Glossier Play has launched, so let’s discuss!

Hi friends!

This past Monday the first brand off-shoot from Glossier launched, Glossier Play. Sure, we’re used to new product launches a few times a year from them, but this is an entirely new brand with a seemingly opposite vibe from Glossier. Needless to say, the beauty community is at attention.

The teaser campaign started on Instagram in late February with CEO Emily Weiss announcing that Glossier Play would launch in March after “two years of creation and a lifetime of being inspired by fun and freedom.” There began a series of cryptic posts that gave absolutely no information of what was to come. All we knew was that whatever was coming was going to be fun and playful. Allegedly.

So March 4th arrives, and we get what the brand refers to as “a makeup brand of dialed–up extras.” A group of four tightly edited “party” products with more color and impact than anything currently offered in the regular Glossier line. (That’s not really hard to achieve. Glossier is all about sheer, buildable products with muted colors.)

Let’s quickly go through the products, and then we’ll get into my opinions.

COLORSLIDE TECHNOGEL EYE PENCIL

This is a $15.00 pencil that comes in 14 vibrant and intriguing shades like moss green, eggshell blue and ginger orange. It claims to be smooth, easy to use and long-wearing.

 

VINYLIC LIPS

I believe this is like a lip gloss/lip lacquer kinda product with lots of shine. It comes in 6 shades and it has that click-pen format. It claims not to be sticky at all and retails for $16.00.

 

NIGHTSHINE HIGHLIGHTER

From the small glass packaging, this looks to be a liquidy highlighter rather than a cream (the official description doesn’t seem to mention its texture). The brand refers to this as a “highlighter concentrate” although I’m not sure exactly what that means. Regardless, this is a glow product that retails for $20.00 and comes in 4 skintone-like shades.

 

GLITTER GELEE

This is undoubtedly the most fun and playful part of this launch, in my opinion. These are multi-dimensional glitters suspended in a jelly substance that claims to set on your eyes for longwear. I have seen a few IG Stories with MUA’s and bloggers wearing these on their eyes and I have to say, these look beautiful. The glitter particles seem to be all different sizes and shapes for maximum glittery effect. These come in 4 shades and retail for $14.00. (You can also buy a detailer brush from them to apply these for another $4.00.)

MY OPINION ON GLOSSIER PLAY

To be honest, I’m quite underwhelmed with this first list of offerings from Glossier Play.

I really wasn’t sure what to expect when I saw all the teasers on social media, but as of now I won’t be purchasing anything from this launch. I certainly appreciate that there’s only a few products right now, and not a crap-ton like your standard ColourPop launch usually is, for example. But the majority of what’s going on here seems a bit overpriced for what it is.

Colored pencils for $15.00? Liquid highlighters for $20.00? The glitters look very pretty but I’m sure I’d hardly use them in my routine, as they seem more of special occasion product. Also, didn’t ColourPop just release something very similar last year? (And didn’t they come under fire on social media for allegedly copying Lemonhead?)

And I’m not the only one that feels ambivalent. So many of the other bloggers I follow on Instagram voiced their feelings of indifference or even disappointment with this launch. And two close friends of mine, who both happen to be Glossier enthusiasts, have also decided to pass on this launch too.

This all just got me thinking: do we as consumers expect too much from brands? Do we expect them to reinvent the wheel with every launch? Do we want constant innovations in textures and formulas or just “newness” all the time? These are questions I struggle with myself.

Supposedly we can expect a lot more big things from Glossier in the future, including more brand launches, so I’m intrigued to see what’s to come.

Check out this article from Business of Fashion where Glossier is compared to Estee Lauder; fascinating!

Let me know what you think in the comments below! I’d love to know your thoughts!

xo, Erica

PIN IT!