Clash of the Cleansers: Glossier vs Bliss

My last stint in e-commerce required me to keep tabs on direct-to-consumer brands to better understand how this phenomenon is shaping retail.

Newsletters such as Lean Luxe and Girls Night In led me to Glossier. I immediately fell in love with their minimalist design and millennial pink aesthetic. I jumped at the chance to visit their flagship store in New York to see what the hype was about.

The ‘gram worthy interiors aren’t the only reason to visit. They also up the ante with a bad ass way to deliver your in-store purchase:

This convinced me to buy a salve and blush so I could also revel in the basic but cute packaging.

Thanks to their A+ email marketing, I got a message about their milky jelly cleanser right when I was in the market for a new cleanser. So in the cart it went!

While waiting for it to be delivered, Glossier hyped up their product by sharing the story of how the milky jelly cleanser came about.

For some reason, this prompted me to do additional research, which led to my discovery of this viral Twitter thread. TL;DR: an ex-Glossier employee shared a list of dupes for many of Glossier’s signature products.

One of the dupes was Bliss’ Makeup Melt, rivaling the milky jelly cleanser.

Allow me to do a quick comparison:

Glossier’s Marketing Mumbo Jumbo

Glossier’s Milky Jelly Cleanser is described as a “gentle-yet-effective creamy gel face wash” with “five skin conditioners that won’t leave skin irritated or feeling tight”.

I used this product for 3 months, and can confirm my skin never felt tight. However, I do follow up with a toner, serum, eye cream, and moisturizer afterwards. Therefore, I can’t say how long this feeling lasts without the additional products.

They also claim it uses the same cleansing agents found it contact lens solution so it doesn’t sting. Unfortunately, I never thought to test this so I can’t verify.

I also use makeup remover prior to washing my face, so I can’t comment on how well it removes makeup.

Bliss’ Marketing Mumbo Jumbo

Bliss’ Makeup Melt is described as “a universal cleanser and eye makeup remover with soothing rose flower that is super gentle, yet amazingly effective”.

Scent-wise, I would say that the rose is very faint. If I wasn’t told it’s supposed to smell like rose, I wouldn’t have guessed.

Does it really remove eye makeup? I actually tested this, and it removes 90% of it. I still noticed a little bit of liquid eyeliner and mascara left behind; my foundation, eyebrow powder, and bronzer appeared completely removed.

Most importantly, how gentle is it? I do agree that it is very similar to the Milky Jelly Cleanser in that it’s very gentle and conditioning. Again, my skin didn’t feel tight afterwards, even in climates with less humidity.

Who wins?

I’m giving this one to Bliss, which wins on price and convenience. At $9.99, it’s almost 50% cheaper and even has 0.4 oz more product. I also like how you can get it at any major retailer, versus ordering exclusively through Glossier. My experience with Makeup Melt is very similar to Glossier, from the way my skin feels after cleansing to the packaging.

Choosing Glossier makes sense if you:

• Are in the mood to splurge
• Need something to buy at Glossier’s HQ for the novelty checkout experience
• Live that Insta-influencer life and need something cute for your bathroom shelfie.

What are your thoughts on DTC beauty brands? Worth the hype or overrated?