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On a wall in Glossier's New York conference room hangs a framed napkin with the beauty brand's guiding principles scrawled in red lipstick: Inclusive, Innovative, Clever, Fun, Thoughtful. Not the most radical words, per se, but they begin to explain how this completely digital company has built an online following so rabid that, for a period of time last year, its eyebrow product had a 10,000-person waiting list.
Glossier doesn't rely on celebrity ads or department store placements. Employees talk to customers directly - via email, social media, the company's site - in a casual voice that young people understand. If there's such a thing as designing a millennial approach for selling a product, this gets pretty close.
Its founder, 31-year-old Emily Weiss, worked at US Vogue in 2010 when she launched the beauty blog Into The Gloss. As women flocked to the site to talk about their routines, Weiss realised that beauty companies had no idea what their customers were up to.
"If I want to know how to do a black cat eye, I don't drive to a department store," Weiss says. "I'll go on YouTube, cross-check reviews of a product, and then maybe talk about it on Instagram. There wasn't a brand that encouraged me to take ownership of my routine - and understood that everyone is their own expert."
Glossier launched in October 2014 with the Phase 1 Set, four skincare products in blush-pink packaging. True to Weiss' philosophy, the tone was engaging and non-judgemental, even when Glossier added concealers to the Phase 2 line. "We're not telling you that you need a concealer. We're providing a concealer in case you want it," Weiss says. "We're trying to give you the tools to be able to make whatever decision you want."
That breezy approach works for Glossier. When Annie Kreighbaum, the company's executive editor, trains new copywriters, "the first thing I tell them is to forget everything," she says. "And pretend you're writing to your best friend." The brand's voice is that of your coolest friend who knows that trying too hard is antithetical to being cool. And it's about pictures and vibes as much as words: photos of Gisele Bündchen, Georgia O'Keeffe paintings, glitter. Followers know that if they leave a comment, Glossier will respond directly.
Asked if she feels competitive, Weiss shrugs. "How many lip balms do you own? Zillions," she says. "We're not saying we make the best of everything for everyone." Yet many people love what they do, from teenage girls who show off Glossier face masks on Snapchat to thirtysomethings who tag the brand in selfies (the brand has more than 250,000 followers). In the first quarter of 2016, Glossier sold as much as it thought it would in a year, which made for five-figure waiting lists and impatient fans.
The next logical step would be retail, Weiss concedes, though she's intentionally vague. "I think about the Apple Store," she says. "About creating hubs where you can touch and experience a product, but you can also connect with like-minded people." Glossier does have a penthouse in its SoHo offices, where it occasionally hosts pop-ups. "We've had girls stay upstairs for hours and order pizza. And we have to be like, 'OK, that's a little too much'."
She says that, but you can tell it's a point of pride. She enjoys letting you do what you want. And it's paying off.
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
