Glossier is using the Oscars to launch its newest product.
On Sunday evening, Cloud Paint — a gel-cream blush that comes in four shades — will debut on the faces of actresses and celebrities walking the red carpet, from Taraji P. Henson and Allison Williams to Rashida Jones and Chrissy Teigen.
It’s the first time the brand isn’t taking to its own social media channels to unveil a new product, instead turning to makeup artists, who will in turn use the product on their famous clients’ cheeks.
“We have never launched two products the same way, but we always launch them thinking of our community first, and different cohorts of our community,” Emily Weiss, founder and chief executive officer of Glossier, told WWD.
She noted that one of the “cohorts” that have gravitated toward the two-year-old brand is makeup artists, including Kim Kardashian’s makeup artist Mario Dedivanovic — or Makeup by Mario as he goes by on Instagram where he has three million followers. Dedivanovic has been “super supportive” of Glossier’s universal salve, Balm Dotcom, according to Weiss, who said the product takes a cue from French pharmacy staples and the notion of “getting skin ready.”
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“A lot of the makeup artists who do fashion shoots and celebrities and editorial — they’re using Glossier as the back bone to get skin prepped and primed,” she said.
And while this remains a pillar of the brand — the lineup is still largely skin-care heavy — Weiss is carefully entering the color cosmetics space. Cloud Paint is Glossier’s second color product, following Generation G lipstick that came out in March of last year. Weiss said blush is also the second-most requested product after sunscreen, which will roll out later this year.
Inspired by New York sunsets, Cloud Paint comes in four shades: Puff, a light cool pink; Haze, a berry; Beam, coral peach, and Dusk, a “brownish” nude. Weiss advised that fingers are best for application, with a swipe of color yielding a plumped effect that’s adaptable. She compared Cloud Paint to traditional powder or liquid formulas, which she said can be “streaky” or intimidating.
“We’re very fluid with categories. That’s one of the benefits of being a direct business, since we’re not constrained by shelf space or the preordained launch cadence that traditional retailers impose,” Weiss said.
This also includes how the brand chooses to reveal new products to consumers, which in the case of Cloud Paint includes a landing page that goes live today at glossier.com/cloud-paint. A teaser image of the blush’s packaging will be posted on Glossier’s Instagram page, and all additional content relating to the launch will be posted solely via Instagram Stories through behind the scenes images and videos of makeup artists getting their clients red carpet ready. A corresponding campaign, shot exclusively on an iPhone, is comprised entirely of user-generated content from a handful of customers.
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