Is Rhode finally coming to Australia now?

When Hailey Bieber launched Rhode Skin in June of 2022, we were half excited and half cynical about yet another celebrity beauty brand — we even asked a skin expert to review the brand's best-sellers. 

"I think that as a team, we are going into it knowing that people are tired of seeing brand after brand after brand from different people and faces and celebrities," Bieber explained in an interview with Allure at the time. "I definitely have had my fears, for sure, because the market is so busy and so saturated. And I’ve had to, obviously, have the confidence in myself and in our brand to really feel it’s going to be something refreshing and different."

Over the past three years the young mogul has managed to turn Rhode into one of the most coveted names in beauty, with people all over the world clamouring to get their hands on Bieber's 'glazed donut skin' fare.

But up until now Aussie-based fans' desire to shop the brand's viral products has been in vain. Instead, we've resorted to settling for Rhode Skin dupes — and even bribing friends to smuggle the stuff through US customs on our behalf.

However, all that looks like it's about to change, because Mrs Bieber just sold Rhode Skin to e.l.f Cosmetics for a rumoured $1 billion — and in the same month she announced that Rhode had partnered with Sephora as their nationwide distributor in the US — no less. 

Why did Hailey Bieber sell Rhode Skin?

According to a press release detailing the sale, Rhode has generated $212 million in net sales in the past 12 months, however given the global demand for the brand, it's unsurprising that Bieber has turned to alternative funding avenues to successfully scale her business. 

"When I launched Rhode in 2022, I always had big dreams for the company, and the most important thing to me is to keep bringing Rhode to more spaces, places, and faces globally. So today I am so incredibly excited and proud to announce that we are partnering with e.l.f. Beauty as we step into this next chapter in the world of Rhode," Bieber shared via Instagram.

"I found a like-minded disruptor with a vision to be a different kind of company that believes in big ideas and innovation in the same way that I do and will help us continue to grow the brand," she went on to say. "I feel invigorated, excited and more ready than ever to step into an even bigger role as Chief Creative Officer, and Head of Innovation of Rhode as well as strategic adviser to e.l.f. Beauty."

"Thank you to the amazing Rhode team who have helped me build over the years. I couldn’t have done it without all of you. And to our Rhode community, thank you for being the most supportive and for being on this journey, this next chapter is going to be even more incredible together! As I’ve said, this is only the beginning," said Bieber.

Is Rhode Skin available in Australia?

The most exciting thing about e.l.f's acquisition of Rhode is that it's improved the average Australian's chances at getting their hands on the brand's best-selling products. 

Currently Rhode is only available to shop on the brand's website rhodeskin.com, and they only ship their skin care to locations within the US, Canada, UK, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy and Spain.

The good news? e.l.f also owns e.l.f cosmetics and skin, Well People, Keys Soulcare, and Naturium, all of which are currently available in Australia through easily accessible online and brick and mortar retailers like Priceline and Amazon Australia. So fingers crossed Rhode's partnership with Sephora in the US is reflective of a potential move to go global via the beauty retailer's various locales around the world.

"We found a like-minded disruptor in Hailey Bieber and the Rhode team," e.l.f CEO Tarang Amin told Fortune. "I’ve been in the consumer space for 34 years. I’ve never seen a business like this….It’s just incredible the level of consumer fervour and community that this brand has been able to build."

However, it will be interesting that we'll exist in a universe with potentially adjacent Rare Beauty and Rhode Skin gondolas at our local Sephora store...

What is Rhode Skin known for?

Rhode Skin's best-selling products are all reflective of Hailey Bieber's quintessential glazed donut skin and the no-makeup makeup looks plastered all over her Instagram.

Oh, and then there's the patented Rhode lip phone case, which was specifically designed to fit and coordinate with the brand's Peptide Lip Treatment and Peptide Lip Tint, which are basically like the beauty lovers equivalent of a Labubu.

In case you weren't aware, acquiring a limited edition shade of the phone accessory will immediately elevate the cool factor of any Bieber-inspired mirror selfies one may decide to share to one's various social media channels. 

Indisputably, her most popular skin care products are Rhode's Peptide Glazing Fluid and Glazing Milk — both of which are essential for recreating Bieber's signature glazed skin look.

The former is a lightweight, fast-absorbing gel serum that contains a blend of brightening and smoothing niacinamide, fine line-plumping peptides, hydrating hyaluronic acid, and skin-softening and barrier-reinforcing marula oil.

While the latter promises a boost in barrier function, immediate brightening and hydrating benefits, and to calm skin with a cocktail of ceramides, beta-glucan, magnesium, zinc and copper.

But it's Rhode's Pocket Bush — a personal favourite of ours — that's a real standout.

From the aptly-named, pocket-friendly packaging, to the sheer, natural flush it leaves behind, Rhode has managed to successfully create a product that feels like a direct response to the needs and desires of their 'good skin' obsessed customers. 

Main image credit: @haileybieber

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