifestyle. If that means buying the products that person uses, then so be it. It's just a necessity.

Tactic 2: Minimalism With Maximum Impact

Rhode has just a few products, so they made each of them feel essential and special. Every product gets its moment to shine. 

That’s smart, because customers don’t get overwhelmed by too many choices. They wait for ‌every product, they crave them, so they know what to buy and why it matters.

Would you like your products to appear at the top of Google searches? We helped Bosch increase its organic click-through rate (CTR) by 247%. Contact us today, and we'll do something impressive with your brand, too!

Tactic 3: Drop Culture Done Right

At the start, Rhode used waitlists, teasers, and limited drops to build hype around the brand. They got people talking and sharing before the product even launched. That creates free word-of-mouth advertising.

When products are limited, customers feel they need to act fast or risk missing out. But in the Rhode case, it was more about reinforcing their premium, “must-have” image.

Tactic 4: Texture-Driven Visuals That Spark Desire

Rhode uses a visual “feel” in their content a lot — close-ups of glossy lips, dewy skin, creamy textures — viewers can almost experience how it feels to use the product. 

Another great visual decision is pairing products with lifestyle cues (like coffee, pastries, or sunlight). It makes products feel like part of a dream life that customers want to live. 

Results

• The earned media value (EMV) was through the roof. Rhode didn’t have to pay for all the attention it received.

• When the brand hit stores like Sephora, its products sold quickly because people already trusted and loved it.

• Rhode was sold to e.l.f. Beauty for around $1 billion after just three years. This proves that strong content marketing can create massive business value.

Two Playbooks — One Marketing Lesson

Rare Beauty and Rhode might seem like they chose different e-commerce content marketing tactics, but they are not. Both brands use feelings and authenticity to win over their audiences. 

They just chose different emotions: one makes you feel seen, while the other makes you feel special. Selena built a brand around connection; Hailey built one around craving. 

They both understood that consumers want to be part of a story and support people with the same vibe. The real win comes from knowing exactly who you are and never faking it.

The Best Practices to Steal (and Make Your Own)

Okay, that’s great, but what about e-commerce brands that aren’t backed up by a pop star or supermodel? How many of those are up there? Ah, almost everyone. 

Don’t worry, we have ‌good news: you just need to focus and use some tricks you can afford. Here’s what you can swipe from the Rare Beauty and Rhode case study without a billion-dollar budget.

From Rare Beauty: Lead With Heart 

1. Pick a Purpose. Even if you’re a two-person shop, you can stand for something good. Choose what matters most to you. Then, let that belief guide every story you tell. You’ll find people who cherish the same.

2. Show Your Real Self and Real People’s Photos. Show your team, customers, and even your grandmother, testing your product. Showing imperfection can be scary, but it's beautiful when honest.

3. Turn Customers Into Your Marketing Department. Make it easy and fun for your audience to share how they use your product in daily life. Repost, celebrate, and spotlight their work. It gives you endless content and builds community. 

4. Pick One Platform — TikTok, Reels, etc. Post short, human-interest clips to grow your audience and stay on top of trends. This will help you with advertising later on.

From Rhode: Sell the Lifestyle

1. Be the Face (Even If You’re Not Famous). If you’re the founder — show up. Share your morning routine and your coffee-fueled “behind the scenes.” Trust starts when people know who they're buying from.

2. Go Small to Grow Big. Three killer items are better than thirty “meh” ones. Create something great, elevate it to sainthood, and praise it on your social media. 

3. Hype With Heart. Anticipating smartly is always a great idea. But it only works if your customers know the backstory. They’ll happily wait for a product that's "coming soon" if they see how you created it, the struggles you faced, and how happy you are to share the result with them. Soon. 

4. Make Every Frame a Mood. Do you want people to crave your product? Show them how it will make them feel. Does it make customers happy? Does it make people feel proud? Does it make them cozy? Make viewers want to live inside that frame.

Why This Matters for Your Bottom Line

You don’t need a billion-dollar budget or a celebrity face. When your brand tells real stories, people don’t buy once — they stay. Their loyalty means repeat sales, organic growth, and lower ad costs.

Loyal fans create content for your brand for free, share it on their personal accounts, and bring you more followers. Every post becomes an investment that keeps paying back — through trust, word-of-mouth, and long-term growth.

Now go ahead — find your emotion, build your cult following, and make your brand the next big obsession. We believe that you’ll become one of the e-commerce content marketing success stories!