Let’s just say that it was a happy coincidence that me and my fiancé’s vacation this year lined up with Glossier having a store open in Seattle. (I’m still mad that I missed being in Chicago for that pop up by two days.)
Welcome to the Pacific Northwest
I’ve been to the permanent Glossier location in LA once when it was dead quiet and I managed to fit in two visits to the San Francisco pop up without waiting in line, but no such luck was to be had in Seattle. While the line moved quickly, it was pretty packed when we got inside, so this was as good a photo as I could get of the interior:
My weak attempts at trying to take photos without being too obnoxious aside, I enjoyed the decor of this pop up more than San Francisco’s version. All the greenery gave it such a cool (both temperature and aesthetic) Pacific Northwest vibe. SF’s version was more of a retro café, which was very cute but not necessarily specific to the city.
Making a list and checking it twice
This wasn’t my first Glossier pop up experience. Since I knew how overwhelming it could be, I came prepared. That’s right, I made a list.
Back when Glossier Seattle was announced, I was running low on Lash Slick and in search of a new clear sunscreen, so those were on my list. Once I saw that there was a Seattle exclusive water bottle (San Francisco was the first pop up and Glossier didn’t have any location-specific merch yet 😔), that went on the list, too.
These were all things I knew that I wanted sight unseen. What I was really looking forward to was was the chance to play with things that were new to me, including Glossier Play.
Last time I bought Stretch Concealer, there were only five shades. Now, there are twelve! 
Bubblewrap was on my list because I’m pretty finicky about the texture of my eye cream, 
Swatches of the new Jam, Cake, and Zip. Packaging is better but the payoff is not. 
Of all the new products in Glossier Play, the Color Slides were the only things that I felt any excitement for. Jumbo (orange) and Nectar (yellow) spoke to me most. 
The Vinylic Lips didn’t it do it for me when I saw them online. I swatched Disco, Pony, and Casino… and had second thoughts.
And the haul!
After testing and trying and definitely not spilling some Body Hero oil on me (I smelled like my godmother’s bathroom for the rest of the day, hard pass), I was ready to make some decisions.
Shameless Glossier fangirl that I am, the Seattle exclusive water bottle was a requirement. It’s living in my gym bag now. I’m too scared to travel with it and lose it! As a nice bonus, a portion of the proceeds go to Mary’s Place, a local shelter for women and families.
Clear sunscreens have made it easy for me to wear SPF every day, so the Invisible Shield was at the top of my shopping list. Still, it was nice to try it in person to make sure it had the texture I’ve come to like in clear SPF.
Speaking of texture, Bubblewrap has the lighter formulation I prefer in an eye cream. Thicker ones pill up on me. Purchases like these are why I wished I lived closer to a permanent Glossier store. The ability to try out colors and textures has helped me make more informed purchases.
A nice way to wear sunscreen every day. 
I use this on my eyes. My lips prefer something thicker.
On the other hand, trying things out is also dangerous. I didn’t give the Vinylic Lips from the Glossier Play line much thought, but when I swatched Disco, I couldn’t stop looking at it. The excitement I thought I’d feel when I tried the Color Slides — especially Jumbo and Nectar, a bright orange and mustard yellow — just wasn’t there.
Meanwhile, I couldn’t get Disco out of my head even after I cleaned it off of my hand. So, it took over the spot on my list that I thought the Color Slides would.
The freshly opened tube… 
…and many clicks later. 
Glossier Play might have been envisioned as a bolder brand, but Disco fits into my everyday makeup just fine. 
Is the double packaging wasteful? Yes, but at least Glossier is phasing it out. One or the other would have been fine with me. I like that both the box and foil match the color of the product inside.
My top 3 Glossier picks
It’s been a while since I’ve done one of these Glossier fangirl sort of posts, so I figured I’d update you on my favorites from them rather than attempt to cover Glossier product I own. (Though I might later? Let me know if you’d like to see something like that.)
If my makeup collection evaporated tomorrow and I had to start from scratch, these are the things I’d pay rush shipping to replace ASAP.
Stretch Concealer
This was part of my original Glossier purchase and it’s been my go to concealer ever since.
I’m currently finishing a pot of this in the shade Medium. They expanded the shade range last year (yay!) so I was glad that I was able to swatch and confirm that I’m G8 now. I didn’t buy a new one yet, but as soon as I start running low, I know it’ll be replaced by the right shade.
Lash Slick
How much do I love this mascara? I was planning on picking up more in Seattle, ran out at the End of May, tried to hold off, but bought two tubes in early June so I’d hit free shipping and have this mascara back in my life.
I’m blessed with naturally curled and slightly thick lashes, so what I look for in mascara is something that can give me length and separation. Lash Slick delivers both in a subtle way that make it look like mayyyyybe my lashes are just that good. It does so while lasting all day and not smudging. I mess around with other mascaras but this remains my #1.
Cloud Paint
These were my intro to liquid blush way back when I tried them at the San Francisco pop up. I tried to limit myself to a pair, wound up going back to get the other two, and then instantly picked up Storm and Dawn when they launched last summer.
So yeah, I guess you could say I think these blushes are pretty neat.
A little bit goes a long way with these. Glossier suggests tapping them on and blending out with your fingers. While that works well enough, I prefer blending them out with a duo fiber brush.
If had to absolutely pick only one… ugh, why? Dawn if I absolutely must. While bright orange is something I don’t wear every day, 1) it’s surprisingly wearable on me and 2) I don’t own anything else like it.
On the other hand, if I was suggesting them to a friend, I’d tell them to go for a duo of Dusk, because it’s neutral and hard to over do, and Beam, a perfectly perky peachy pink. Save the deeper colors (like Storm, which might actually be my favorite? ugh, it’s like picking a favorite child) for when you’ve gotten more comfortable with liquid blush.
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