REVIEW: Glossier Phase 2

Wearing the Perfecting Skin Tint and Stretch Concealer in Light and Generation G Lipstick in Like; skin prepped with Soothing Face Mist before application.

I was more than a little skeptical of Glossier.com when their brand first launched, and I admit that I remained unimpressed for some time after the first wave of products was released. Boy Brow was very meh on me, Balm Dot Com dried my mouth out and felt heavy on my skin, and the ingredients list for the two masks terrified me. But the slick marketing pulled me in again, and I decided to test out the Perfecting Skin Tint. Lucky for me, that tint has become a staple in my collection. So when Glossier launched two new makeup items--the Stretch Concealer and the Generation G Lipstick--in a new "Phase 2" set, I decided to give them a shot.

The Phase 2 set comes with a pot of the Stretch Concealer, a tube of Generation G lipstick, and a tube of Boy Brow, all in the shade of your choice. Each item is $18 individually while the full Phase 2 set is $50; unlike the Phase 1 set, you save a few dollars by buying the kit. (ETA: I accidentally fibbed--Boy Brow is currently $16, so you're only saving $2 when you buy the kit.) I already reviewed Boy Brow in a previous post, however, so I passed on the set. Instead, I bought the concealer in 10 Light and the lipsticks in Like and Jam.

Generation G Lipsticks

Jam normally applies even smoother. I just hadn't exfoliated my lips for a while before I took this picture. Sorry. :(

Glossier claims they're going for a "soft, popsicle-stain flush" with this product, and they outright state that "no lipstick in the history of lipsticks looks like this." It's meant to have the pigmentation and comfort of a tinted balm with the look of a stain. And man, does that sound gorgeous!

It's true that the Generation G lipsticks have a flushed, stain-like look on the lips, and that's kind of cool. But saying they wear like a tinted balm and suggesting "no lipstick in the history of lipsticks looks like this"? Eh, you're pushing it. Tinted balms don't generally hydrate my lips, but good ones are practically imperceptible and non-drying. Generation G lipsticks are weightless when your lips are parted, every-so-slightly sticky when you press them together, and a tad bit drying. I find myself wanting some balm on top after a couple of hours, though I can manage without it. They can also apply a tad patchy or uneven if you try to swipe on just one layer; I found that my best bet for even color payoff was slathering the lipstick all around my recently exfoliated mouth a few times.

With that said, these lipsticks do have a very pretty effect on the lips without being as fiddly as most traditional liquid stains. They're vaguely soft-focus and fit with Glossier's "sheer, easy, and full o' silicone slip" standards. It might sound weird, but they kind of "veil" the lips: even when I wear Jam at full opacity, my lips still look like lips, not like they've been painted on my face. (Not that that's a bad thing--I often love a lipstick that looks like car lacquer.) This sheer stain effect means that, while these have totally average wear, they fade evenly. There's also a video of a Glossier employee applying some of the Generation G in Jam to her cheeks, and yes, this is a lipstick formula that works well for that due to the slip

This finish means that all four shades look pretty good on most skintones...and because the folks at Glossier are no dummies when it comes to marketing, they've proven it on their product page. Could we please have an option to zoom in on those shade photos, though? Some of us have shitty vision.

Also, I'm generally cool with Glossier's minimal plastic packaging, but the Generation G lipstick is the first product in the range to make me think, "That looks cheap." The white plastic tubes lack any heft and the plastic appears thin. In fact, the lipstick even has a vague plastic taste. It won't weigh down your bag or take up a ton of room in your lipstick holder, but overall, I'm just not wowed by the packaging.

Still, this is an nice natural matte lipstick for people who love that smooth finish and easy application. They're great for work or lazy weekends. I'll likely toss a tube of Cake (the peach shade) in to my next order.

PS: I noticed that the actual Generation G lipstick tubes say "0.04 oz," but the Glossier website said 1.13oz when I first copied the information from the website. The error has since been corrected. For comparison, a $32 NARS Audacious lipstick contains 0.14oz of product and an $8 Flower Beauty lipstick contains 0.12oz of product. The Generation G lipsticks are definitely on the small side.

RATING: 4 out of 5

Stretch Concealer

Direct sunlight on top, indirect sunlight in middle, flash on bottom. From left to right: Glossier Stretch Concealer and Perfecting Skin Tint in 10 Light, Urban Decay Naked Skin Concealer in Fair Neutral, and OCC Tinted Moisturizer in Y0.

While the Perfecting Skin Tint is a smidgen dark for me in swatches, it applies a bit lighter when sheered out, and I can get away with it because it's so sheer. The Stretch Concealer looked darker to me in the pot and clearly had more coverage, so I was a bit nervous. But I noticed that, in the few Phase 2 Set videos that popped up around the release date, a lot of people were using a lighter shade in the concealer. (For instance: people who used the Skin Tint in Dark, the third shade, used the concealer in Medium, the second shade.) This gave me hope.

The hope was a little misguided, though, because yes, it matches my face and not the rest of my body. I can still get away with it if I'm wearing something sheerer/darker like the Perfecting Skin Tint, slash, if I'm only using it under my eyes, but the shade is a stark contrast to my paler, more yellow foundations. People my skintone can get away with the Perfecting Skin Tone in Light, but the Stretch Concealer in Light is a better fit for NW15 folks.

 Regardless, I still tested this bad boy out on both my undereyes and my super-persistent cheek zit. (Lovingly, I have named this zit Fernando.) The formula contains cocoa butter, so it's slightly dewy and very emollient; this made it a truly awesome light coverage undereye concealer. As the ad copy suggests, it looks like skin, not makeup. It blends best with the warmth of your fingers, though you can also dab the product on with a brush. I think this would be an excellent choice for my great skin days when I just want to look a little brighter on my undereye area.

I was not at all impressed with how this covered Fernando, though. It looked dry and a little patchy over the blemish, and despite Glossier's claims that the coverage is buildable, I couldn't get more than a slight softening effect. I think this is because it has that emollient formula: if you try to layer more on, it's just going to slip around. As you can see in the photographs, Fernando and my little chin pimple scar are less noticeable with the concealer on, but they're definitely still there.

The staying power of this product is also so-so, though again, this is to be expected from a very creamy and dewy formula. I found that I had to reapply the product to my undereyes and my blemishes after around 4 or 5 hours on a comfortable spring day. Applying powder on top did give me a more matte finish, but it didn't increase the wear time.

The Stretch Concealer is excellent for the undereyes, not so great for blemishes. It's not as buildable as they claim, but it's very workable on normal to dry skin, which is a plus. Hence, it's a decent concealer, not a fantastic one. I will note, however, that the price is fair: you get a standard 0.17oz of product for $18.

RATING: 3 out of 5

If you're interested in purchasing this product (or any others) from Glossier, feel free to use my affiliate link in this post--everybody with an account gets one, so this isn't a paid post, I swear. You'll get 20% off your order, I'll get $10 in credit. If that's not your thang, just go to Glossier.com to get your products, no affiliation required.

Affiliate Link: Glossier