Most Rare Beauty products are generally considered safe to use during pregnancy, as the line avoids several of the most commonly flagged ingredients like parabens, oxybenzone, and formaldehyde-releasing preservatives. That said, a few ingredients across the range are worth a closer look if you’re being cautious. Here’s a product-by-product breakdown to help you decide what stays in your makeup bag.
What Rare Beauty Gets Right for Pregnancy
Rare Beauty labels its products as paraben-free, dermatologist-tested, and suitable for sensitive skin. The brand earned Leaping Bunny cruelty-free certification in 2024, and many of its formulas lean on silicone bases (dimethicone, methyl trimethicone) rather than heavy chemical cocktails. Silicones sit on the surface of the skin and aren’t absorbed into the bloodstream, which is one reason dermatologists generally consider them low-risk during pregnancy.
Across the range, Rare Beauty uses a signature botanical blend of lotus, gardenia, and white water lily extracts. These plant-derived ingredients are primarily soothing and aren’t on any major cautionary list for pregnant people. The brand also incorporates familiar skin-care staples like niacinamide (vitamin B3), hyaluronic acid, green tea extract, and vitamin E, all of which are widely regarded as pregnancy-compatible.
Ingredients Worth a Second Look
A few ingredients scattered across Rare Beauty’s lineup do show up on the “ask your provider” lists that dermatologists often share with pregnant patients.
Homosalate: The Positive Light Tinted Moisturizer SPF 20 contains homosalate at 9%, a chemical UV filter. Some researchers have raised concerns about homosalate’s potential to disrupt hormones at high exposure levels, and organizations like the Environmental Working Group flag it as a moderate concern. The formula also includes titanium dioxide (1.8%) and zinc oxide (0.9%), which are mineral filters considered safe in pregnancy. If you want to avoid chemical sunscreens entirely, you could skip this product and use a purely mineral SPF underneath your makeup instead.
Fragrance and linalool: Several products, including the Lip Soufflé Matte Lip Cream and the Always an Optimist Pore Diffusing Primer, list “Fragrance/Parfum” as an ingredient. The lip cream also specifically lists linalool, a naturally occurring compound found in many essential oils. Fragrance is a catch-all term that can represent dozens of undisclosed chemicals, and some pregnant people prefer to avoid it as a precaution. For most people, the small amount in a blush or lip product poses minimal risk, but if your skin has become more reactive during pregnancy (a common hormonal shift), fragrance is a frequent trigger for irritation.
BHT: The Soft Pinch Liquid Blush contains BHT, a synthetic antioxidant used to keep the product from going rancid. BHT is approved by the FDA as safe in cosmetics, and the amount in a blush is tiny. It occasionally appears on cautionary lists, but the consensus among toxicologists is that the trace quantities used in makeup aren’t a meaningful exposure risk.
Phenoxyethanol: This preservative appears in many Rare Beauty products, from the liquid blush to the lip cream. It’s one of the most common paraben alternatives in modern cosmetics. At the concentrations allowed in consumer products (typically under 1%), it’s considered safe by both the FDA and EU cosmetic safety regulators, including during pregnancy.
Product-by-Product Quick Guide
- Soft Pinch Liquid Blush: Silicone-based, paraben-free. Contains BHT and phenoxyethanol in small amounts. Low concern overall.
- Lip Soufflé Matte Lip Cream: Silicone-based, paraben-free. Contains fragrance and linalool. Worth noting since lip products can be ingested in trace amounts, but exposure is minimal.
- Positive Light Tinted Moisturizer SPF 20: Contains homosalate (chemical sunscreen) alongside mineral filters. The one product in the range most commonly flagged by pregnancy-cautious shoppers. Swap for a mineral-only SPF if you prefer to avoid chemical filters.
- Always an Optimist Pore Diffusing Primer: Water and silicone base with hyaluronic acid, green tea, and vitamin E. Contains fragrance. Otherwise a clean profile for pregnancy.
- Find Comfort Hydrating Body Lotion: Contains niacinamide and ashwagandha extract. Niacinamide is pregnancy-safe and beneficial for the skin barrier. Topical ashwagandha in a body lotion is present in small concentrations, though ashwagandha taken orally is typically advised against during pregnancy. The amount absorbed through skin from a lotion is negligible.
What’s Not in Rare Beauty
Sometimes what a brand leaves out matters more than what it includes. Rare Beauty products do not contain retinol or retinoids, which are the single biggest ingredient dermatologists tell pregnant patients to stop using. You also won’t find hydroquinone (a skin-lightening agent), oxybenzone or avobenzone (the most scrutinized chemical sunscreens), or salicylic acid at high concentrations in their formulas. The absence of these ingredients is a meaningful plus for anyone building a pregnancy-safe routine.
Practical Tips for Your Routine
Pregnancy changes your skin in unpredictable ways. Many people find their skin becomes oilier, drier, or more reactive than usual, sometimes all three at different points across trimesters. A product you’ve used for years with no issues might suddenly cause redness or breakouts. That’s hormonal, not necessarily the product’s fault.
If you want to simplify, the lowest-risk Rare Beauty products are the ones with silicone or water bases and no added fragrance. The liquid blush and primer both fit that profile reasonably well. For SPF, consider layering a separate mineral sunscreen (one that uses only zinc oxide or titanium dioxide) under any Rare Beauty complexion product, rather than relying on the tinted moisturizer’s chemical filter.
Patch-testing on a small area of skin before committing to full-face application is always a smart move when your skin is in a reactive state. The inside of your wrist or behind your ear works well. Wait 24 hours before applying more broadly.