Imagine a ball pit. However, one person is busy in place of teens and 20 in place of small children, filled with biodegradable confetti rather than plastic spheres. This is one way to describe the scene in a pop-up shop that will open in Paris on Saturday when American beauty brand Glossier opens to promote the release of its latest fragrance Fleur.
In an area surrounded by purple mesh screens, visitors were sitting around and round and round towards its tall mountains, with new perfume bottles sitting. When a person grabbed a bottle from the perch, the action sparked the process of displaying a personalized poem composed by artificial intelligence on a nearby screen.
“You hold Fleur with Grace/Lavender Lights below/The quiet elegance of your gaze,” spit out a poem for Jeanne Melman's friends. Melman, a 17-year-old high school student in Paris, is part of a cohort of deep invasions since Groscher began 11 years ago.
Melman went to the pop-up with two friends. Both are 17 years old. All three said Glossier products are one of the American exports and are the most highly regarded. Melman recalls the time he tried Krispy Kreme doughnuts after the chain arrived in France in 2023. “Good but no exception,” she said. While visiting her Cincinnati pen buddies last summer, Melman added, and she became familiar with pickle balls.
Known for its skincare and makeup products, which the brand says enhances the natural beauty of a person, Glossier has been grasping French customers since it began shipping to France in 2018.
In a country where iconic manufacturers of many iconic manufacturers of perfumes and cosmetics (L'Oreal, Lancome, Asterauder, Chanel) live, Groscher was able to find an audience. However, that doesn't necessarily lead to sales in France. This is because pop-ups are now the only way fans of domestic brands can buy products directly. There are no physical retailers there.
While waiting in the long queue to enter the Fleur pop-up, 15-year-old student Clementine Stahl gave people of her age a reason for the charm of Groscher. It has the image of the “cooler” she said compared to the “thinking more classically” legacy French brand. Typology offers its own take on a minimal product from a French cosmetics brand six years ago, but in a pop-up, others mentioned that Glossier has a similar appeal.
Staal was with his 17-year-old cousin Agate Bernardi. Glossier wasn't the only young American beauty brand they liked. They both said they are fans of Lords founded by Haley Bieber and Fenty Beauty founded by Rihanna. Stahl said he believes, as it happened, “the best pop stars come from America.”
Dorothetiam, a 20-year-old student studying psychology at Palinanter University, said in a pop-up that no matter where she and other generations of Z-ers came from, they tend to be drawn to brands that generally reflect their identity.
Thiam said the way Fenty Beauty and Glossier interacted with black consumers like her played a “big role” in attracting her to the product, for example. “Expression is very important,” she added. “It's about being able to see yourself with the brand you consume. It makes a huge difference.”
Marie Olivier, a 22-year-old master's student, said that instead of prescribing fixed ideals, the brand embodied what she clearly considered an American trend.
“What I like in the US is the overall self-development type trend,” said Olivier, a political science student at Paris Sacray University. “I encourage you to embrace your lifestyle, your whole personality and become the best version of yourself.”
Her feelings evoked that Leahy said the thoughts behind the name Glossier. It is Portmanteau, which laid the foundations for Frent Word for Folder, Gloss, and Cosmetics Brand, and inspired Gloss, the name of a website featuring a diverse collection of beauty routines. (Glossier's first fragrance released in 2017, you sold with the promise that its formula smells slightly unique to anyone.)
The brand may be loved by General Z-Ers, but Leahee said that reach fills the generation. “I watch my mother and daughter shop together,” she said.
Or a father shopping without a daughter, like in a pop-up. He arrived alone, but there was clear instructions from his daughter. Take a photo and buy a new Fleur perfume and cloud paint blush.
