Rare Beauty Welcome Email Case Study: Building Customer Connection Before the First Purchase
BEAUTY EMAIL CASE STUDY THROUGH OUR EYES
She Joined Your List. Make Her Feel Like She Belongs.
Rare Beauty · Welcome email · Connection before and after the first purchase
We examine the email’s message, design, and customer experience, then share what we’d test. This is independent editorial analysis; campaign results and internal account data were unavailable.
She gave you her email address. That little box on your website just became an opening for a relationship.
You could immediately start asking her to buy. You could also take a moment to explain whose company she just walked into, and why she might want to stay.
Rare Beauty’s welcome email gives us a useful first electronic encounter to examine. The founder’s introduction comes before the discount. That order caught our attention.
The Rare Beauty email we’re breaking down
Original email by Rare Beauty. Click the image to visit the brand’s homepage. This archived example is being examined for its communication choices; its offers and policies may have changed.
The feeling: welcome the person before selling the product
The opening pairs Selena Gomez’s portrait with a personal message about self-acceptance. A handwritten-style signature makes the introduction feel like a note.
Our read: the message gives the reader a belief to connect with before presenting a shopping decision.
For a smaller beauty brand, the useful lesson travels without celebrity status. Tell customers what you care about in words they can recognize in their own lives. A founder’s face can introduce the company. The message still needs to give the reader a place inside its story.
The design: give the welcome room to breathe
The portrait and founder message receive substantial space. An exploration button follows; the offer and selected products appear farther down.
We’d keep the sense of an introduction unfolding. We’d also test how much scrolling a new subscriber needs before understanding what she can do.
Read the email on a phone. Can someone quickly identify the invitation? Can she read the message comfortably? Does each section earn the space it occupies? Those checks make design decisions concrete.
The shopping decision: favorites can open the door
The email introduces a small selection of founder favorites rather than displaying an entire catalog. It also includes first-order offer terms and shopping reassurance.
A selection can narrow the starting point. A newcomer may still need help deciding which item fits her routine.
We’d test one short explanation beside each recommendation: who might find it useful, where it fits, or where to find guidance. Keep the recommendation honest. A founder’s favorite and a customer’s best match can be different products.
The retention opportunity: keep the welcome alive after checkout
Here’s where our retention antenna goes up. If the introduction makes someone feel accepted, what happens when she becomes a customer?
For any beauty brand using this approach, we’d examine the first messages after delivery. Do they sound like the same company? Do they make using the purchase feel manageable? Can the customer find someone to ask when she’s unsure?
We cannot establish Rare Beauty’s after-purchase experience from this archived welcome. These are the questions we’d bring to an account review.
Our Dardee move: start with what she bought
We’d test a purchase-specific educational email for eligible first-time customers after delivery. Start with the item already in her hands: explain a useful first step, point to accurate product instructions, and offer a clear route to support.
Give the message one job. A customer learning to use her purchase does not need the entire store introduced again.
When another product has a relevant role, explain the connection. Let the recommendation grow from her experience instead of treating the first purchase as permission to sell everything.
We’d choose timing around the product and verified delivery information. We’d measure second purchases over a defined period, with a comparison group to help distinguish added purchases from those likely to happen anyway. Support questions and replies would add context.
Our verdict
We’d keep the personal introduction and focused product selection. We’d test clearer guidance for the newcomer and carry the same consideration into the experience after her first order.
She joined your list. Give her a welcome worth remembering—and an experience that remembers her.
Before You Go… Let's Talk Your Shay Day! 💗
You've worked hard to attract customers, grow your email list, and make sales. But who's making sure those customers have a reason to come back?
We have thoughts. And we'd love to share them.
WHO is Shay Day for?
Entrepreneurs with established e-commerce brands, with email subscribers, and customers they want to see again. If you're already making sales but wondering whether your emails are doing enough to bring people back, we're talking to you.
WHAT is Shay Day?
A 60-minute, one-on-one email experience audit with Shay, Founder & Email Extraordinaire of Dardee Deals. We'll examine your existing emails, identify missed opportunities, and give you a personalized scorecard with prioritized recommendations.
WHEN can you book?
By appointment only, based on availability. Whether your emails need attention today or you're preparing for your next big promotion, there's no better time to find out what's happening after the sale.
WHERE does Shay Day happen?
Online! No commute. No conference room. Just you, Shay, and a closer look at the emails your customers are receiving.
WHY should you book?
Because somebody visited your website, trusted your business, and gave you their money. That's a relationship worth nurturing.
You've already invested in getting their attention. Let's find out whether your emails are giving them a reason to stick around.
HOW do you get started?
Book your Shay Day, choose an available appointment, and come ready to talk about your customer experience. We'll review your email marketing, discuss our findings, and show you where to focus your attention.
And if you decide to upgrade to our $888 Email Experience within 14 days, we'll credit your Shay Day investment toward it.
Ready to Find Out What Your Emails Are Really Saying?
Keep Their Attention. Build for Retention.
Dardee Deals | We Give Customers a Reason to Come Back.
Example credit: Rare Beauty, “Welcome to Rare Beauty by Selena Gomez,” archived by Really Good Emails. Independent editorial analysis. Rare Beauty is not presented as a client. Audience targeting, campaign results and the wider email sequence were unavailable. Proposed changes are tests.
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