92. Marisa Meltzer Takes Us Inside a Beauty Machine

Nancy and Sarah talk with Marisa Meltzer, author of the new book “Glossy: Ambition, Beauty, and the Inside Story of Emily Weiss’s Glossier.” The pretty-in-pink makeup brand Glossier became a phenomenon after it debuted in 2014, and the book tracks the rise and not-exactly-fall of its founder Emily Weiss — telegenic, driven, an MTV star at 22 — who built a billion-dollar company that exploded on Instagram and defined the effortlessly chic life young women coveted, at least for a time. How did she do it? Weiss has a “WASPier version of chutzpah,” as Meltzer puts it, and she somehow managed to survive the “Girlboss gotcha” purge that ousted other female CEOs.

Also discussed:

* The verboten intimacy of people’s make-up rituals

* “Emily the super intern” on “The Hills”

* How is makeup actually made?

* #girlboss blah blah

* The higher the pedestal, the longer the fall

* The “zest for blood” that was 2020

* Which actor is making Marisa hornier than she’s been in a while?

* Nancy’s energy fields

* Breast milk soap anyone?