For those of you who aren’t familiar with Glossier, it’s an aesthetically pleasing makeup brand that you’ve probably seen all over your Instagram feed. But before there was Glossier, there was Into the Gloss, a blog started by Emily Weiss that delved into all things related to beauty routines. There, Weiss and a team of beauty editors saw the need for Glossier, a makeup brand that caters to real women. Weiss and the company are singlehandedly pioneering a “love the skin you’re in” kind of movement in the beauty industry. So, what does this mean for a girl like me?
Glossier, for me, was revolutionary. I found Glossier at a time in my life when I thought that I couldn’t leave the house without makeup. I wasn’t taking the best care of my skin (it was a rough winter quarter), and thought the only way to repair my sun damage and acne scars was by concealing them. But after finding Glossier, I started to see repairing my skin as a realistic goal. Maybe if I let my skin breathe and used products that weren’t going to irritate my skin, like a heavy foundation, it would get better.
I started out by ordering two products: A Glossier Cloud Paint blush in the shade “Puff” and the Glossier priming moisturizer (which are both fantastic!). I stopped using my foundation, found a moisturizer with SPF to replace my old one, bought a non-Glossier concealer, and decided that I would only be using my concealer, the priming moisturizer underneath, and the cloud paint every day.
On the first day of this new beauty routine, I felt exposed. Without foundation, I had literally come face-to-face with my skin and how makeup had affected my self-esteem. Every time I ran into someone I knew on campus, I couldn’t help but wonder: are they looking at me or my breakouts? Despite feeling extremely insecure about my skin, I kept my routine up. I gradually stopped caring about what others thought and started caring more about myself, and over time, my skin started improving. Not only was my makeup routine a lot shorter, but I could feel myself becoming okay with a makeup-less me. Makeup isn’t bad by any means – I’ll be the first to admit that walking out of the house with a full face of makeup can be a confidence booster. However, I didn’t want to love just the makeup on my skin, but the skin underneath it.
And Glossier is making being fresh-faced cool again, giving me the confidence to go out with minimal makeup on. I can’t say that I’m 100% convinced that I am confident walking out of the house without any makeup on – but I’m getting there. And that’s what has made Glossier a game-changer. It has made me want to love myself, and the skin I’m in, regardless of whether I’m wearing makeup or not.
If you’re looking for makeup products that are good for your skin (the Glossier product descriptions explain the benefits of each product), and embracing the skin you’re in, I’d suggest looking into Glossier. I know I’m glad that I did, for the sake of my skin and my self-esteem.
All images taken from Glossier’s website.