The Opening Statement
May it please the Glossed: Welcome to the first official Gloss Briefing!
I’m your CGO (Chief Gloss Officer), Alyssa. I grew up, like many oldest daughters, anxious, overachieving and excellent at being a mirrorball. For years, I lived as the side character in my own life, supporting, performing, blending in. Thinking that if I stopped doing what everyone expected, the Earth might spin off its axis. I lived for gold stars and “good girl” praise. Add in some religious trauma and a heaping dose of “you’re so mature for your age” and voilà — Alyssa Ferreone.
So, I became a lawyer, because what better way to make everyone proud when you’re bad at math? I told myself: once I’m an attorney, life will feel good! The day I found out I passed the bar, I cried my eyes out. . . with sadness. The bottomless pit in my stomach reminding me life sucks? Still there.
Call it a quarter life crisis or just a fully developed pre-frontal cortex, but something inside me snapped. I stopped caring what anyone thought about my life, because being palatable left me empty and bored and miserable.
I started fantasizing about her. You know her — the version of yourself that exists in some alternate timeline in the multiverse. She is thriving. She lives in your dream city. Wearing your dream clothes. Running your dream life. Basically, dripping with gloss.
Fueled by a cocktail of equal parts delusion and female rage, I declared “fuck her.” I decided to somehow quantum leap (woman in STEM) and collapse the timelines between us. I missioned to steal what’s rightfully mine and build the dreamiest, glossiest, most fulfilling life. The life that version of me was enjoying.
Plot twist: Acting like her got me pretty damn close.
I stopped waiting for someone to cosign my moves and give me a round of applause. I moved to New York. Got a new job. Fell in love. Started sharing my life. Signed with a modeling agency. Built a tiny corner of the internet that feels honest and fun and finally like me.
Now I’m a full time lawyer, part time model and content creator — still anxious (obviously), still ambitious (Capricorn rising, what did you expect?), but finally living on my own terms.
And when I think about her now? I realize I was her all along.
This is why I say Gloss isn’t a look — it’s a lens.
It’s how we choose to see ourselves, and our lives. It’s accessible to anyone willing to adjust the focus.
If you’ve ever felt like you were meant for more—in work, in love, in life—you’re absolutely right. This space is for those ready to become her and those who already are, because we all need a reminder sometimes that our lives are supposed to be well-glossed.
What to Expect from Your Weekly Memo
Every Monday, a fresh Gloss Briefing lands in your inbox. This is your official permission slip to show up like her. Here’s what’s on the docket:
The Opening Statement: A quick intro about what’s going on this week, the roadmap of your memo. (don’t be scared, this week’s is a longer than usual to catch you up to speed)
The Exhibits: A weekly mood board meets manifesto. A visual that embodies the Glossed mindset.
The Gloss Docket: Your running list of must-haves and obsessions. Beauty, fashion, routines, books, tools, snacks. A list of main character essentials.
Testimony: The why behind Gloss Briefing. Sometimes personal, sometimes raw, sometimes unhinged, always honest. Stories, reflections, and reframes that shaped the Glossed perspective.
Closing Argument: The final takeaway, wrapped in confidence and delivered with conviction. Lets distill the evidence and testimony into one sharp takeaway to journal about or discuss in the chat throughout the week. Think of it as your personal precedent: designed to leave a lasting impression.
Exhibits
Gloss Docket
Guilty Pleasure: Redbull (sugar free, always)
Listening: Brat (saw Charli at Barclays last night, it was major)
Obsessing: Clinique Black Honey Cheek and Lip Tint, spring morning walks
Studying: Death Valley by Melissa Broder, Crescent City by Sarah J. Maas
Stepping into: “No” is a full sentence
Testimony
I did everything right.
I studied hard, chased the gold stars, got the job that would make everyone proud.
I became the first person in my immediate family to graduate college and the first person in my extended family to go to law school and become an attorney—the dream on paper. And still, something felt off.
Ex. A: this slightly dramatic, yet hauntingly real Instagram story I shared on 11/22/21 (forgive the 2021 filter LOL)
I was caught in a twisted loop — chasing the next win, without ever stopping to ask if it was making me happy. I had bought into the idea that becoming an attorney would be the thing that finally fulfilled me. That success would quiet the gnawing feeling in my gut whispering, “this can’t be all there is.”
And while career milestones brought flashes of pride, they never touched the core. I didn’t feel powerful. I felt... hollow.
And that terrified me more than failure ever did.
That’s when I realized confidence doesn’t come from your résumé. Or your outfit. Or the praise. It comes from finally deciding that your life belongs to you.
So I closed my eyes and asked myself: If I could start over, what would my dream life actually look like? Who is the woman I’ve always wanted to be— the one I picture when I let myself imagine more. What does she do each morning? Where does she live? What kind of work lights her up? What does it feel like when she walks into a room— when she orders a coffee, takes a meeting, takes up space?
And the more I thought about her, the clearer it became:
She wasn’t clocking 50-hour weeks in the suburbs, forcing a relationship that was clearly not working, wondering why she’s so miserable. Yet, that’s what I was doing.
Meanwhile, I imagined her living in New York. Waking up in love. Walking to work with purpose, soaking in the city like it was made for her. Owning both her role as a lawyer, and a creative, moving through castings and courtrooms like they were just different runways. Building a platform. Taking up space in the beauty world. Giving back to her community. Helping other women feel powerful in their own skin. She wasn’t rushing, or shrinking, or apologizing — she was living intentionally. She was Glossed.
So I made a choice: if she could exist in my imagination, then she could exist in my reality. And I was done waiting.
Your assignment? Depose your dream self.
Close your eyes and meet your glossed self.
Ask her what she wears, where she lives, who she loves, what her days feel like.
And then ask yourself— are my answers the same? Lets chat about it.
Closing Argument
Her Honoraries,
The evidence has been submitted. The assignment ordered. And so, in summation: Gloss Briefing is live.
If this first memo made you laugh, feel seen, stand taller, or even just reapply a shinier lip, I rest my case. We’re building something radiant and rebellious here. So please consider this your official invitation to stick around. Subscribe for your weekly memo and please share it with your group chat, your work wife, your manifestation bestie. There is enough gloss to go around.
Make sure you’re following on all platforms to get gloss from all angles. Instagram | Tiktok
Until next Monday, remember gloss isn’t a look- its a lens.
Gloss Briefing is adjourned.
Alyssa, CGO
OMG YES 🫶👏