Selena Gomez has never been one to do things quietly, and her beauty brand Rare Beauty is following suit. The brand sent fans into a full-blown frenzy recently when it dropped a series of throwback-styled campaign photos on Instagram, accompanied by a teaser caption that read: “When we said 2016 was coming back, we meant it… See you on March 1.” The announcement landed like a time capsule, transporting followers straight back to the smoky-eye-and-contour era that defined mid-2010s beauty culture.
The campaign imagery leans hard into the aesthetic hallmarks of that specific moment in beauty history. In the first photo, Gomez wears her layered brunette hair loosely around her face, with slightly tousled, damp-looking strands that give the whole look a natural, effortless quality. A softly blended smoky eye, darker near the lash line and faded toward the brow, completes the effortless “model off duty” vibe that practically defined 2016 Instagram.
The second image turns up the intensity, with Gomez sporting large, loose waves draped over one shoulder and a more dramatic smoky eye offset by fuller lashes and warmly bronzed skin. The third photo goes full glamour, showcasing deep contour, thickly lined eyes, and the kind of high-impact makeup look that once dominated every beauty tutorial playlist. Collectively, the three images read as a deliberate, carefully crafted love letter to an era that many fans have been quietly waiting to see make a comeback.
The reaction from followers was immediate and enthusiastic. “Just casually losing it over here,” one fan wrote in the comments. Another declared, “Oh wow, THIS was an era we would totally relive!!!!” A third chimed in with, “Smoky eye palette? 2016 is officially back.” The response underscored just how powerful a well-executed nostalgia play can be, especially when executed by someone who was genuinely at the center of that cultural moment.
The timing of the campaign is also strategically smart. Rare Beauty has been in full expansion mode, completing a major rollout into all 1,500-plus Ulta Beauty locations at the start of February. The brand has simultaneously been using that retail momentum to spotlight its Rare Impact Fund, which spent February raising mental health awareness through a first-of-its-kind donation partnership with Ulta. Pairing philanthropic purpose with a viral aesthetic moment positions Rare Beauty as more than just a product line — it functions as an extension of Gomez’s larger identity and values.
Beyond the beauty world, Gomez has been riding an impressive wave of professional success across multiple fronts. Her performance in the musical thriller ‘Emilia Pérez’ earned her a Golden Globe nomination for Best Supporting Actress, with the film itself making history by tying the record for the most Academy Award nominations ever received by a non-English language production. Though she narrowly missed an Oscar nomination of her own, her turn in the film alongside Zoe Saldaña and Karla Sofía Gascón has been widely praised as some of her most compelling screen work to date.
On the television side, ‘Only Murders in the Building’ returned for its fifth season on Hulu, with Gomez’s character Mabel Mora navigating a mystery involving a robot doorman and organized crime connections. The show has already been renewed for a sixth season, cementing the beloved trio of Gomez, Steve Martin, and Martin Short as a reliable fixture in the streaming landscape. With a psychological thriller called ‘Spiral’ also on the horizon, and whispers of a music project that might echo the same mid-2010s energy as this Rare Beauty campaign, Gomez’s 2026 is shaping up to be one of her most varied and ambitious years yet.
The smoky eye has actually been linked to ancient Egypt — Cleopatra-era kohl wasn’t just decorative but was believed to ward off evil spirits and eye infections, giving the look a surprisingly practical origin story. Rare Beauty, launched in September 2020, donates at least one percent of all sales to the Rare Impact Fund, meaning every lipstick and blush purchase contributes directly to mental health access initiatives. The 2016 beauty moment Gomez is channeling was itself a peak era for YouTube beauty tutorials, when channels like NikkieTutorials and Jaclyn Hill were averaging tens of millions of views per upload and essentially rewrote how consumers discovered makeup.
What do you think of Rare Beauty’s throwback campaign — are you ready for 2016 beauty to make its official return? Share your thoughts in the comments.
