Just like millions of other 20 and 30 something women all over the world, we were enticed into the Glossier world of skincare because of its promise for youthful, dewy skin. Add to that an amazing social media presence, an army of direct sales ambassadors, Insta-friendly packaging featuring stark black, white and (what else?) millennial pink and a CEO who feels relatable and you’ve got yourself the perfect storm for product marketing.

Sadly, that’s where the fun stopped for us. Over the past months we’ve been trying two of their cosmetics (Wowder and Generation G lip stain in ‘Crush’) as well as their Body Hero Wash and Lotion duo, Milky Jelly Cleaner and Bounce serum.

Here’s where we are loving Glossier: The Generation G lip stain is honestly magic. We’re willing to overlook the cheap packaging and steep price ($18 for one tube) for the buildable, natural color that comes with application. It’s not smooth but its not as dry and chalky as a matte lipstick — its something in between. Its super buildable and we love the just bitten look that comes with 1-2 swipes and the more dense color we get with 3-4. I like to add my Herbivore lip cream over top for more moisture.

Here’s where we are liking Glossier: Wowder is essentially a loose blotting powder in a really cute package. Its a little chalky and with too much application, you’ll definitely notice it on the skin. If you’re able to get the application just perfect you’ll be rewarded with shine free skin….for about 30 minutes. The brush that comes with is a nice touch, but feels cheap.

And sadly, that’s where our fun ends. We really wanted to love Glossier. We are 100% supportive of women owned businesses and in general, think that Emily Weiss is a complete boss. She’s built an amazing brand but we feel it falls short of its promise of “Skin First. Makeup Second.” All of the skincare offerings we tried were a disappointment and they should be used with caution for anyone with sensitive or allergy prone skin.

Milky Jelly Cleanser – it definitely lives up to the name! The texture is kind of bouncy, reminiscent of smooth jelly and has a milky white color. It certainly feels good on the skin and can be used either on dry skin or wet. I was disappointed that I still needed to use micellar water wipes to remove my eye makeup after using it, so its definitely not a one stop shop for taking the day off, and actually felt some times we used it that it left a film on our skin. We also had an issue with the added fragrance. It’s a light floral (Rosa Damascena Flower Water is the exact ingredient) but we felt it was overpowering. While we are not super super sensitive, we would worry that for those with fragrance sensitivities, eczema’s and generally sensitive skin might react poorly to this fragrance. There are definitely some hydrating ingredients in the Milky Jelly Cleanser; however, again we caution against the use of this cleanser for acne prone or sensitive skin times because of the ingredients – some of which are comedogenic and many of which are irritating.

Body Hero Wash – again, the fragrance! For us it was so strong and displeasing we actually gave our product away. The Body Hero has a blend of fragrances that are definitely floral and two of them in particular (Geraniol and Hydroxycitronella) can be very irritating for those with sensitive skin. Body Hero is an oil wash so it doesn’t foam or lather, and I will say it felt moisturizing in the shower. I was a little confused while I was using it in the shower because I thought “well, if they’ve made such a nice hydrating oil cleanser, why did they also need to make the Body Hero lotion?”. Well, point made after I dried off and my skin felt like a lizard. Yikes.

Enter Body Hero Lotion, again with the scent. It has a fairly watery, thin texture and honestly I felt it was an overall ‘icky’ feel in terms of body creams. Nothing luxurious, nothing immediately moisturizing. But boy, the packaging sure is pretty!

Last but not least was my saddest disappointment of all – the Bounce hyaluronic acid and B5 serum. You’ve seen us post many times about this ingredients…because they’re fabulous! I am not positive where Glossier got things wrong (IMO), but this serum basically feels like putting water on your face and I certainly did not feel or see any moisturizing benefits. I had to use significantly more moisturizer after this serum than I have had to with other HA and B5 serums (like those I have tried from SkinCeuticals, First Aid Beauty and Mizon).

Our take-away? You can’t hide lackluster product behind cute packaging and strong social media. With Glossier, we’ll stick with cosmetics and leave our skin care to the experts!