Glossier You | Parabens? Phthalates? PFAS?

Glossier You - Parabens
Does Glossier You contain parabens? phthalates? PFAS? We take an in-depth look.

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Background on Glossier You Perfume

History of Glossier

Established in 2014 by Emily Weiss, Glossier is a modern, direct-to-consumer beauty brand born out of Weiss’s blog ‘Into the Gloss’. With its roots firmly planted in the real-life beauty routines of its readers, the brand has transformed the conventional beauty narrative.

Glossier’s philosophy revolves around the belief that beauty should be fun, easy, imperfect, and personal. This approach has made the brand a cultural phenomenon, with a devoted community of fans that spans the globe.

Weiss’s vision was to flip the traditional model of beauty on its head. Instead of dictating what women should buy, she sought to listen to what women wanted. This strategy led to the creation of Glossier’s extensive line of skincare, makeup, body care, and fragrance products, which are celebrated for their simple yet effective formulas.

Glossier initially carved out its space in the beauty market with a direct-to-consumer model, setting itself apart by launching online and building a digital community around its brand. This strategy enabled Glossier to establish a strong, direct connection with its customers and create a brand identity that was responsive to customer feedback.

However, as the brand grew in popularity, it began to expand beyond its online-only origins. To reach a wider audience and offer a tactile, in-person shopping experience, Glossier started partnering with established brick-and-mortar retailers.

One notable partnership is with Sephora, a major beauty retailer with locations around the world. By offering their products through Sephora, Glossier has been able to expand its reach, provide more accessibility to customers, and allow people to test and smell their products like the ‘Glossier You’ perfume in-person before buying.

Glossier You Nontoxic? Parabens? Phthalates? PFAS?

Glossier Parent Company: Glossier, Inc.

Glossier Inc. is the parent company of Glossier. It was founded by Emily Weiss in 2014 and operates as a standalone company. 

About Glossier You

Glossier only makes one perfume – Glossier You.

The year 2017 marked a significant milestone for Glossier with the launch of their debut fragrance, ‘Glossier You’. This scent, like the brand itself, prioritizes individuality. The perfume is designed to smell different on everyone, hugging the skin and melding with the wearer’s unique chemistry.

‘Glossier You’ is built around three simple, yet elegant notes: ambrette (comforting and warm), ambrox (smooth and salty), and musk (long-lasting and addictive). Together, they create a scent that is both familiar and unique, evoking the sense of comfort that comes with smelling something uniquely personal.

The perfume is intentionally unfinished, allowing the wearer to complete it. This results in a fragrance that doesn’t smell like a typical perfume but rather like the person wearing it. This concept perfectly aligns with Glossier’s ethos of celebrating individuality and personal choice.

Fragrance Notes:

  • Pink Pepper
  • Iris
  • Abrox

 

from Fragrantica:

Glossier You Nontoxic? Parabens? Phthalates? PFAS?
Glossier You Nontoxic? Parabens? Phthalates? PFAS?

Fragrance Description: This is the ultimate personal fragrance. Pink pepper—the bright, sparkling, spicy top note—makes a good first impression. Then you smell the woodsy, slightly sweet heart of the scent that comes from ambrette seeds alongside a creamy, musky, salty ambrox. It’s balanced with iris root, a white floral, for a powdery freshness. It melts into skin, smelling a little different on everyone. Mostly, it smells like you: soft, warm, and familiar.

Is Glossier You a Pheremone Perfume?

No, Glossier You is not a pheremone perfume. 

Glossier You is not specifically marketed as a pheromone perfume by the company. The fragrance is designed to mimic and enhance the natural smell of the wearer’s skin, creating a unique, individual scent for each person who wears it.

While it aims to interact with the wearer’s body chemistry, much like a pheromone perfume might, Glossier doesn’t claim or advertise that Glossier You contains pheromones or functions as a pheromone perfume.

Facts about Glossier You:

  • It’s a Skin-Like Fragrance: Glossier You is designed to smell like your skin but better, creating a unique, personal scent on everyone who wears it. The fragrance is created to adapt to the individual’s chemistry.

  • Minimalist Design: The perfume’s bottle showcases Glossier’s minimalist aesthetic, with its soft pink color and a red indent, which makes it unique and easy to hold.

  • Unisex Fragrance: While many perfumes are marketed towards specific genders, Glossier You is a unisex fragrance. It’s designed to be appealing and wearable for anyone, regardless of gender.

  • Industry Recognition: The perfume has received numerous accolades within the industry, including being awarded the prestigious Fragrance Foundation Award in 2018 for “Fragrance of the Year” in the Popular category.

  • Emily Weiss’ Favorite: The founder of Glossier, Emily Weiss, has mentioned in interviews that Glossier You is her favorite scent.

  • Comes in a Solid, Too: For fans of the scent who want a more portable option, Glossier also offers a solid version of the fragrance. This perfume solid comes in a small pink compact with a mirror, making it easy to carry around for quick touch-ups.

  • Unique Bottle: The perfume’s bottle has the real thumbprint indent of the designer.

Does Glossier You Meet the "Clean at Sephora" standards?

No, Glossier You does not meet the “Clean at Sephora” standards.

Sephora has a designation for certain products they consider “clean,” meaning free of certain ingredients they’ve deemed potentially harmful or controversial. The “Clean at Sephora” designation requires products to be free of over 50 ingredients including sulfates (SLS and SLES), parabens, phthalates, and more.

Since Glossier You perfume does not contain the “Clean at Sephora” label, it’s safe to assume it’s because it contains one or more of the ingredients on Sephora’s excluded list. It’s hard to say exactly which ingredient or ingredients cause Glossier You not to qualify for the “Clean at Sephora” label.

Does Glossier You have Parabens?

Yes, Glossier You contains parabens.

There is nothing on the Glossier website stating that Glossier You is paraben-free. 

We also reached out via e-mail asking about ingredients, including whether or not Glossier You has parabens. They did not answer our question about parabans….which is very telling. 

Therefore, we can assume that Glossier You does in fact contain parabens. 

Does Glossier You have Phthalates?

No, Glossier You does not have phthalates.

We reached out to the company asking about phthalates (and other ingredients of concern) and here is their full response:

Hi there,

Thank you for reaching out! Glossier products are not formulated with phthalates. Also, we formulate all of our products without PFAS and PFOA ingredients.

Does Glossier You have PFAS?

No, Glossier You does not have PFAS.

We reached out to the company asking about PFAS (and other ingredients of concern) and here is their full response:

Hi there,

Thank you for reaching out! Glossier products are not formulated with phthalates. Also, we formulate all of our products without PFAS and PFOA ingredients.

Bottom-Line: We don't recommend Glossier You

We don’t recommend Glossier perfumes (specifically, Glossier You). Glossier You does not meet the “Clean at Sephora” standards, which prohibits ingredients of concern due to potential negative health implications (more on that here). 

Although Glossier You doesn’t contain phthalates or PFAS, it does contain parabens, which we try to avoid in our perfumes and other personal care products.

There are tons of perfumes on the market that don’t contain parabens – and these are the perfumes we use and recommend. 

As consumers are becoming aware of the concerning ingredients in perfumes, many consumers are actively searching out better, safer perfumes. This is more than a passing trend. This is where the perfume industry is headed. Here at scentmovement, we’re here to promote this movement – browse around our site if you’re looking for perfume recommendations, reviews or dupes!

Alternates to Glossier You: If you’re looking for a “skin scent” perfume, similar to Glossier You, you’ll find lots of great option here: Best Skin Scent Perfumes

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