I remember the first item I got from Glossier, a Cloud Paint in the shade Storm. It was a gift from a friend in high school who knew my love for beauty and always had the latest brands. I hate to admit I still own and use it even though it is six years old… I promise it’s mostly for memories! Since that first Cloud Paint I have been obsessed. At the time, I felt so cool having a blush from the newest cool girl makeup brand. In high school, my obsession only grew as I began to buy more products and they announced their first pop-up near me in the Boston Seaport. Going there with my cousin and getting my first in-person Glossier experience is still a fond memory. To this day I still use several of their products for my everyday makeup routine and I stop in any Glossier store I’m near. I might be biased but the Covent Garden store in London is my personal favorite! I had heard some information about the founder of Glossier and her book but had never looked much into it. After seeing the book, Glossy, which was all about her and her journey of creating Glossier, I knew I had to pick it up.
Glossy, written by reporter Melissa Meltzer, tells the story of Emily Weiss and the creation of Glossier. From her start as an ambitious high school student to the CEO and founder of a $1.9 billion company. Throughout this time Weiss had many interesting and impressive jobs and internships at Ralph Lauren, Teen Vogue, and Vogue, creating her blog and eventually creating Glossier. It also included her appearance as the “superintern” on In the Hills. Through each stage of her career and life, Meltzer interviewed those around her to give a well-rounded full picture of who Emily Weiss was and how her vision progressed. She interviewed friends, classmates, bosses, coworkers, industry experts, and Weiss herself. At the end of the book, you have a fuller picture of how Emily Weiss built Glossier while still leaving room for questions and thoughts about who she is as a businesswoman and person.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would rate it a 3.5/5 stars. What I loved about it is how deep it delved into Emily Weiss as a founder and as a person. We got to see how her ambition and style from a young age shaped how her career and vision. Especially through perspectives outside of herself, through interviews with those around her on each part of her journey. I also loved hearing about how she came up with Glossier through seeing beauty consumer feedback on Into the Gloss. Two of the first four products launched, the skin tint and Balm Dotcom, are products I use almost every day over 10 years after they launched. They came from her original idea that she wanted her first launch of products to be a system that left the skin prepped. Even though the discussion of products and Glossier were some of my favorite parts, there was much more to the discussion in Glossy.
When I first saw the book I thought it was a memoir written by Emily Weiss. When I found out it was written by a reporter, I was interested to see the stance she would take on Weiss. Would she be praising Weiss? Or was this going a sort of expose? The answer was neither. The book provided a balanced and well-rounded perspective of Weiss. Meltzer acknowledged her confidence, expertise, and hard work were Weiss’s strengths and how she was able to build Glossier. While at the same time highlighting the access Weiss had to opportunities that other founders did not, and missteps along her career. I preferred this to a puff piece or a negative tell-all as it did not force the reader to love or hate Weiss but rather look at her and Glossier from a big-picture lens.
Meltzer not only provided commentary and insight on Weiss and Glossier but female CEOs and women in general. How traits, successes, and failures are characterized differently by the public because they are women. A particularly impactful quote from the book about this was when Meltzer said, “The problem Weiss found herself wrestling with was wanting to be both relatable and likable, which is a trap not just for female executives, but all women.” As a woman who wants to enter the business world and eventually a leadership role, this hit close to home. I highly recommend this reading for any woman who is interested in working in a corporate leadership role at some point because of this commentary (among lots of other books!)
“The problem Weiss found herself wrestling with was wanting to be both relatable and likeable, which is a trap not just for female executives, but all women.”
Melissa Meltzer, Glossy
My issues with Glossy were small and few, but they are worth mentioning. One hesitation I had before starting the book was learning that Emily Weiss was reportedly not thrilled about its release. She tends to keep her personal life somewhat private and had expressed to Meltzer that she felt it was too early for a book like this to be written about her. To an extent, I agree. Weiss is still relatively young, and while she is no longer CEO, she remains on Glossier’s board, and the company still has room for growth. Even though I was eager to read about her journey now, I can’t help but wonder if her story might be even more compelling in, say, twenty years, depending on the direction Glossier takes. These were just personal reservations, but did make me wonder if this book was signaling to the public the end of Glossier and Weiss’s career.
Overall, I found Glossy to be an interesting read and Weiss’s story compelling. This was the first of this kind of book I had read, a profile on a CEO or company, but it definitely won’t be the last. I already have my eye on Dior and Estée: A Success Story next!