Welcome back to Pace, ladies! Let’s face it: this was not only a hot girl summer, this was the summer of VSCO girls. We’ve got our best scrunchies on our wrists, we spent multiple hours planning out our water bottle sticker layouts, and I know there’s more than one of you out there who spent more money on a Fjällräven Kånken than you’d to admit. Now that we’re back in NYC and ready to live our best lives, I’m sure most of you have started making preparations for that special pilgrimage you’re excited to make: a trip to the Glossier Flagship.
As most of us know, Glossier is not just a makeup & skincare brand: it’s a lifestyle brand, and what they’re really trying to sell us is this idea of self-care and soft, pink vibes. Currently, you can only buy these vibes online or at the Glossier Flagship store in SoHo. The official Glossier website is pretty secretive about the store, so I had to consult Yelp reviews to figure out where exactly the Flagship was, what to expect, and the best time to visit. Because I’m such a good friend, I’m going to share my first-hand experience visiting the store with all of you gorgeous Her Campus readers so that you can plan your own Glossier girl gang outings accordingly.
The Flagship is located at 123 Lafayette Street, a mere few minutes away from the exit of the Canal St. subway station. If you take the 6 from the Brooklyn Bridge station, you’re just a stop away. Going to school at Pace puts us in a prime location for a quick visit to the store, which is great news if you’re a commuter! You could probably make it there and back by the time common hour is over… if you don’t get sucked into a 30-minute mental hellscape of trying to decide which balm dotcom to buy. That’s a real thing, I watched it happen to a girl while we were there and she had to be carried out on a stretcher.
When Emily and I headed out last Friday, we were told from Yelp reviews to look for a line of people outside the door– we would encounter one no matter what time of day it was or what day of the week it was. This was not the case when we arrived around 2:30. We were greeted with these banners and the sign on the wall, and while there was a lot of foot traffic near the door, there was no line and we just went inside.
After heading up the pink staircase, we entered the showroom, which is tiny and crowded, but so, so beautiful. The wall is made of pink plaster and illuminated by chunky fluorescent light bulbs. Pink and purple orchids help bring Glossier’s soft, feminine tone into the concrete NYC warehouse. There are mirrors everywhere to help the room feel bigger and remind you of how beautiful you look today. TL;DR– this place is cute.
Despite being crazy busy, the vibes are great here. Everyone is super nice, even the other customers, one of whom complimented my backpack the moment I stepped in the door. Because this is Glossier we’re talking about, everyone here is all about the positivity and self-love, so enjoy the ambiance and compliment someone while you’re here.
The employees are also wonderful! Everyone we ran into was super lovely in their pale pink lab coats and jumpsuits. The woman who rang me up was knowledgeable about the products I asked about and gave honest recommendations. It’s also worth noting that Glossier’s employee name-tags include personal pronouns. We love seeing brands take these types of steps to foster inclusivity and normalize pronoun sharing in the retail landscape.
You’ll find multiple tables set up with Glossier’s admittedly relatively small product line. Most of the skincare can be found at the front tables, while the pink tables in the back by the windows include most of the makeup. There’s some overlap here and there, but that’s the general setup. Because Glossier doesn’t have too many products, if you hit one front table and one back table, you’ve basically seen the whole lineup. But this means there’s plenty of product on display to go around, and it’s all for testing. Makeup mirrors, cotton rounds, single-use applicators, and makeup remover bottles are bountiful here. Don’t be shy to come with a bare face and play around until you’ve given yourself a whole new look with the makeup, you’ll see plenty of others doing the same. This store is your playground, so play around until you feel satisfied– you’ve earned it.Once you know what you want to buy, walk up to any of those Glossier employees you see. They’ll pull out an iPad, you’ll tell them what you want, and then you’ll scan your card. Once you’re done, they’ll direct you to the counter, where a team of employees in the back will prepare your order and call your name when you’re done. Anything you buy will be handed to you in the same pink bubblewrap pouch that online orders are shipped in, and you can be sure to find a sticker or two and a free sample alongside your order.
After you get your hands on your products, you’ll probably want to get some pics. After all, isn’t that the point of visiting a brick-and-mortar store in 2019? I’m sad to report that the amount of possible photo ops is extremely finite here, but that doesn’t mean you won’t get one or two good ones for the Gram. The lighting is pretty good in the store, so you’re bound to walk away with something no matter where you go. The most popular photo-op spots at the flagship are on those ruby stairs and in front of the “You Look Good” mirror across from the tables. There’s also a mirror that says “You Woof Good” on the side of the room. I don’t know what that means. Also, I’ve been mirror-selfie-ing since at least the day I met Big Time Rush in 9th grade, so I think it’s pretty shameful that I’ve never learned how to mirror-selfie correctly. Here’s ¾ of my face for you, at both of those mirrors.My favorite photo of the day, by far, was the one I snagged on a miraculously empty couch in front of a rose quartz lighting fixture that I’m pretty sure is supposed to look like Glossier’s solid perfume, You.
Rather than wait for the foot traffic on the main staircase to stop, Emily and I opted to take photos at the top of the staircase where the lighting was just as nice. We headed out after about 30 minutes in the store total.
This isn’t a product review post, but I might as well talk about what I bought since it’s my post and I can do what I want. I spent $38 in the store today and came out with Glossier’s Milk Jelly Cleanser ($9), Balm Dotcom in Rose ($12), and Lip Gloss in Clear ($14).
I’ve heard that Milk Jelly Cleanser is nothing short of a miracle, so I’ve been eager to try it for a while. For the past 6 or so years, I’ve been using Cetaphil at the recommendation of an esthetician. My skin has always been great with just a little bit of acne near my jawline, but lately, I’ve noticed some pretty deep, cystic pimples in that area, so I’ve been looking to improve my skincare routine. It’s too early to say if Milk Jelly has helped my skin or not, but I can say right now that from the first time I used it, my skin did feel immediately, noticeably softer to the touch.
I wasn’t going to pick up another Balm Dotcom yesterday, but after trying Rose just to get a little bit of tint on my lips, I knew I was going to go home with it. Balm Dotcom locks in moisture and smells nice. It’s probably not the end-all, be-all of lip balms, but I prefer it to any drugstore lip balm I’ve used in the past few years. Glossier’s Lip Gloss, however, is the end-all, be-all of lip glosses. I was shocked when I put it on for the first time and was blinded by the light that reflected off of the shine. It stayed on forever. That intense freshly-glazed-Krispy-Kreme-donut-shine didn’t dull until after I had eaten dinner two hours later. It wasn’t tacky or sticky, either, so don’t worry about getting your hair stuck in your gloss on those windy days.
All in all, I was extremely satisfied with the quality of my purchases and the price point. The products are a little smaller than I would have liked, but the prices were extremely fair in comparison to other beauty brands.
In summary: I enjoyed our visit to the Glossier Flagship. I felt like I was able to do what I set out to do: take some pictures, buy some products, and enjoy the atmosphere. I don’t think it’s any more special than an average store for a beauty brand this size, but I ended up kind of liking how average it felt– like if I wasn’t all dolled up for pics, I still wouldn’t feel out of place there, so if I was running other errands on Canal St. (lol) I would feel able to pick up some products I needed. Visit alone for a self-care day or visit with friends to make it an Instagram “thing.” If you’re planning on making a trip to the Glossier store with your girls and want to make it a “thing,” I recommend walking three blocks away afterward to sit and share coffee and a pastry at Ferrara NYC on Grand St. while you edit your pics for IG. Or VSCO.
Whatever you choose to do, the Glossier Flagship is a beautiful, easy-going, and fun playground for makeup lovers and dreamers alike. With so many moderately priced items for sale and in such proximity to our campus, I encourage all of my Pace VSCO Girlies to head over at least once and sksksksk until you can’t oop anymore.