Less than a year since its debut, Glossier has announced that is it halting production of Play, its sub-brand focused on shimmery, colorful products.
In an interview with Business of Fashion, Glossier founder and CEO Emily Weiss announced that the brand would press the pause button on Play for the time being. Weiss stated the reason behind Glossier's decision was that the company originally believed they needed to offer a more intense variety of makeup products, though that reasoning proved to be misguided. “…The realization we had was, ‘Huh, we could have just launched more makeup products,’” she told BoF.
As noted by The Cut, the initial launch of Play in March 2019 came with a fair amount of criticism from consumers who were not too enthused by many of the products. For starters, some consumers took issues with the packaging of the brand, calling it excessive and unnecessary. In a beauty climate that's increasingly focused on sustainability, many Glossier buyers saw no need for Play. "Perhaps instead of focusing so much on a new product range which seems rushed, wasteful and environmentally un-friendly, Glossier should have focused more on making the original range available WORLDWIDE first," commented one Instagram user upon the launch on the brand.
Additionally, many were upset by the Glitter Gelée product for its use of non-biodegradable glitter. "I want the glossier glitter gelée's so f*cking badlyyy but they're so bad for the environment :(( @glossier MAKE THEM BIODEGRADABLE I'M BEGGINGG," tweeted one fan, to which the brand responded in March of 2019 saying that they were working on ways to make the product biodegradable. Unfortunately, that never happened, and Weiss confirmed that the Glitter Gelée will be discontinued going forward, beginning on March 2 of this year.
If you happen to be a Glossier fan who enjoyed Play, you'll be happy with this piece of news: The Cut reports that three products within the sub-brand — Niteshine, Colorslide, and Vinylic Lip — will ultimately become absorbed into Glossier's main line of goodies. In the meantime, there's always the OG faves like Balm Dotcom, Boy Brow, and Cloud Paint for that subtle tint of color and shine.
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