When I heard that there was a Glossier 'tell-all' book coming out, I was sat and seated. I immediately pre-ordered it and when it arrived on my doorstep last April, I squealed with delight. A millennial pink cover felt so fitting for a book about the brand that coined the term. .
However, as I usually do, I put the book down and opted to read many others on my list. It wasn't until this year that I finally cracked open the spine and dove head first into a time machine, taking me back to 2014 and the height of Glossier's no makeup makeup, millennial pink world.
Boy, was it nostalgic and I loved every second. "Glossy" is written by journalist Marisa Meltzer and goes deep inside the world of Glossier, how it came to be and how it was almost destroyed.
Publisher's Summary
At the center of the story lies Emily Weiss, the elusive former Teen Vogue “superintern” on the reality show The Hills turned Into the Gloss beauty blogger who had the vision, guts, and searing ambition needed to launch Glossier. She cannily turned every experience, every meeting into an opportunity to fuel her own personal success. Together with her expensive, signature style and singular vision for the future of consumerism, she could not be stopped. Just how did a girl from suburban Connecticut with no real job experience work her way into the bathrooms and boudoirs of the most influential names in the world and build that access into a 1.9-billion-dollar business? Is she solely responsible for its success? And why, eight years later, at the height of Glossier mania, did she step down?
In Glossy, journalist and author Marisa Meltzer combines in-depth interviews with former Glossier employees, investors, and Weiss herself to bring you inside the walls of this fascinating and secretive company. From fundraising to product launches and unconventional hiring practices, Meltzer exposes the inner workings of Glossier’s culture, culminating in the story of Weiss herself. The Devil Wears Prada for the Bad Blood generation, Glossy is not just a gripping portrait of one of the most important business leaders of her generation, but also a chronicle of an era.
My Thoughts
This was such a well written book and that's an understatement. The way Marisa introduced Emily Weiss was brilliant. She wove in her own commentary, and sort of broke the 4th wall by addressing the fact that Weiss was initially involved in the writing of the book but no longer was. There was some drama around that when the book was announced, and to have the author address it head on made sense. She wasn't calling out Weiss for backing out of the book, more-so just acknowledging it.
Marisa Meltzer has a very unique writing style in this book; it's tongue in cheek, it's conversational, it's informative but also has an air to it that I can't quite put my finger on it.
Writing about Glossier is not easy because putting into words the craze that the beauty brand was 10 years ago is seemingly impossible. Everything about Glossier was different; from Emily Weiss's start on The Hills, to the way she squirmed her way into a career at Vogue, to starting Into the Gloss and then wanting to turn the website into a tech company/beauty brand.
Glossier came at the height of DTC brands and it was the original Girlboss company, decorated with fun stickers and millennial pink everything. I remember so clearly when Glossier began and as I read those parts in the book, I was kind of brought to my knees, being reminded of a time in my life that feels so long ago but is marked with such importance.
The story of Glossier is incredibly interesting and learning more about what went on behind the scenes, but also how secretive things still are was fascinating. The mystery of Emily Weiss haunts the entire book but not in a negative way... it just adds something more interesting.
You get the inside scoop on how this iconic, groundbreaking company wasn't even a blip on the radar of Weiss before Into the Gloss, and how it came to be. You'll read about the failed projects, both in front & behind the scenes, and the way Glossier almost became something of the past.
In no way is 'Glossy' a takedown. It's sort of a love letter to the 2010s and it ends with a true full circle moment that left me slightly emotional and wanting to go buy a fresh tube of Balm Dot Com.
If you love the beauty industry, social media, business and gossip, Glossy by Marisa Meltzer is a book you need to read.
xoxo
B
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