Interview with Sara Spruch-Feiner, SR Reporter at Glossy Pop
DM Sara on Twitter and Instagram about trends you want to talk about. Who knows, maybe you’ll end up in Glossy Pop 🤩
Sara Spruch-Feiner is a Senior Reporter at Glossy and the force behind Glossy Pop, a vertical that dives deep on the beauty & fashion trends that influence internet and TikTok culture.
Glossy Pop is less than a year old and Spruch-Feiner is already making it a household name. Her extensive beauty knowledge, outgoing personality, ability to spot trends and understand the big picture make Glossy Pop a must read.
We sat down with her to discuss building Glossy Pop, trends, and more.
Getting Real:
“I’m just proud of this sort of encyclopedic knowledge that I’ve built around beauty, and that’s not something that I learned in school. Like I wrote my thesis on Jane Austen. I was not studying retinol or whatever.”
How did you start at Glossy Pop?
Jill Manoff (Glossy’s Editor-in-Chief) & Priya Rao (Glossy’s Executive Beauty & Fashion Editor) were preparing to launch Glossy Pop and looking for a writer to spearhead it. At the time, I was a freelance writer, and I’d built up a strong network in the PR industry. Priya asked some PR people for recommendations, and my name came up a couple times.
Priya reached out and said Glossy was expanding with a new vertical about the intersection of beauty, fashion, and culture.
This was entirely different from the writing I’ve done in the past. I wrote traditional beauty stories that were very consumer facing. I was hesitant at first, but I wrote a sample story on the shift in packaging aesthetics from Millennial Pink to Gen Z’s neons.
What’s it been like to lead the development of Glossy Pop?
Within the Glossy team, I’m the only one who is full time on Pop and also the only one who covers both beauty and fashion.
The biggest challenge is just staying on top of it all.
I’m always counting on my friends and also people younger than me to tell me what interesting things they’ve seen on TikTok. I love talking to anyone and everyone who is actually Gen Z.
Are your lines open for tips or do you have trusted resources?
My lines are definitely open — Tweet at me or DM me!
I’ve also been in the beauty industry for nearly a decade, so I have access to information about things that are coming out before it’s officially announced.
Many people don’t understand this, but I really come up with the ideas for the stories myself. Of course, the stories are genuinely based on what I’m seeing and noticing on social media but I’m always asking myself questions like: How many times have I seen this? Is it enough times to feel like a trend?
In editorial, we always say three is a trend. I’m constantly observing. I think that’s what being a journalist comes down to.
Do you ever fear that you’ll run out of things to write about?
The good news is that TikTok is a bottomless pit and so is the world of influencer culture. I mean influencer culture is still in its infancy. We’re maybe a decade into the idea of an influencer being a career path. The beauty and fashion industries move at warp speed, so there’s always something new to discuss.
But when I write about a product or a trend, there needs to be a bigger reason behind it. Okay, this mascara is trending, but why does it matter? Why is it significant? I feel a bit like an anthropologist at times because I’m constantly talking to people and brands to understand the big picture.
Are there certain questions you always ask?
There aren’t questions that I always ask because I think a good interviewer is constantly tailoring their questions to the subject.
I have my column “In the DMs” and that’s the only time I’ll ask the same question: Who on social do you wish was your best friend?
This is my favorite question to ask, and if anyone steals it, I will know!
Now we have to ask who do you wish was your best friend on social?
Things I bought and liked on Instagram. She’s completely anonymous and her bio is “Seriously. Just things I bought and liked.”
Who was the most difficult person to get an interview with?
Matilda Djerf. I was finally able to get in touch with her and you can read my interview with her in Glossy Pop’s newsletter!
I will say — and many people don’t realize this — I don’t want to talk to just the biggest person. When I wrote about Tinx’s Emotional Support Water Bottle, I reached out to regular people who actually bought this water bottle to understand why. It’s a lot of DMing people that are not famous in any way, introducing myself, and asking for their perspective. Glossy has an excellent reputation so most people are excited to participate and be interviewed.
What challenges do you face building a vertical from scratch?
There’s no one else doing what I’m doing right now, covering TikTok and internet culture specifically at the intersection fashion, beauty and wellness. In some ways, I make it up as I go along. I don’t have someone that I can turn to and ask: what did you do?
This industry is growing and developing as we speak. The rule books for how brands use TikTok and work with influencers is still being formed. Right now, there are people in conference rooms writing songs for the next big TikTok campaign.
You need to be nimble and flexible.
What are some up-and-coming brands we should have our eyes on?
The brands that would be my answer are brands I’m planning to write about.
My real answer is subscribe to the Glossy Pop newsletter because that’s where you’ll find out. It’s like a cheat sheet for people who are trying to learn more about this world.
