Ever since celebrities realized that selling makeup is basically a golden ticket to the billionaire club (just ask Rihanna or Selena Gomez), the competition has been on. Most brands (and their owners) avoid the drama (eg, Fenty Beauty and Kylie Cosmetics kinda stay in their own lanes), but others ensue in battles (mostly occurring on stan Twitter), turning friendly market rivalry into full-on brand sabotage.
According to journalist Rachel Strugatz from Puck, Hailey Bieber’s beauty brand Rhode is finally going to be available at Sephora stores after years of anticipation. Cue the hoorays, cue the madness, cue the literal queues!
While most are celebrating this exciting news from the cosmetics industry, Internet detectives are also speculating that Selena Gomez might have been the one who delayed Rhode from finally landing on Sephora shelves.
Why Selena Might’ve Delayed Rhode’s Expansion into Sephora
Selena’s makeup line, Rare Beauty, has been a fan-favorite and a Sephora best-seller since its 2020 launch. So, naturally, other successful beauty brands should get their spot on Sephora’s shelves too, right?
Well… not exactly.
Despite Rhode’s massive media buzz and impressive $90M revenue by the end of 2024, its Sephora debut was continuously—and mysteriously—being delayed. And the reason behind the hold-up, according to Rachel Strugatz, was “definitely” Selena Gomez (!!).
Apparently, there was fear of a beauty brand showdown between Rhode and Rare Beauty’s rival owners.
Selena’s ties to the retailer and the concern over protecting Rare Beauty’s status may have contributed to the delay—because let’s be real, the Selena vs. Hailey drama (aka. Justin Bieber’s ex vs. his wife, in case you’ve been living under a rock) is already messy enough. Their history of shade-throwing and ongoing drama isn’t exactly the marketing spectacle Rare Beauty, or Sephora was looking for. Selling Rhode at Sephora would put both brands in direct competition.
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Fans Go Head to Head Over Rhode’s Sephora Debut
As expected, this story has turned the internet into a full-on battleground. Hailey’s fans are outraged (but let’s be honest, not exactly shocked), while Selena’s stans have been quick to call it pure fake news.
Fans have leeched onto the narrative that Selena is bitter and trying to block Hailey’s success out of jealousy, especially considering the model was named the top beauty influencer of 2024.
On the flipside, Selenators are claiming that Hailey herself might have pulled some strings to get this story written—just to stir up buzz for Rhode’s launch. Allegedly, she’s also been encouraging TikTokers to compare both brands to make hers look superior.
This feels like a full-on beauty brand showdown, and honestly? Picking a side is hard. Maybe the real solution is just… buying Fenty Beauty and calling it a day.
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