GLOSSY

The origin story of beauty brand Glossier and its enterprising founder.

Journalist Meltzer, author of This Is Big and Girl Power, charts Emily Weiss’ trajectory to industry mogul. The daughter of a shipping-company executive and a stay-at-home mom in upscale suburban Connecticut, Weiss was mature, entrepreneurial, and obsessed with fashion from a young age. In high school, she showed up for an internship at Ralph Lauren in clothes she made herself. This proactive attitude led to a stint at Teen Vogue, but even a cameo on MTV’s The Hills failed to distract her from her goal of a career in fashion “with longevity.” Her style blog Into the Gloss debuted in late 2010. With the help of a venture capitalist, Weiss used the blog as a launching pad for an e-commerce site featuring a few base products for the Glossier line. The line’s social media “voice” became an amalgam of the specific marketing and advertising qualities Weiss wanted to spotlight. After weathering the initial product-line tweaks, she focused on promotion and strategy. Building her customer base, she ushered the luxury beauty “unicorn” to massive success with a clothing line in 2019. Weiss stepped down as CEO in 2022. Meltzer paints her subject as a shrewd, determined entrepreneur and a professional who’s unwilling to discuss the details of her personal life, then or now. The tone of the book is energetic but overly gushing, spotlighting Weiss’ career with a devotee’s applauding admiration. Meltzer regards their ongoing relationship as “warmly professional,” but the text is often overly fawning, taking on the tone of a book-length infomercial. Recounting a meeting with Weiss, the author writes, “Her confidence was striking. She seemed to always know what to say.” Meltzer’s subject is certainly intriguing, but many readers may wish for a more evenhanded approach.

Occasionally entertaining but bloated business success story written from the cheering section.