This month, I had the pleasure of attending a SCADStyle panel featuring the Chief Creative Officer of Glossier, Marie Suter. She has an impressive work history, having been creative director at both Elle and Allure prior to her time at Glossier. Although I was fangirling so hard, I managed to absorb the valuable insight and inspiration that she had to offer.
Glossier is a product of the 2014 full-beat, full-glam makeup craze. They promote minimalist, natural beauty which heavily opposed the trends at the time. Founded by CEO Emily Weiss, Glossier quickly became one of the most iconic makeup brands with a dedicated fan base. Despite opposing trends at the time, Glossier put so many makeup lovers, including myself, in a chokehold. The main reason behind their immensely loyal customer base is consistent brand identity…and collectible stickers, of course.
In the beauty industry’s current competitive environment, Suter talks about how, while it is tempting to adhere to trends, they are often nothing more than short-lived fads. Proving that a consistent and strong brand identity is much more stable in the long run. Glossier’s is rooted in authenticity, simplicity, and cruelty-free sourcing. With its “Skin first. Makeup second.” tagline, the brand promotes clean beauty, skincare, and wellness as a celebration of natural beauty.
This message has often been misconstrued and discouraged in the media because many beauty influencers and consumers mistake the intentional subtlety of Glossier products as defectiveness. Other critics dislike the brand’s reformulations that push toward more sustainable, ethical, and vegan ingredients. Despite the discourse, Glossier has always stayed true to its values while maintaining its success. Suter says she loves seeing these Glossier haters in the Instagram comments because they don’t even need to reply. Instead, their dedicated fanbase responds to them. This is one of the many perks of retaining brand loyalty, especially since Glossier essentially launched on Instagram.
When discussing the recent “Sephora Kid Epidemic”, Suter explains that Glossier has not changed anything about their advertising to appeal to younger audiences. This is admirable, considering many beauty brands have capitalized on this new wave of children going to Sephora. In fact, Glossier is not intentionally marketed towards any particular age category. This age-inclusivity is reflected through their models and products, with formulas for young skin, mature skin, and everything in between.
At the end of the discussion, the floor was opened up for questions. As a fashion journalist myself, I asked Suter how her experience working in fashion and beauty publications has helped her in the position she’s in now. She told me, “…Working in a magazine or any media, you have to keep on producing and finding new contributors to work with. You try to tell different stories…you keep on reinventing yourself and finding new voices to tell that story that you might not have thought of so I would say the curation and that curiosity is important.”
As someone who will one day work in the fashion and beauty industry, I am often worried that I will have to overlook my values and identity for the sake of the trends that dictate the success of these companies. However, seeing Glossier stay true to its values and identity while maintaining success and hearing Marie Suter’s words, I have hope that there is still room to be authentic and creative in this industry.
Words by Mishi Ali.
Graphic by Emily Strycharz