Into The Gloss Blogger Emily Weiss on the Beauty Trend Everyone's Misting About

By Leah Chernikoff
May 11, 2011

Emily Weiss

Emily Weiss, the style and beauty blogger behind Into the Gloss

The fashion blogosphere was aching for a sophisticated space devoted to beauty. Sure, there were style Websites dedicated to replicating celebrity red carpet looks, YouTube makeup tutorials, and beauty product review blogs. But there was nothing out there that combined the sleek sensibilities of a glossy fashion mag with beauty advice from folks you trust. That is, until style and beauty expert Emily Weiss launched the Into the Gloss beauty blog in September 2010.

Emily Weiss is just 26, but she’s a bit of a fashion phenom. She spent most of her college years interning at Teen Vogue (you might remember her as the girl on "The Hills" who Lauren Conrad dubbed the “super intern”) and worked at W before leaving to assist renowned stylist Elissa Santisi. Emily Weiss's status as a true fashion insider gives her access to the best in the biz, who often make appearances on her beauty blog—she’s backstage at Paris Fashion Week; making over top models in her kitchen with the newest beauty products from Chanel, Yves Saint Laurent, and Dior; and inside the bathroom cabinets and vanities of top editors, fashion designers and industry pros. Socialite and Co-Founder of luxury fashion site Moda Operandi Lauren Santo Domingo; art director (and daughter of Carine Roitfeld) Julia Restoin Roitfeld; The Man Repeller blogger Leandra Medin e; Editor in Chief of Teen Vogue Amy Astley; and Editor in Chief of T, The New York Times magazine Sally Singer have all been featured on her style and beauty blog.

Lauren Santo Domingo

“The Top Shelf”, which gives readers a peek inside the vanities and bathroom cabinets of designers, editors and key industry players, is, according to Emily Weiss, "the most popular feature on the Into the Gloss style blog because it’s that voyeuristic thing of going into these people’s bathrooms." Among those featured: Lauren Santo Domingo, Co-Founder, Moda Operandi...

Julia Restoin Roitfeld

... Julia Restoin Roitfeld

Leandra Medinel

... and Leandra Medine, The Man Repeller

The Inside Source: How did the Into the Gloss beauty blog come about?

Emily Weiss: I’ve always really loved beauty, but being a beauty editor was always a fantasy job for me—like going to be a fire fighter. I always viewed beauty as an element of personal style. It’s not just about the product or the new technology; it’s part of your look. And I felt like no one was really talking about it in a very chic way.

Beauty was very celebrity-centered—like how to get the perfect red carpet makeup—and I don’t care about that. That’s not the kind of beauty that inspires me. So I was thinking how nothing existed that showcased beauty as an element of personal style—and then I just kind of built it and launched it all at once.

The Inside Source: Why is Into the Gloss different from other beauty Websites and blogs?

Emily Weiss: I thought about the different sections of the site like I was starting a magazine. I’m a total magazine girl, so my background is very much that kind of thinking. I knew I didn’t want it to be about me either—it’s about my eye but I didn’t want it to be ‘I’m taking pictures of myself.’ I was working with stylists and always around different photographers and hair and makeup people and models and all the players in the industry, and they were all really inspiring. So I thought about these different components like “The Top Shelf” [which gives readers a peak inside the vanities and bathroom cabinets of designers, editors and key industry players] and “The Makeup” which is like a hybrid casting snapshot meets editorial of top models—they come over and I do their makeup and I photograph them against my wall with my cats. The Top Shelf is the most popular feature because it’s that voyeuristic thing of going into these people’s bathrooms.

The Inside Source: How do you choose which fashionable celebrities and style icons to feature on Into the Gloss?

Emily Weiss: That’s the hardest thing to answer. I just like a cool girl. It’s always different. I like a girl with pink hair or that whole messy sexy French thing. It’s a gesture—a lip or an eyeliner, but it’s not the whole perfect beautiful package. It’s the same reason a street style photographer stops a girl in cool, colorful layers.

The Inside Source: Who has stood out so far of the folks you’ve featured on your beauty blog?

Emily Weiss: Sally Singer. She’s got this super intellectual un-beauty that I think is so cool. She doesn’t do any makeup or hair. She herself says she doesn’t know how to put on makeup; that she can’t be bothered. But she has this insane nail art that she gets so excited about. She works on the designs herself.

The Inside Source: What are the hair and makeup trends for fall 2011?

Emily Weiss: What I noticed for fall is that the hair was really attainable. It wasn’t loose and it was actually kind of severe, but cool. For instance, the really masculine hair that was parted and combed and pulled back that everyone did on the runways is something I would do. So some nights if my hair is a little greasy and has some texture, you can make it really smooth and it makes you look so chic. It’s just something that’s very decisive.

The Inside Source: After interviewing all these fashion people in the know, what are the best beauty tips and cosmetic products?

Emily Weiss: Moisturizing! I think you should be slathering it on. The thicker the cream, the better. Misting has been a thing that a lot of people have talked about. There are special waters like Avene—which is this thermal spring water—or Jurlique, which makes a mist in rose or lavender water. Keep one at your desk and it’s a great pick-me-up if you’re a zombie in front of the computer. It’s also great for spraying right after you’ve done your makeup so you don’t look like you just put on a bunch of makeup—it doesn’t make the makeup drip off your face; it just makes you look a little fresher.

Into The Gloss, a Sampler

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Sally Singer, Editor in Chief, T: "She's got this super intellectual un-beauty that I think is so cool," says Weiss of Singer, who was one of her favorite interviews to date. "She herself says she doesn't know how to put on makeup; that she can't be bothered. But she has this insane nail art that she gets so excited about. She works on the designs herself."
Amy Astley, Editor in Chief, Teen VOGUE: Astley, a former beauty editor, is featured in The Professional, a section of Into the Gloss devoted to beauty industry pros.
Chloé Fall 2011: Weiss highlights her favorite runway looks in a section called "Backstage."
Josephine in Dolce & Gabbana: Weiss describes "Makeup" as "a hybrid casting snapshot meets editorial of top models-they come over and I do their makeup and I photograph them against my wall in my kitchen with my cats."
Clinique Bottom Lash Mascara: In "The Review," Weiss offers her take on new products, like this Clinique bottom lash mascara.

The Inside Source: You said you didn’t want to do a beauty blog where you took photos of yourself, but your eye and your style do come into play. What are the fashion trends you choose to complement your personal beauty look?

Emily Weiss: For me beauty is so much more fun than shopping because you can be so obsessed with it without spending too much money, and there’s less of a commitment. But I’m a shoe and blazer girl. In Paris I got these Celine heels and these red Chloe ballerina flats. And every year I splurge on one good blazer.

The Inside Source: So what would you look for on eBay online auctions to find that one good blazer?

Emily Weiss: eBay’s great for finding something when it’s sold out. For blazer’s I look for Martin Margiela, Ann Demeulemeester or Theyskens' new line for Theory is great.

The Inside Source: Anything else you go to eBay for?

Emily Weiss: Vintage dresses from the ‘30s and ‘40s. I collect them.

The Inside Source: And for beauty? And discontinued beauty products you search eBay for?

Emily Weiss: Chanel nail polishes! They sell out so quickly each season... They are like collectibles.