Here's Everything We Know About Glossier Play, The Brand's New Mystery Venture
I love a good beauty mystery as much as the next product junkie, and a recent cryptic message from millennial-favorite skincare and makeup brand Glossier has me feeling like a beauty-obsessed Sherlock Holmes. It seems the question everyone on everyone's mind is, what is Glossier Play, the "new brand" Glossier has mysteriously begun teasing? Well, let me tell you, there are some wild theories swirling around today. But let's start at the very beginning, shall we?
Since launching in 2014, the brand has built a cult of followers dedicated to minimalist makeup and simple skincare sold in pretty, Instagrammable, millennial-pink packaging. Glossier even went on to open a permanent flagship store in New York City, home of founder Emily Weiss. And now, Glossier is creating buzz for their next business extension — but nobody even knows what it is yet.
In true Glossier fashion, the brand took to Instagram on Friday to tease the launch of Glossier Play with the caption, "NEWS! ⭐️ @GlossierPlay ⭐️ our new brand is coming March 2019 ⭐️ After two years in the making, we can’t wait for you to see, touch, hear, swatch, and play with what’s to come." In the post, you can see a metallic animation of the popular "G" logo. Swatching, playing, seeing, and touching makes sense, but that "hear" clue is really throwing me off.
While there's little (well, actually, no) information about what Glossier Play is, the new brand already has its own independent Instagram account, which has racked up over 30,000 followers seemingly overnight. So far, the only posts are an affirmation-filled dance video reposted from Instagram star Donté Colley and a liquified "G" logo that distorts and takes shape again, like the liquid robot guy in Terminator 2. But what does it all mean?
Here's where things get interesting: BuzzFeed News reports Glossier filed their first trademark involving "Glossier Play" a while back. A search of the The United States Patent and Trademark Office confirms the existence of these trademarks. One trademark exists for the name "Glossier Play" and dictates that the purpose is to provide "a website featuring consumer information in the fields of cosmetics, skin care and hair care products and services." It seems Glossier filed for another trademark, this time for "Glossier Play Tetra Chrome," which is apparently for "cosmetics; makeup, beauty product(s), namely eye shadow and eye makeup."
In case you're wondering WTF tetra chrome refers to, BuzzFeed reports that it may refer to what is known as "Tetrachromacy." According to Healthline, Tetrochromacy involves someone's ability to see color through "four distinct color perception channel," which is more than most humans, who can only visualize color through three channels. Essentially, this means tetrachromats can see a wider range of color, beyond what you or I would be familiar with. Wild, I know! If Glossier is hinting at this phenomenon with their "Tetra Chrome" trademark, perhaps super extra, vibrant shades of makeup will make an appearance under whatever Glossier Play is?
With competitors like Fenty Beauty, Kylie Cosmetics, and Anastasia Beverly Hills — and their colorful, super pigmented, full-coverage products — attracting the attention of millennial shoppers and Gen-Z consumers, Glossier might be planning to break out of their minimalist ways and appeal to a broader market.
While this certainly sounds like another line of makeup, or at least something similar, many people had some pretty wild, but valid speculations. Some Twitter users even thought the word "play" might even allude to sex toys. "Holographic lubricant? Balm dot com nipple rub?" thought one user. Honestly? Who even knows.
Honestly, their guesses are just as good as mine. All we can do now is follow along on Glossier Play's Instagram and keep our eyes open for more info. And honestly, March isn't that far away, so start saving your coins now. You know you'll be reaching in your pockets, no matter what the launch turns out to be.
