There is no doubt that Glossier is the most popular beauty brand of the year. It is the ultimate girl boss' - Emily Weiss - baby and was born out of the equally popular beauty website Into The Gloss. At the beginning of the year, no less than 10'000 people were waitlisted to get their hands on the quickly sold out Boy Brow and similarly, pretty much every product they come out with sells out at its launch (although fear not, everything has been restocked). Glossier's success was absolutely phenomenal and exceeded everyone's expectation - hence the fact that the brand's online shop quickly ran out of supplies at first. So what's the deal with Glossier ? I've heard someone describe the brand as a marketing coup-de-génie and it's just that - an appealing yet approachable and modern brand that speaks to its consumers and involves them in process. It is the ultimate effortless, cool girl type of brand that spontaneously invites you to join the gang. Their products are simple, straightforward and, unlike many others, don't promise to do a hundred different confusing if extraordinary things - but they deliver exactly what they promise. Anyone can use and enjoy their products, whether you've never worn make-up in your life or you were born with a lipstick in hand. Products aside, the brand in itself has acquired many believers (literally, have a look at the comments on its Instagram, there's pretty much a cult dedicated to Glossier) by its innovative marketing strategy (the brand was born on social media as it was launched on Instagram!) and its irresistibly cute packaging. Every detail counts, from the pink pouches the products come in to the stickers that are provided as a mean of customization. I don't think I have every seen such a committed brand before - it reminds me a lot of the strategy of the now iconic green fashion brand Reformation. It's no surprise then, that millions of people jumped on the Glossier bandwagon. One bump remains: for now the brand is exclusively available in the United States, although international shipping is, as we have been told, on its way.
Believe it or not, one of the things I was most looking forward to when moving to New York was to place a Glossier order - priorities, right? I got my hands on their Priming Moisturizer, Boy Brown, Haloscope and Balm dot com months ago, but I finally got to order the rest of the make-up line and after trying the products out for a couple of weeks, I can finally give you, hopefully, a comprehensive review. I'm sure you're already familiar with most of the following products - but as taste and skin-types differ, I guess there is no such thing as one too many review.
I was pleasantly surprised by the Priming Moisturizer. To be honest, I didn't expect much of this one. Skin prep is essential if you want your make-up to look good and to last, but my extensive skincare routine is already taking pretty good care of that. However, I found that this moisturizer is an excellent multi-tasker. It does a lovely job at priming the skin if you did your skincare routine a while ago and need a nice slip to apply your make-up, or if you have particularly dry skin. It has a pretty thin consistency that is quickly absorbed by the skin and is designed to be buildable - so that you can basically apply as many layers as you need. It doesn't have a noticeable scent and contains no fragrance as to not upset the most sensitive skins. More importantly however, I found it was an excellent mixer. I'm no big advocate of full coverage foundations and as a result, nine times out of ten I'll opt for a tinted moisturizer. I do like to experiment with my bases though and I enjoy mixing my foundations with some moisturizer to customize my own tinted concoction. That being said, not all moisturizer do the trick - this one does. It is thin enough to help the product merge and allow you to get that extra bit of moisture when your skin craves it. Another trick I have performed multiple times during the summer was to mix it to a liquid highlighter to get an illuminating primer that is flattering on the skin and, on good days, allowed me to go foundation-free. You guessed it then, that one was a winner for me. I think it will work for most people, if not as a moisturizer, surely as a primer or a mixer.
The Balm dotcom was Glossier's first born. There isn't much to say here except that it's your typical skin salve in the prettiest tube, in all kinds of flavors (and now colors too!) and that gets the job done. I like it as a lip balm but also on any dry patches - it'll make your life much easier when a full-blast winter hits us and you struggle to spread you foundation evenly! It also works as a natural highlighter when dabbed on top of your cheekbones. It may be worth saying that the Coconut version smells heavenly, the kind that takes you to a whole new place when you're having one of those days and need a pick me up.
Similarly to the Priming moisturizer, I was taken aback by the Skin Tint. It is designed to be a minimally pigmented fluid that allows you to even out your skin tone without loosing sight of your natural complexion. I was aware that the coverage would be extremely minimal, but I was mostly afraid that the finish would be overly dewy and that it would slip off my face half-way through the day - wrong. Yes, the coverage is very light but it does a perfectly acceptable job at evening out the complexion and what amazes me is that it sets on its own to a luminous but satin-y finish. Although I always make sure to set the areas that I know to be oily with a loose powder, I was impressed to see that my base makeup was still there, faithful to its task, even during the sweatiest days (gross but true). The rest of my makeup applied nicely on top of the tint and quite frankly, I don't have anything bad to say about this one, except that you cannot really build some coverage - but then, it doesn't promise that you can.
The Stretch concealer is yet another beautiful Glossier invention. If you know me, you know that I'm very much into my bases - especially concealers. They are one of my favorite items to test and make, I think, the biggest difference to any face - literally, everyone looks better with a dab of concealer on. That, and blush. Despite having a rather ridiculous collection of dark-circles-rubbers, I have never seen anything quite like the Glossier concealer. I was intrigued by its surprising name - Stretch - but when applying it I was amazed to see that it does in fact stretch and moves with your skin, almost adapting to it. What I absolutely love about this product is how luminous it is. It looks incredible under the eyes and brightens your whole face. The only issue with its oil content however, is that if you're a smudger, you'll have to carefully set it so that your eye makeup doesn't transfer too heavily. If you like the glow on the other hand, feel free to drop the powder - it looks great, and if you didn't went too far up close to your lash line it won't crease. You can build a decent medium coverage, which is always a good thing, too. It will therefore take care of minors marks redness. I'm not one to pick, but between us, this is probably my favorite of the range - I already ordered a backup to keep in my handbag.
Next up comes the ever so famous Boy Brow. It is a clever brow gel that fills in your brows in a non-offensive way and for the most part, that tames the beast. The brush is small so that you can approach the front of your brows with confidence. My only complaint - and I know I'm close to alone in this - is the discussed brush size. Although it does allow for more precision, it doesn't always comb through your brow evenly. I have sparse but bushy (what an oxymoron, eh?) brows, which is why a larger brush allows me to get them tamed in one smooth go. That detail aside, Boy Brow is undoubtedly a lovely product.
Together with the Stretch concealer, the Haloscope highlighters now have a special place in my heart. Let's put it that way : they are phenomenal. Makeup artists and non-professionals alike love it and for a good reason. I love everything about those beauties. First of all, I love a stick as it is one of the most convenient packaging that you can tuck everywhere and easily apply or reapply (although that shouldn't be necessary) on the go. The pigment is beautifully sheen-y and buildable. Both colors are gorgeous, Quartz being my favorite since I'm basically white as a sheet, but Topaz will work amazingly on deeper skin tones. The balm in the middle of the stick is a genius addition, that allows the product to glide on easily without moving whatever make-up might lay underneath, while providing that extra touch of "dewy glow" that you traditionally get from dabbing some skin salve or oil on your skin. Much, much love for this one.
Last but not least, the Generation G lipsticks have revolutionized your idea of a matte lipstick. Unlike others, those lipsticks have initially a sheer coverage that amazingly you can build up to your taste. One swipe will give you a hint of color, while two or three will give you a more prominent pay off. They are matte, but also moisturising - and apparently the formula has now been updated to an even more moisturising one! The first thing I thought when applying those was "damn, it feels like a lip balm! " and it truly does. You can't tell it's there, like you sometimes would with an uncomfortably drying matte lipstick. On the above picture, you can see swatches of their four original shades (from left to right): Cake, Like, Crush and my personal favorite, Jam. Two additional shades were released a couple of weeks ago, a deeper brown-y nude called Leo and a warm poppy red named Zip. The bottom line is there truly is a shade for everyone.
If you've made it this far - first of all, well done friend !- but most importantly, you've probably guessed that I am a big fan of the Glossier line. The products' performance is remarkable, the packaging is sleek but pretty and the lot is reasonably priced. I have to say I was concerned that my review would be biased and my opinion blinded by my feelings for the brand. Yes, feelings. Glossier deserves to be admired and loved for the small but powerful revolution it is swiftly putting into motion by encouraging women to take or retake ownership of their beauty routine. Glossier aroused at a time when hundreds of thousands of products are being launched everyday - some good, some bad, most daunting - and confusing people as to what on earth it is they are supposed to do with their face. Beauty is supposed to be fun, spontaneous and easy - and Glossier is one of those brands that is just that. You understand, then, that when the products came into my possession I was worried that I was going to make myself love them because of what they stand for - turns out, they're inherently brilliant and I couldn't be more relieved. Let us all hope that Glossier will soon ship internationally so that the love and message can be spread and that we can all get excited about a little pink box of goodness and a lot of love - the world needs more of that.
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