Glossier was born out of a simple yet revolutionary idea: “Create a beauty brand that I’d want to wear on a sweatshirt,” says founder Emily Weiss. Before Glossier, she says, beauty was often about aspiration—fueled by “ads with lots of billowing silk,” she laughs. “There were great products available, but I felt a disconnect between the brands and me, the customer.” Clearly, Emily wasn’t alone. In the past few years, start-ups like Glossier, Milk Makeup, and Ouai Haircare have become less like traditional beauty businesses and more like mini movements, centered as much around a certain worldview as they are around lip gloss and shampoo.
At Glossier, Emily started a megabrand partially based on the idea that everyone is a pro. “The ‘expert’ title is no longer reserved for beauty brands or employees,” she says. “Everyone has a platform to share their expertise with the world.” Glossier almost relies on it: Emily regularly crowdsources product feedback from fans, and there’s even a Slack channel for the brand’s most engaged customers.
Subscribe now to Teen Vogue to get Volume III: The Icons Issue + a free gift!
At Milk Makeup, cofounder Georgie Greville uses products to talk about representation and individuality: “Just look at our campaigns!” she says. One of the brand’s most recent, called “Live Your Look,” prominently casts a diverse group of Milk employees, models, musicians, dancers, and other creative types (some of them gender-nonconforming). Fans are encouraged to post an image of themselves and tag it #liveyourlook. “[The campaign] is a reaction to how broad our audience really is,” says Georgie, who attributes some of Milk Makeup’s success to good timing. “Today it’s about the era of the individual.”
And while A-list hairstylist and Ouai Haircare founder Jen Atkin may seem to be a holdout for old-school glamour (styling the Kardashians has its perks), the 2 million–plus people who follow her Insta stories know she’s not just about the hair. Watching Jen (often humorously) juggle A-list clients, run a booming company, and maintain what appears to be a killer personal life isn’t just entertaining; for some, it’s motivating. “I’m inspired to speak to women who never give up on anything,” she says. “I’m all about the hustle.” Put that on a sweatshirt.
Related: 13 Women-Owned Beauty Brands You NEED to Know Now
Check this out:
