What was once a tiny and mighty beauty blog called Into The Gloss has become a bona fide NYC startup: Glossier, with a ragtag team of 35+ jogging up and down the stairwell of our Soho office building, spread out across three floors. Why are we here? We're creating a new kind of beauty company from the ground up—one that acknowledges the hopes, dreams, and desires of women today, and gives them the tools (both digitally and physically) to take ownership over their beauty routines. Who are we? Well, a lot of us began like you: as readers. And we'd like for you to get to know us a little better—what we each do, where we come from, and what we're excited about. Meet Eva Alt:
'When I was 18, I was living in a 'ballet bubble'—I was a professional ballet dancer and that was my whole life. It was something I'd done very seriously for a very long time, so the world of beauty and fashion seemed far away. But when Instagram got really huge, suddenly it brought everything so much closer. I could engage with Eva Chen about her favorite products in her latest post, or geek out over ballet with Amy Astley, or join in on a conversation in the comments section on Into The Gloss. So when I eventually jumped ship from dance, first into fashion and then beauty, I knew how it felt to be a part of a community and how special that is.
I started interning at Into The Gloss just before the Glossier launch—we were doing everything from transcribing interviews for the Top Shelf to packing the first Phase 1 Sets to go out to press. Then I came on full-time shortly after that to do social. With social it’s not just my job, it’s my hobby, so I think that’s important, to love what you do.”
What do you do at Glossier?
I'm the Social Media Editor. I help manage the content and output on our social platforms. That includes all of the usual suspects: Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, Tumblr, YouTube—but recently Snapchat and Periscope. I'm the eyes and ears in some ways, because I'm interacting with our community every single day. I've worked a lot with Annie and Emily on Glossier's Instagram. It's our living moodboard—and one of my favorite parts of my job.
Hometown:
Buffalo, NY
Ideal breakfast:
Good coffee with cream and my best friend's mom's banana bread with walnuts and blueberries.
*Favorite Instagram accounts to follow:
* Besides @intothegloss and @glossier and all my teammates: I love @outdoorvoices, @ameliepichard, @jeannedamas for style inspo, and @alwayssssleep for bedroom interiors.
Got any good mom lessons?
My mom taught me three lessons that pertain to beauty:
1. Wash your face
2. Wear lipstick
3. Don't let anyone touch your eyebrows
If you didn't live in NYC, where would you live?
I dream of California, but I like being close to home.
Favorite stories on ITG:
I love Christie Brinkley & Sailor Brinkley Cook's Top Shelf, it's so sweet. Also Benjamin Puckey's '70s shoot and the first story I wrote for ITG, Why Did I Get Bangs This Summer?
Favorite beauty products:
Glossier Perfecting Skin Tint, Eau de Bonpoint, Armani Eyes to Kill Silk Shadow in Champagne and Topshop Lip Polish in Gallery
Best piece of advice you've ever received:
I always go back to what my mentor as a young dancer would say, and it has stuck with me all through life, and that is to “just be.” It always puts me at ease and brings me clarity in any situation. I almost got a tattoo of it.
New York City + $20 + night out—go!
I'd go to the Paris Theater uptown with my pal Daniel and see the kind of movie that totally wraps you up in it—and after, you just can't shake that feeling. Then we'd go for gelato :)
—as told to ITG
Eva Alt photographed by Tom Newton.
For more about the team, say hello to editors Claire Knebl, Emily Ferber and Tom Newton.
