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There’s a new beauty revolution landing in the UK today. How many times have you heard that?

But before you roll your eyes and turn the page, know that this is not the type of beauty revolution that promises to double your lips in size or make you look 10 years younger.

Instead, this is one that seeks to celebrate realistic, imperfect beauty with products that don’t claim to offer a miracle fix but aim to make you feel comfortable in your skin. In other words, it’s made to make women feel good about themselves, instead of pointing out all the flaws they should be rushing to cover up.

But chances are you’ve already heard of Glossier. The New York skincare sensation has been a cult among beauty buffs across the pond for its “skin first, make-up second” philosophy since it first launched in 2014. In three years and with just 23 products, the start-up has rapidly become one of the fastest growing brands on the market.

Year-on-year, revenues are up 600 per cent; over the past 12 months the brand has tripled its active customer count, and its only physical space — a millennial-pink penthouse showroom in the brand’s Manhattan HQ — boasts more sales per square foot than the average Apple Store.

So what’s the secret to Glossier’s success? Easy — keeping things simple. “We know that beauty is all about choices, skin care being the most essential one,” says founder Emily Weiss, who is also the brains behind beauty blog Into the Gloss.

“Our philosophy is that products should live with you, not on you; enhancing never transforming.” This ethos is distilled into a streamlined edit of ingeniously straightforward, skin-centric products — such as its super-conditioning Milky Jelly Cleanser or its hydrating Super Bounce Serum — which are designed to give you the sort of baby-soft, dewy complexion you dream of.

These are supplemented by what is known in Glossier speak as Phase 2 — a selection of uncomplicated, everyday make-up staples designed to supplement your skin, not mask it. They include Cloud Paint — a pillowy gel-cream sheer blusher that imbues a healthy, youthful flush — and its moisturising Haloscope highlighters.

While Glossier’s inclusive outlook embraces a wide demographic — “Glossier is for you, your boyfriend, girlfriend, mom, sister, dad, postman, grandparent — it’s for everyone,” says Weiss — it’s digitally driven approach and highly Instagrammable packaging has struck a particular chord with a millennial fanbase. And as far as getting under the skin of what the social-media generation wants, there are few more qualified than Weiss — a former teen model, blogger and now 32-year-old CEO.

“Women aren’t going to beauty-counter experts for advice any more, they’re asking a friend or searching for a tutorial on YouTube,” she says. “It’s less about there being a new beauty ideal and more about the conversation changing from ‘What should I do?’ to ‘What do I want?’.”

To find the answers, Weiss connects directly with the brand’s 759k Instagram followers. “Being a digitally native brand informs the way we do business entirely,” she explains. “We have the ability to talk to our customer through our social channels. Our goal is to democratise beauty.” This community of frontline beauty experts even helps to inform future product launches. “Before we launched Milky Jelly Cleanser we asked readers on ITG to describe their perfect face wash. We took all their feedback and incorporated it into the product- development process.”

Social media is the reason that Glossier has finally launched in the UK. “Close to half of our Instagram followers are international — and we saw that a lot of our UK fans were asking for Glossier.”

This democratic approach is reflected in the cost, with prices starting at £9 and peaking at £29. “In the beauty industry price used to be synonymous with luxury,” Weiss says. “Now, the products that I find to be the most luxurious are the ones that are effective and accessible.”

For Weiss, this approachable experience isn’t just about being affordable. “Glossier is the first beauty lifestyle company,” she says. “By involving our customer in every aspect of our world we’ve gone far beyond physical product: we’re making her world more beautiful.”