"It absolutely caused me emotional turmoil. Because I'm not a sadist." Our interview with Glossy author Marisa Meltzer.
The best-selling author of Glossy on what she hopes people will take away from the book.
Did you catch our Season 2 interview with Marisa Meltzer, author of Glossy: Ambition, Beauty, and the Inside Story of Emily Weiss's Glossier?
Marisa’s instant best-seller is a deep dive into the rise of Emily Weiss, from her industry-changing blog Into the Gloss to her billion-dollar empire at Glossier.
Marisa and I talked about:
• Why she felt compelled to write about Emily, Glossier, and the beauty industry.
• Her research process - and an unusual tip for finding sources.
• What it’s like to write a book about an unwilling subject.
Check out the full interview on Spotify, Apple, or wherever you get your podcasts. Or read on below for a few juicy highlights.
Marisa - thank you so much!
“It absolutely caused me emotional turmoil, for sure. Because I'm not a sadist. I don't want to think that I'm unduly stressing someone out. My worst nightmare always is that I'm going to wake up to some kind of long, angry email from someone. I don't love confrontation.
I had to just keep telling myself that this was my job, and that it's an important job. And that I wasn't working for her, but [it was important to me that] the depiction of her in Glossier was one that I felt to be very true and nuanced. I would be doing her, the world, and the readers, a disservice if I oversimplified anything.”
“I think she was extremely ambivalent about being liked. I think, of course, she wanted to be liked by her employees. By the press, she wanted to be seen as a kind person with the right priorities. But she also really wanted to be judged the way that any man would be judged. And I think it's something that she probably wrestled with a lot. Because being liked is a trap for women. And it is gendered. I think she was well aware of that.
But then at the same time - especially [for] a company that is made by and marketed towards women, likeability is going to be part of your promise as a brand. And Glossier certainly marketed themselves as smiles and likeability.”
“I don't know. I often don't think about people that I write about in terms of whether I like them or not. I think that Emily is complex. I think she's a cipher. I think that there is probably a world in which we would like each other if I wasn't a writer and wasn't also profiling her.”
“I would love for them to be forming their own opinions about Emily and Glossier. I also think there's a lot of lessons to be learned about just, like, the real cost of money and growth if you want to start a large company - and all the kind of purse strings that come with it.”
“No. I put in a formal request to the Glossier communications team and never heard back.”