Photo: Gilbert Flores/Variety via Getty
WhenLisa Rinnalaunched her beauty brandRinna Beautyin 2020, the actress and formerReal Housewives of Beverly Hillsstar admits she entered the beauty space with a smidge of self doubt.
“We’d worked on it for a year, but it came out during theCOVID-19pandemic. Everyone was wearing a mask, so I thought, ‘We’re launching a lip product. How is this going to work?'” Rinna tells PEOPLE exclusively.
“But it did, because people wanted to see what it was about. And I think luckily, we created really good products. So they tried them and went, ‘I like it.’ And that’s been the success of Rinna Beauty, I think.”
Now nearly three years in, the brand is thriving, and Rinna, 59, is sharing how she’s taking it to amazing new heights.
Rinna Beauty
First up, Rinna is expanding on her lip category with a new lip plumping oil line,Larger Than Life Lip Plumping Oils, $24.
The star admits she’s used more than just topical products to get her famous pout, but says fans can get “a taste” of her look with this.
“I think that oils are really trendy right now, so we came up with this,” Rinna tells PEOPLE. “It has a shorter, fatter applicator, which I love. And it’s such a pretty consistency and is so moisturizing.”
She adds of the launch, which has a cooling effect that boosts volume, “to get Rinna lips, you have to maybe go to the doctor, but if you can have a taste of them with this, why not? It’s the cheaper way to do it. For $24, you can do this and get bigger, more luscious lips.”
The line features six new shades, including “Illusion,” “Sunset” and “Bright Bombshell,” which are a creamy nude, coral and bubblegum-pink, respectively. The vegan and cruelty-free lip plumpers can make the wearer’s lips 20% bigger in just 28 days, according to the website.
However, the lip plumping oils aren’t the only new product from the brand. It also just released its first fragrance and body care product,Dryp Tease Dry Oil Body Spray, $28. The scented body oil comes in both clear and golden shimmer options and is scented with wild fig, vanilla orchid, cedar wood and sandalwood.
“I test everything, so they sent it to me. I put it on and I go, ‘Okay. Nailed it,'” RInna says. “It’s beautiful. It’s a dry oil that’s luminescent and glossy — not wet and greasy.”
She continues, “And I just knew. Again, they send me everything to test, and if I don’t like it, I send it back and say, ‘we need to work on X, Y and Z.’ This we nailed right out of the gate. We really did.”
Rinna adds that she’s received positive feedback from her former colleagues and that seal of approval has meant the world to her.
“I have to say that all the Housewives across the landscape have been so amazing and so supportive,” she says. “Just across the board and that was really, I think something really quite thrilling for me because it’s your peers, it’s the people that you work with and they’ve been really generous in sharing that.”
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However, for Rinna, another immensely meaningful aspect of this pursuit has been the direct impact it has had on both consumers and the now charitable partnership her brand makes with theJED Foundation, which advocates for youth mental health.
As a mother of two daughters who havepublicly discussed their own struggleswith mental health, the cause was close to Rinna’s heart.
Lisa Rinna.Cindy Ord/Bravo/Getty
While Rinna hopes people feel “beautiful” and “special” when they use a Rinna Beauty product, she says she feels the most beautiful not when she’s all dolled up, but when she’s experiencing joy.
Known for her dancing videos on Instagram, Rinna says “doing silly things” like that bring her happiness, and in turn, she “feels the best” as a result.
“You have to find things in your life that bring you joy. Then you feel good, then you feel beautiful,” Rinna tells PEOPLE. “I don’t think any of us wake up and go, ‘Oh my God, I just feel so beautiful today.’
She adds, “But I think if you feel good and you’re happy and you find things that bring you joy and happiness, you will then feel better about yourself, your looks, everything. It’s a domino effect.”
source: people.com