"She was enthralled by the idea of being this tech founder-style entrepreneur, where the narrative in the media is not about their personal life, but their genius," said author Marisa Meltzer.
Nice interview! I appreciated it was stated at the beginning Emily Weiss didn't come from nowhere, but actually had wealth and the right connection to help her build ITG and Glossier. People can criticise her as much as they want, but it is true she created a whole new way to perceive and market beauty. Many brands that came after hers are emulating a lot what she did. I even think Doré, the beauty brand created by former streetstyle photographer and blogger Garance Doré, is one of the many foster children of Glossier.
I LOVED Into The Gloss, the articles and the comment section. It's one of the first places I heard about P50, for example (I'm a P50 dropout, it did nothing for me). I remember participating in a survey and some time later I received a free bottle of Milky Jelly Cleanser when it launched, which impressed me that they were so thorough. I used it for a few years, and my young adult daughter now has it in her rotation.
We visited the Glossier store when we were in LA maybe 5 years ago, specifically for my daughter to buy her Milky Jelly in person, and for the experience. At least at the time, it came packaged not only in the pink pouch, but a cloth shopping bag. We also went in a 'selfie room' where there was a dramatic outdoor background to take photos against.
Somewhere along the way, I got dropped from the Into The Gloss mailing list, and if I don't get an email, it's off my radar. My daughter now works at Sephora and says Glossier is popular, but all the tweens are asking for Drunk Elephant and retinols they don't need, lol.
Yes! They all see it on Tik Tok and come in to buy it, whether or not it's appropriate for their skin. I think it's the bright colored tops of the packaging, and the name.
I follow an account on Instagram that's kind of AMSR 'watch me aesthetically clean my house' and she often cleans her middle school daughters room, and of course she had Drunk Elephant products and plenty of high end makeup. What will they have to look forward to in a few years? *shakes fist at the sky* Kids these days!
I, too, was more of an ITG girlie than a consumer of their products. Their site and comment section used to be way more robust, now it seems like a shell of its former self. It's a bummer because the commenters often had just as much insight as the articles themselves and overall I find myself visiting ITG way less often.
Yes, I remember reading the comments and taking notes of other products to try. One had a formula for an Uma oil dupe (but we wren't calling them dupes back then, lol) and the base was grapeseed oil and I was lazy and started just using that. Worked pretty well!
I grew up in Wilton when there were pony farms and apple orchards and cow pastures. I am stunned at how slick it's become. It was among the cheaper CT Gold Coast towns back then. I did meet Emily Weiss a few times, post-Into the Gloss, pre-Glossier. She was very friendly but also always carrying a Chanel bag. ItG, like a lot of online communities, was so much fun at the beginning. Emily really surfed the crest of the beauty culture wave. I'll stop before I torture that metaphor any further.
This is a brilliant read. I pre-ordered the book & cannot wait to read it. I’d love to read an interview with her now & understand how she feels about the company now. I personally really like the products & remember they were the 1st to do a jelly cleanser. Now everyone does them.
I’m very curious for her next chapter — will she start a new business and be it’s public face or was this it? If she doesn’t, I feel that would be slightly depressing given male founders can fail and be disgraced and then just keep going (see: Adam Neumann)
I was a big fan of ITG until I just... wasn’t? I’m not sure when I fell off. I was also a big fan of Glossier even though the padded pink pouches seemed wasteful in a very old-fashioned way.
It must be so difficult to take something to a particular level and then get pushed out, but I do think it’s important in all facets of life and business not to be afraid to hire people who are smarter than you, and then to listen to them and allow them to take over some aspects of the business they’re better at than you are. But it’s hard, right? Sometimes I think when young people make it “big” without kind of working their way up they’re just missing the perspective and wisdom that comes with that experience.
Nice interview! I appreciated it was stated at the beginning Emily Weiss didn't come from nowhere, but actually had wealth and the right connection to help her build ITG and Glossier. People can criticise her as much as they want, but it is true she created a whole new way to perceive and market beauty. Many brands that came after hers are emulating a lot what she did. I even think Doré, the beauty brand created by former streetstyle photographer and blogger Garance Doré, is one of the many foster children of Glossier.
She created a great brand, yes. And she was so smart to go beyond media when she did!
I LOVED Into The Gloss, the articles and the comment section. It's one of the first places I heard about P50, for example (I'm a P50 dropout, it did nothing for me). I remember participating in a survey and some time later I received a free bottle of Milky Jelly Cleanser when it launched, which impressed me that they were so thorough. I used it for a few years, and my young adult daughter now has it in her rotation.
We visited the Glossier store when we were in LA maybe 5 years ago, specifically for my daughter to buy her Milky Jelly in person, and for the experience. At least at the time, it came packaged not only in the pink pouch, but a cloth shopping bag. We also went in a 'selfie room' where there was a dramatic outdoor background to take photos against.
Somewhere along the way, I got dropped from the Into The Gloss mailing list, and if I don't get an email, it's off my radar. My daughter now works at Sephora and says Glossier is popular, but all the tweens are asking for Drunk Elephant and retinols they don't need, lol.
Tween retinols!! Oh dear
Yes! They all see it on Tik Tok and come in to buy it, whether or not it's appropriate for their skin. I think it's the bright colored tops of the packaging, and the name.
I follow an account on Instagram that's kind of AMSR 'watch me aesthetically clean my house' and she often cleans her middle school daughters room, and of course she had Drunk Elephant products and plenty of high end makeup. What will they have to look forward to in a few years? *shakes fist at the sky* Kids these days!
I, too, was more of an ITG girlie than a consumer of their products. Their site and comment section used to be way more robust, now it seems like a shell of its former self. It's a bummer because the commenters often had just as much insight as the articles themselves and overall I find myself visiting ITG way less often.
Yes, I remember reading the comments and taking notes of other products to try. One had a formula for an Uma oil dupe (but we wren't calling them dupes back then, lol) and the base was grapeseed oil and I was lazy and started just using that. Worked pretty well!
I grew up in Wilton when there were pony farms and apple orchards and cow pastures. I am stunned at how slick it's become. It was among the cheaper CT Gold Coast towns back then. I did meet Emily Weiss a few times, post-Into the Gloss, pre-Glossier. She was very friendly but also always carrying a Chanel bag. ItG, like a lot of online communities, was so much fun at the beginning. Emily really surfed the crest of the beauty culture wave. I'll stop before I torture that metaphor any further.
This is a brilliant read. I pre-ordered the book & cannot wait to read it. I’d love to read an interview with her now & understand how she feels about the company now. I personally really like the products & remember they were the 1st to do a jelly cleanser. Now everyone does them.
I’m very curious for her next chapter — will she start a new business and be it’s public face or was this it? If she doesn’t, I feel that would be slightly depressing given male founders can fail and be disgraced and then just keep going (see: Adam Neumann)
Agree. We see way too many male founders in general & they’re allowed to repeatedly make mistakes that women aren’t allowed.
I was a big fan of ITG until I just... wasn’t? I’m not sure when I fell off. I was also a big fan of Glossier even though the padded pink pouches seemed wasteful in a very old-fashioned way.
It must be so difficult to take something to a particular level and then get pushed out, but I do think it’s important in all facets of life and business not to be afraid to hire people who are smarter than you, and then to listen to them and allow them to take over some aspects of the business they’re better at than you are. But it’s hard, right? Sometimes I think when young people make it “big” without kind of working their way up they’re just missing the perspective and wisdom that comes with that experience.
Emily should go join Jenna on RHONY!