Hollie's Beauty Corner

I’m often fighting between wanting new products whilst feeling like I need to use up what I already have, wanting to try all the newness out there and find new favourites and also wanting to use what I already know and love.

I find it interesting to look at products within the concept of the brand that released them. It’s not a hard and fast rule but I think that the best brands with the best products tend to have a cohesive range. That doesn’t mean every product is the same or they only have one foundation, one mascara, one powder, but that you can look at a product and just know which brand released it. With that in mind, I thought it would be fun to go through the brands I have in my stash and take a look at what I own now, what I’ve had in the past and what I would like to try next.

The first brand I picked was Glossier and I was shocked at how much I had forgotten I had tried (doesn’t bode well does it). Glossier is absolutely one of those brands with a cohesive thread running throughout as they’re famous for their natural barely-there makeup and pared-down approach to skincare. I’ve not tried everything from the brand and I know they’ve got their fair share of hits and misses, but there are certainly enough hits to make it a good one to start with!

Starting with the products I currently have in my collection:

Cloud paints

Glossier’s liquid blushes are one of their iconic products, and for good reason. The definition of small but mighty, Glossier’s Cloud Paints really pack a punch delivering anything from a sheer wash of colour to a shot of pigment through a serum-like formula. I never find that these disturb my foundation underneath and apply just as well with your fingers or with a brush. And it goes without saying but the packaging for these is so cute, not always the most convenient, but very cute.

Over the years Glossier have expanded their shade range adding a variety of beautiful hues to their collection. I originally picked up Dusk before adding Puff and Storm to my makeup bag. To prempt the obvious question, no I can’t pick a favourite. They are all gorgeous both on their own or mixed and matched either for a trendy ombre look or to make your own custom shade.

Glossier have so many other shades I’d be interested in trying, they’ve also recently launched a bunch of neutral shades introducing the Cloud Paint Bronzer.

Glossier Play Liquid Highlighter

I won’t talk about this too much as I’m afraid to say that the entire Glossier Play range has been discontinued, but I couldn’t not talk about this highlighter. The Glossier Play highlighter is a beautiful product and one I wish they could have integrated into their main line of products when deciding to cancel Glossier Play. Glossier play was certainly a departure from the brand’s typical “no-makeup makeup” vibe and was more full of colour and intensity, so in comparison to Glossier’s standard highlighter this one is practically beaming.

This liquid highligher gives a difused glow which really pops when it catches the light. Although it looks quite pink in the bottle I wouldn’t say it looks overly pink on the skin which is a definite positive for me as I don’t usually gravitate towards pink highlighters. I won’t dwell on what we can no longer appreciate, but anyone who was lucky enough to pick this up knows what a beautiful product this was and I’m sure you continue to reach for it as I do.

Looking back on what I used to have:

Skincare minis

I bought this set about 3 or 4 Christmases ago as I had always heard good things about Glossier’s skincare. To make sure we’re not here all day I thought it might be best to do some quick fire reviews of what came in that set in order of application:

1. Milky Jelly Cleanser – a nice cleanser that’s gentle and certainly not drying, it works well as second cleanse after makeup or SPF removal. Until thinking about it again I had forgotten how much I enjoyed this!

2. Super Bounce – quite a standard hydrating serum but one that I really liked when I was using it. If you’ve used an translucent, slightly creamy hydrating serum before you’ve probably got a good idea of what this is like! Now that I have tried out a wider variety of skincare I don’t rate this one as highly. Definitely nothing wrong with it, but I think there are better options out there.

3. Future dew – super, super dewy and glowy! An oil serum hybrid, for me this was just a bit too much on the oily side and felt like it sat on my skin. Having said that if you’ve got dryer skin you might love this.

4. Priming moisturiser rich – given the choice, I wouldn’t have picked the rich moisturiser from Glossier’s range as my skin is more normal to oily. This is another product that I didn’t dislike but was just okay, but that’s keeping in mind that this isn’t really a product for my skin type – again if you’re dryer this could be right up your street.

5. Balm Dotcom – I hate to sound repetitive, but it’s a just a nice lip balm. I’ve tried a few variations of this and they all have a slightly funny aftertaste that I don’t love but doesn’t stop me using the product.

Of all of the products in the set I think my favourite was the Milky Jelly Cleanser! I’m not in a rush to buy it again but I absolutely would use it as a nice second cleanse.

Super Glow

Super Glow is Glossier’s vitamin C serum, promising visibly smoother skin and a more even skin tone with continued use. I did see results using this product, I thought my skin certainly looked glowier and it opened my eyes to the skincare benefits vitamin C can provide, but after a while those results seemed to plateau and after looking at the ingredients list I think I know why.

Not all types of vitamin C are made equal and Super Glow uses gentler form of vitamin C, magnesium ascorbyl phosphate (MAP). MAP is a more stable type of vitamin C and is typically better for sensitive skin, however it is also less potent than something like L-ascorbic acid. Delving into the different types of vitamin C used in skincare can get complex fast, so I’ll summarise by saying that whilst MAP is usually better for sensitive skin the trade off is that you can lose some of the efficacy of the product. If this is true it makes sense that I would initially see results but that these would eventually peter out.

Overall Super Glow left me with a similar impression to Super Bounce, it was a nice product and I did see an initial difference in my skin but I think there are better options out there if you’re looking to bring vitamin C into your skincare routine. I’ve left links to a couple of helpful articles below if you’re interested in reading more about vitamin C in skincare (I’m a big ol’ nerd so I like this kind of stuff but appreciate it’s not for everyone!).

Wowder

Wowder is an example of how a great marketing campaign can make a product stick in your brain long after first seeing the campaign. I remember watching a video of an influencer collaborating with Glossier to review the product before it came out but they weren’t allowed to say who the brand was or even what the product was called. I obviously watched that review and was on tenterhooks waiting for that forthcoming product reveal video to land. After finding out what the product was I didn’t immediately buy it, but when I needed a new powder Glossier Wowder was still on my mind years later.

Wowder isn’t a translucent powder and comes in a few shades (although I never noticed any colour being deposited on my face when I used this). It reminds me of a mineral powder because it’s not flat like translucent powders can be and doesn’t completely mattify and dry down your base unless you really pack in on. I definitely remember enjoying this and would certainly use it again!

What’s on my wishlist

Glossier’s Stretch Concealer is one of their best loved products and is one I’m keen to try for myself. I like a creamy pot concealer for when I’m looking to add small amounts of coverage on “no makeup makeup” days and I think the Stretch Concealer would be perfect for that. The Stretch Concealer is renowned for offering medium undetectable coverage which sounds right up my street, definitely on the wishlist.

Whilst the Stretch concealer has been a staple in Glossier’s product line up for almost a decade, they only recently capitalised on its success and launched the Stretch Foundation.

The Stretch Foundation comes in 32 shades and seems to fit a similar brief to the matching concealer, offering medium, buildable, undetectable coverage – doesn’t that sound like everything you’ve ever wanted in a foundation?

I would also love some more Cloud Paints if that wasn’t already clear! If I’m looking for a new shade of blusher I normally like to try out a new formula, but if I was looking to stick in my comfort zone I would absolutely think of picking up more Cloud Paint shades. A few shades I have my eye on include Soar, Wisp, Haze and Spark; they’re all quite bright vivid shades but I think the Glossier formula will make even the more intimidating shades a little easier to work with!

If you’ve ever smelled Glossier’s signature perfume I think you’ll understand why I’d like a bottle! Glossier You is quite a warm scent with a hint of sweetness that’s not overpowering, I’ve had a tester in the past and kept it in my handbag until it was down to the dregs, so a full sized bottle would be lovely.

There’s so much else Glossier has to offer and whilst not everything I’ve tried has been a success they certainly have some lovely products. If you’re looking to try anything from Glossier as a general rule I would gravitate towards their makeup over their skincare. Glossier now have their own store in London (where the millennial pink vibes are off the charts) and are now stocked at Sephora in the UK both online and in store so you can actually see the products in person before deciding to take the plunge.

I feel like Glossier have been a staple brand in the makeup industry for as long as I can remember. I don’t hear as much about them any more which seems like a real shame because they do have lovely products in their lineup! Have you tried anything from Glossier?

More about vitamin C in skincare:

https://exponentbeauty.com/blogs/dose/your-guide-to-vitamin-c-derivatives

https://www.apostrophe.com/slather/every-type-of-vitamin-c-and-how-effective-they-are