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This month marks 10 years since Glossier, the New York-born beauty brand, launched into the world. At its helm, the intelligent, sharp-shooting Emily Weiss, 39, who has bent and moulded the now billion-dollar company to continually stay atop of the zeitgeist—ever evident by the millennial, generation Z and generation Alpha cohorts lining up outside the brand’s flagship store on Spring Street in SoHo each day.
For the uninitiated, Weiss founded her company in 2014, leveraging the insights gathered from her successful blog Into The Gloss. The brand was designed to empower consumers and prioritise skincare as a fundamental element of beauty. Glossier’s product line, characterised by minimalist packaging and with a focus on natural beauty as a way of life, quickly garnered a loyal following. The brand’s direct-to-consumer model, combined with a strong online presence and community engagement, set it apart in a highly competitive market, one which Weiss describes as being “rigid, prescriptive and fear-monger-y” at the time.
In recent years, we’ve seen the “no-makeup” makeup look give way to the glitter maximalism of Euphoria—and then flip back again. Even in such a fast-paced world where trends change at breakneck speed, Weiss and her all-female leadership team have remained disruptive. And, if something didn’t work, they have always had five core best-selling products to fall back on: Boy Brow ($37), Cloud Paint ($37), Futuredew ($56), Glossier You ($129/50ml), and Stretch Fluid Foundation ($56).
“[The beauty industry] is definitely going a lot faster [than it used to]. It’s amazing how this industry that was once very monolithic and very controlled by a handful of corporations and brands, is now a complete open playing field where anyone can invent a new brand very quickly,” Weiss explains, her New York accent thick. “I think, ultimately, that’s amazing for customers, right? Beauty should be entirely in the hands of the customer in terms of what they’re choosing and what their options are.
“For Glossier, we’ve tried to remember our mission, our brand DNA. We’ve stayed so close to that,” she continues. “As the beauty industry has revved up, we’ve almost focused [more] and gone, ‘OK how do we polish this brand and what it’s bringing to people?’ We’re so proud that a product like Glossier You, which came out in 2016, is now sold every 20 seconds. It didn’t happen overnight but that’s OK. We think people will wear it for next 30 years. It could be the next Chanel No.5.”
Glossier Boy Brow Volumizing Eyebrow Gel-Pomade, $37 SHOP NOW Glossier Cloud Paint Gel Cream Blush, $37 SHOP NOW
In July of this year, Glossier made its bricks-and -mortar retail debut in Australia via Mecca, the country’s largest prestige beauty retailer. Given Australia’s skincare-first culture, it was love affair like no other and for Weiss, whom we sat down with on her recent visit Down Under, it was a long time coming.
“I remember sitting in our first office in 2014 when we launched,” Weiss says. “We had 15,000 Instagram followers at the time, and when we posted our first Instagram post announcing Glossier’s launch, the most vocal community was Australia. I remember thinking, ‘What?’ I thought we’d have just a few people in Soho [New York] talking about it and wanting to come to our showroom. But I had people in Australia wanting us to ship there. We’ve been dying to come here for 10 years.
“When we think about Glossier, we always think about the word lifestyle. But when you break the word apart, it’s a style of life,” she continues. “It’s not just about what luxury you have or how your house looks, it’s about what values you have. How do you handle challenges? How do you fall in love? What do you care about in your day? It seems like Australians have this style of life that is a little similar to this Glossier idea of joy in the present moment. An attitude of, ‘Hey, it’s no big deal. Let’s have a good time.’ It’s this lack of pretentiousness or seriousness.”
For Weiss, there’s no slowing down. She’s determined to turn Glossier into a 100-year-brand with her products meaning something to someone for a really long time. But has motherhood given her a new perspective on her business?
“Being a mum to a [two-year-old] daughter certainly reinforces Glossier’s mission,” says Weiss. “I hope that she will forever feel as delighted by beauty, and as delighted in herself, as she is now. Every day, when she gets out the bath, I say, ‘Who’s that beautiful baby?’ And then I look at myself in the mirror and say, ‘Who’s that beautiful Mama?’ If you’re not going to say it to yourself, who is?”
Happy 10th birthday, Glossier.
You can shop Glossier’s entire offering here via Mecca.
