Would you drop everything to chase a dream that might not come true? Every day, people forgo their passions and pursue careers that they reckon to be more viable. However, not everyone abandons their initial aspirations.
Emily Weiss, commonly recognized as the “super intern” from The Hills, creatively turned her passion into a full-time job and successful company. With an experimental business mindset, Weiss dauntlessly developed her beauty website called Into the Gloss back in 2010 as a side project while simultaneously interning at Vogue Magazine.
Practically running on zero sleep, she innovated the beauty industry by shifting the focus from popular beauty trends to “real-life” beauty that can be used by college students like you and me. The laid-back marketing, cute packaging, and honest backstory are some of the reasons why Glossier‘s products are so desirable.
When makeup companies advertise their products, they often push women to become carbon copies of magazine models to achieve a certain level of beauty. Weiss, on the other hand, wanted to show women that they can celebrate their individuality and customize their beauty routines. Into the Gloss is an editorial platform that contains inspirational interviews and beauty advice from aspirational women. The purpose of Into the Gloss is to provide personal advice and experiences from distinguished women from across the globe.
A section of their website called “Top Shelf” reveals the lives of influential female figures with a sneak peek of their medicine cabinets. The interviews unveil the surprisingly ordinary backgrounds of these individuals’ successes and anecdotes followed by their beauty routines while showing the “top shelves” of their bathrooms. While women such as Corinne Bailey Rae or Vanessa Friedman of The New York Times would normally be viewed as merely affluent members of society, Into the Gloss enables its readers to relate to them regardless of their fame or personal achievements.
It also consists of articles that address real-life beauty issues such as adult acne that is not commonly discussed. Weiss realized that she can profit from Into the Gloss through publishing and advertising. With this knowledge, she raised approximately $2 million to create a new beauty company called Glossier. She desired to make “cool” and versatile skin care as the central focus of her company. She invented skincare products that women can integrate into their unique routines by making them universal for every skin type.
Not only would these products serve as a blank canvas for women’s beauty routines, it would also be fun and easy to use for those who call themselves “low maintenance.” Glossier captivated a large audience through simple marketing tactics using Instagram as their primary social media platform for advertisement.
Weiss and her employees regularly post aesthetically pleasing images of baby pink objects, now popularly identified as “Glossier pink,” and Youtube “Get Ready with Me” videos that demonstrate how to use the products. The laid-back marketing and honest backstory is why Glossier’s products are highly desirable.
Weiss’s emphasis on natural beauty through the motto “skin first, makeup second” and “skin is in” became major breakthroughs that encourage women to embrace their flaws. The modernity and persistence of her companies have made Weiss incredibly successful, which justified that women can effectively enter business and that people can continue to pursue their dreams. That is what makes Into the Gloss and Glossier so genuine.
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