Millennial buying power is growing, and Rare Beauty’s Delena reunion shows brands are paying attention. Many of the fans who grew up on Delena are millennials with grown-up paychecks now.
Selena Gomez and Demi Lovato, the childhood best friends fans nicknamed “Delena,” reunited for a Rare Beauty campaign called “Still Making Each Other Blush.” It launched Oct. 28 with a $50 limited-edition bundle sold only on Rare Beauty’s U.S. website.
Selena and Demi’s “Still Making Each Other Blush” Campaign
How millennial buying power is growing
Millennials, born from 1981 to 1996, are now ages 30 to 45. Government data shows U.S. households led by millennials earned an average of $118,982 before taxes in 2024. That’s up about 40% from 2020.
Their spending is climbing too. Millennial households spent an average of $85,302 in 2024, above the $78,535 average for all households. Gen X households still spend more, but millennial spending grew about 39% from 2020 to 2024, compared with about 29% for Gen X. One major bank’s card data found that millennials’ spending growth passed older generations’ in December 2025, helped by steady wage gains.
That includes beauty. Millennial households spent $1,055 on personal care products and services in 2024, a category that includes makeup. That’s above the $978 average and up about 54% from 2020.
Millennials also have more money coming. They’re projected to inherit about $46 trillion through 2048, the most of any generation, though Gen X will inherit more over the next 10 years.
Why Delena is built for millennial buying power
The $50 Delena Soft Pinch Blush Bundle pairs two existing shades of Rare Beauty’s bestselling Soft Pinch Liquid Blush, Gomez’s Hope and Lovato’s Virtue, plus a Soft Pinch Blush Brush Rare Beauty values at $26.
The campaign leans on late-2000s nostalgia. The pair recreate the poster for their 2009 Disney Channel movie “Princess Protection Program” and revisit their 2008 YouTube series, “The Demi and Selena Show.” In a press release, Lovato summed up what the reunion means to her.
“Selena and I have shared a lot of memories over the years since childhood, so being able to connect in this way, in a campaign that feels so nostalgic to both of us, is such a full-circle moment.”
– Demi Lovato in a Rare Beauty press release, October 2026
Brands have good reason to lean on nostalgia. In six experiments published in the Journal of Consumer Research, people who were made to feel nostalgic cared less about money, and in one, they were willing to pay more for products. The researchers found that nostalgia makes us feel more connected to others, which makes money feel less important.
What Delena shows about millennial buying power
Rare Beauty hasn’t shared any sales numbers, so we can’t say yet whether the bundle is a hit. It’s still in stock as of Oct. 31. Plenty of people are watching, though. The vlog-style campaign video had nearly 2 million YouTube views by Oct. 31, and fans flooded the comments.
Sources: Variety, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics via FRED
Money Lesson
Your Inner Tween Doesn’t Pay the Bills
The research found that feeling nostalgic can make people willing to pay more. Before you check out, picture the same bundle with no famous faces on it. If it still feels worth $50 and your bills are already covered, enjoy it.
Think of us as your money-savvy best friend, not your financial adviser. This story is for information and fun, not personal advice, so talk to a licensed professional before you make any big money moves.
