With Juliette and Tracey being ex-beauty editors, they’ve seen it all — the newest fragrance launches to the best skin creams to at-home acne-busting lasers, so it really takes something special to get them both excited. When Glossier announced that they were having a Pop Up in Toronto, BOTH were pretty eager to go — until they realized they had a business meeting. So instead, it was up to me to represent.
Let’s just say I now know what the fuss is about.
1. It’s Magazine Editor/Makeup Pro/Celebrity/Beauty Junkie Approved
Glossier was dreamed up by Emily Weiss, CEO and Founder of the beauty blog, Into The Gloss that launched in 2010. But, she’s not just any blogger. With stints at Ralph Lauren, Teen Vogue and Vogue, Emily early on started amassing a network of cool, industry insiders and celeb friends that gave her access to create beauty-centric stories (with gorgeous photos) such as ‘What’s in Her Beauty Bag’ and ‘Top Shelf’, which turned out to be exactly what audiences were looking for.
Pretty soon, Into The Gloss was averaging over two million unique visitors a month, and found itself cultivating an environment of beauty lovers — and their opinions of what they loved/hated/needed more of. Enlisting her friends, colleagues and her millions of followers across various platforms, Glossier was born: an edited line of versatile, easy to use cult worthy products. In short, they’ve taken the time-consuming guesswork out of navigating the saturated beauty market. (About time, right?)
With such a wide and varied focus group, it’s no surprise that Glossier has quickly become an insider/cult-favourite and racked up a long list of loyal followers. The brands’ tagline even reads: A beauty brand inspired by real life. A message that every woman can get behind.
2. The Products Are Multi-Functional
Let’s face it, we already have too much crap in our purses, so isn’t it dreamy when you find a superior product that has multiple uses? When Glossier had their pop up shop in Toronto a week ago, I was able to view up close and personal all those cult-products I had only seen online (and couldn’t order unless I lived in the U.S., but more on that later). My favourites: Cloud Paint, a creamy blush that doubles as a lip tint, and Coconut Bom Dot Com, a sheer lip balm that also moisturizes dry cuticles and softens rough spots your skin, like crepe-y elbows. In a pinch you could also put it on your lids for a subtle dose of sheen. Last, but not least is the Haloscope Highlighter Stick. Seriously. This is the bomb of all highlighters: sheer, whisper-light on the skin, and a natural-looking sheen that brightens up anything it touches. Use it on your cheeks, eyelids, collar bone, even under the Bom Dot Com and the Cloud Paint for a shimmery lipstick result!
3. The Formulas Are Goof-Proof
Emily and Glossier use a less is more approach. And while the products themselves are multi-functional, it’s the ease-of-use and efficient formulas that make them so appealing to everyone from teenagers, cool girls, celebs and yes, even time-strapped moms. Based on the ‘no-makeup-makeup philosophy’, Glossier’s products aren’t based on trends, but more, what real women need. And, thanks to Emily’s vast research pool, each Glossier product ends up being exactly what we want. This explains why the Generation G lipstick comes off as a flattering colour on everyone (the sheerness allows the natural lip colour to come through), holds just the right amount of ‘kissable’ colour, and just happens to be that perfect shade you never knew you needed… Their fool-proof (read: product can be applied with your fingertips while as you multitask motherhood) formulas allow for easy application and blending. Just take the Stretch Concealer, which seems to melt into the skin, yet allows for buildable coverage so that you don’t need to spend loads of time in front of the mirror checking to see if it’s blended correctly.
4. It Now Ships To Canada
Finally! These cult-faves are now available for those of us that tout a postal — and not a zip — code (except Quebec…sorry guys, but shipping to QC isn’t expected until 2018, but be patient!). And it couldn’t have come at a better time. When we visited fashion stylist Adrienne Shoom’s home here, she raved about Glossier’s Dot Com Balm in Cherry. When we asked how we could get our hands on one, she gave us the sad news that they were only available in the U.S., and that she stocks up on them every time she travels to NYC. (Note to Adrienne: you can now save your travel miles). And for those who haven’t yet tried a Glossier product, now’s the time.
5. We Heart Glossier CEO and Founder Emily Weiss
Ok, we admit we didn’t get a chance to become BFF’s with Emily when she was in town (PS–does anyone else remember her on The Hills as public enemy #1 intern?), but from our hovering and evesdropping (we totally tried to be discreet), we deemed Emily genuine and completely sincere. When I did manage to have a quick word, she was so kind, allowed me to take her picture and kept on asking if I had everything I needed. Yep. I could totally see myself hanging out with her. As a matter of fact, Emily was once quoted as saying, ‘Glossier is a brand you want to be friends with.’ It’s safe to say that we couldn’t agree more.
All photos by Sheena Glen.