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- LUCY FELDMAN, Jared Lindzon, Varsha Bansal, Alana Semuels, Alison Van Houten, Joe Mullich

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RARE BEAUTY 

SELENA GOMEZ IS REFRAMING THE BUSINESS OF BEAUTY

YOU WOULD NOT THINK THE MOST-FOLLOWED woman on Instagram would be able to walk through one of New York City's biggest tourist attractions unbothered. Yet here she is, strolling in a pair of cozy booties through Central Park with a travel mug of tea tucked in her arm, very nearly blending in. If not for the security guard and personal assistant trailing discreetly behind, Selena Gomez might be any other person out for fresh air on a drizzly May morning.

This is, to put it mildly, surprising. But she shrugs it off. "I don't really have anything impressive going on at all times," she deadpans, gesturing to her casual getup. "Or anytime, really."

It's a funny thing to hear from someone who has been on TV since she was 10 years old, found success as an actor and pop star, and is now the founder of a business reportedly worth $2 billion. Gomez, 31, is one of the most recognizable people in the world, and yet she's right as we meander down a pedestrian path and into the mud, most of the people around us seem not to notice her.

Gomez has cultivated an everywoman quality and a mastery of public vulnerability-hers is the kind of fame that comes from growing up alongside your fans, offering an example of what it's like to fall in love, try things, and make mistakes. Her openness about her mental health has endeared her to millions of young people coping with the isolating experiences of anxiety, depression, and other disorders. And she has channeled all of that into her company, Rare Beauty, a rising player she bills as a beauty brand that, instead of selling an unattainable image, aims to help people feel good about themselves.