Rare Beauty Teased Its Next Launch Backstage at Oscar de la Renta
Filippo Fortis
Backstage at Oscar de la Renta's pre-spring 2025 show this morning, makeup artist Hung Vanngo prepped model Candice Swanepoel for the runway. Her skin was radiant, ethereal, gleaming… all the adjectives you’d associate with the most shimmery serum or creamy highlighter. So when I asked Vanngo to share his product secrets, I was surprised when he pulled out a pressed matte powder.
If you follow Vanngo—and a few million people do—you know that he has been doing Selena Gomez’s makeup for many years. And that means he’s also been putting her Rare Beauty formulas to the test for many years. The latest one, which Allure was the first to see in action today, is the True To Myself Tinted Pressed Finishing Powder, coming on July 18. When I got my exclusive sneak peek backstage at the Oscar de la Renta show (Rare Beauty was a sponsor), Vanngo explained how a matte formula can deliver such a luminous finish. “People were scared of powders in the past because the particles used to be so thick,” he says, but that’s clearly not the case anymore. As he delicately dusted a veil over the models’ T-zones—the forehead, nose, and down to the chin—I saw firsthand that the result was less shine, just as much glow. “I love glowy, healthy skin,” says Vanngo. “But certain areas need to be controlled.”
The high points of the cheeks were not one of those places. Vanngo created a look he calls “Rose Petal Skin,” inspired by a day in the garden, with a wash of pink or peach blush. He left a little dew on the cheekbones to mimic the look of skin that’s been feeling the heat of the sun. To extend the glow beyond the neck, body lotion was mixed with a liquid highlighter and massaged onto the shoulders, arms, and exposed skin. Taking it even further, manicurist Jin Soon Choi painted nails with a glint of sparkle using shades Spiffy (a soft rose gold) and Nova (a gold shimmery polish) from her namesake brand. As for the eyes and lips, “there were no harsh lines,” says Vanngo, who diffused peach lipstick on like a stain, and buffed brown and copper shadow just along the lash line for a smoky effect.
Around the room, more than 40 models—with skin tones ranging from the fairest to the deepest—had one of the 14 shades of the True To Myself powder swept over their skin as the finishing touch. “It's very sheer; you still can see your skin through it,” says Vanngo. And he has put it to the test beyond the young women on Oscar de la Renta’s runway today: “I work with everyone from 16 years old to 60 years old. Julianne Moore is 63 and I still use powder on her,” he tells me. Most recently, he used the powder on Gomez at the Cannes Film Festival.
Want to know how the formula holds up in settings other than runway and red carpets? Same. Allure will have more to share as soon as we do our own testing. Stay tuned!
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Originally Appeared on Allure
