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 Amanda Seyfried - Glamour magazine April 2010 This month’s Glamour is like an episode of The One Show – super eclectic. There are happy articles and sad ones; depressing and uplifting; shockingly informative and mundanely pointless yet somewhat interesting; from fashion and beauty tips to politics and career advice. It even has The One Show co-host Christine Bleakley. However, this diverse mix of topics over 300 odd pages actually works extremely well. This is the sort of issue where you have to earmark certain pages that interest you because they give useful make up tips or life advice or because you may want to refer back to a particular topic or article in the future; that’s the sign of a great magazine when its contents are timeless.
Even the ads were interesting, with lots of perfume and skin care samples and interesting promotional pages. Glamour has clearly realised that making money from ads comes from people actually buying and reading the magazine and in order to achieve that, you have to produce a great one. In fact, Glamour care about us so much, they even included a free bottle of James Brown shampoo/conditioner/hair repair (three issues of Glamour to collect all three bottles. Just remember to recycle the extra 2 issues!)
This month’s cover star is Mamma Mia’s Amanda Seyfried and she seems like an interesting enough girl so I don’t understand why the “Interview” was just broken down into a “20 things you never knew about Amanda” feature (page 244). It seems a bit of a cop out for actually writing a full article, or perhaps there wasn’t enough content; I got more out of the Christine Bleakley interview (page 127), but I suppose she hasn’t got a film to promote this month. Still, there are lots of pretty pictures and it is nice to read about a rising star, even if it is just in bullet points. I wonder who next month’s cover girl will be; I’d love to see new favourites, BAFTA winner Carey Mulligan or Alice in Wonderland’s Mia Wasikowska.
Other articles to look out for are:
- Page 50 – Should your salary be a secret? – will it destroy the gender pay gap or breed more resentment?
- Page 53 – 8 websites we worship – where have these sites been all my life?!
- Page 57 – the Armani Code ad just smells REALLY nice…
- Page 72 – I’m a celebrity, get me out of this! – the shocking and quite frankly sickening truth about the lengths celebrities go to, to cover up their debauchery tracks. A must read.
- Page 98 – The Glamour Career Clinic – great advice on how to further your career and actually be happy in it
- Page 110 – Election Special: Who’s Your Guy? – practical and unbiased information about where the three main parties stand on different issues. Great for politicalphobes.
- Page 123 – From catwalk to wheelchair: a Supermodel’s story – the sad but inspiring story about the hot D&G male model who became paralysed but is building up his life. Very uplifiting.
 Olivia Palermo - Glamour magazine's new style crush, and mine too! One article that I didn’t enjoy was about the author Justine Kilkerr and her schizophrenic father (page 83); I’m all for increased awareness about mental illnesses, I think it’s a really important issue, but I felt that the whole sentiment of the article was completely misguided and it was just an article to promote the author’s new novel with a little box with a couple of facts about schizophrenia stuck on at the end. I feel that features that cover such sensitive issues should be informative and realistic but also inspiring with advice drawn from real experiences, and I believe that this article failed in this.
On a more positive note, Glamour didn’t fail in delivering excellent fashion and beauty and health advice. I particularly enjoyed the Gossip Girl fashion feature (page 174), the Olivia Palermo Look Book (page 180 – I’ve never seen The City but boy I want to steal her style!), the Have a Pretty Day fashion spread (page 228 – girly is in!) and the Summer In Your Make-up Bag beauty spread (page 260 – think sultry eyes, glowing skin and luscious lips).
So, £2 for all that and much more isn’t that bad is it.
It’s weekly magazine day today and I’d love to place a bet on how many magazines feature Cheryl Cole on the cover and dedicate a multi page spread to her divorce from Ashley Cole.
It would make a change from the Brangelina+Jen domination, I must say; although it isn’t really “respecting Mrs Cole’s privacy in this difficult time.” Well, the British media was never one for respecting privacy…
Hi readers!
Currently I’m busy with an internship but I will bring you fresh updates of the latest stories, trends, and gossip in Glamour, more!, Grazia, Look, and Vogue magazine soon!
Thanks
 Beyonce on the cover of more! magazine If you remember, my first Zinemark post for more! magazine was about Beyoncé; well more! have done a full circle and we’re back on Beyoncé again. It seems like the same 5 faces are on more! magazine; like someone commented on more! magazine’s facebook group, “does no one else want to do it?”
The part that more! highlighted from Beyoncé’s interview is the part where she said “not all men like skinny girls,” but I think this phrase was taken out of context and sensationalised; I don’t think it should have been used as a focal point of the interview. It has already caused debate in discussions on more! magazine’s Facebook group and a lot of “skinny” girls are not happy with the way it’s been highlighted. In all honesty, I don’t blame them; I think it’s irresponsible to say what men like or don’t like physically in women as we already have major body issues, we don’t need magazines making them worse.
It’s Breast Cancer Awareness Month and more! have done a spread about women’s favourite assets – boobs. However, there was very little link to Breast Cancer Awareness, compared to a similar article in Glamour magazine, the focal point being pictures of 12 topless, for all the world to see, more! readers. Believe me, I had to read those four pages stealthily on the tube because it looked more like a page out of a lads mag rather than a women’s magazine. I’m all for celebrating boobs, but I’m sure there could have been a more…tasteful way to do so. I’d love to be a fly on the wall when these girls go back to work or university…
On the subject of tasteful, I absolutely hated the diary of a fresher. Even when I got some of my male friends to read it, all of whom have been a fresher, they were shocked in a “is this guy for real?” way. I think it was a bit pointless of more! to put an article as bad as that in, especially with quotes like “Now I’ve done the deed, I don’t think I’ll bother meeting up with her again” and “with any luck Aimee isn’t too bothered about her reputation and she might have some hot mates…” More! only serves to demean women, ironic really, seeing as it is a women’s magazine…There are also tales of lying in your own vomit, drinking your own urine and having to call the ambulance after a mate has drank too much. With the news this week about the 19 year old fresher who died after a university party, it’s just all a bit too much and inappropriate. Bad call more!…
Continue reading More! magazine – 5th October 2009 Issue
So I managed to get all my three favourite weekly magazines today and from the looks of the front covers, they look promising. More! magazine boasts Beyoncé as its cover star; plus for all the celebrity loving fashionistas out there, there’s “102 Celeb Style Buys Under £20” – that’s a bargain and a half, I don’t even mind that no newsagent in walking distance accepted my 80p more! voucher so that I had to pay full price…
Look magazine has Cheryl Cole on their cover, but in true Look style, the story is about her “nightmare”. I cannot wait to read it…not. Jennifer Aniston is also on the cover, but then she is on the cover of Grazia too so I won’t let Look take all the blame for that. Besides, they make up for it with “386 Sexy Day to Night Looks!” 386! That’s a look for more than every day of the year! I am genuinely excited to see what they’re going to be. There’s also an article on the “Coolest New Coats From £35” and there’s one coat pink £75 coat featured on the cover that I’m dying to see where it is from.
Finally, Grazia has Victoria Beckham on their cover, but the focus is on London Fashion Week rather than her weight for once. They also seem to have the “breaking news” about Jennifer Aniston being pregnant, but I don’t know how “Jennifer Pregnant at 40?” is news when there’s a question mark at the end. Surely it should be “breaking rumour”. There’s also a feature on “100 wow! Heels” which I am quite looking forward to reading as the shoes on the cover do look very wow indeed. Knowing Grazia though, they probably all cost no less than £500 – I see a Louboutin and a Chanel shoe already; and somehow I doubt they will be providing high street alternatives… Finally, Grazia have kindly included a free “26 page Cool Guide” which is basically a culture guide informing us what’s hot in music, film and tv. It’s not so much “free” as actually just part of the magazine, but I’m not complaining about their misleading use of words as this week’s Grazia was only £1 after all.
So that’s what each magazine has promised this week; stay tuned to see whether the content will be as good as we’re led to believe!
 Holly Willoughby on the cover of Look Magazine When I saw the headline for this week’s Look, I groaned inwardly – another secret celebrity heartache story. Aren’t we getting bored of these? Clearly not, as Holly Willoughby is the latest celebrity to grace the front cover of Look magazine. Honestly, the article really is not worth the read and I don’t know how Look have managed to stretch out the story that she is stressed and under pressure from her career and motherhood over three pages. Not only that, they’ve also managed to string together another story about Jennifer Aniston’s love life. I don’t know how much more of this I can take; if we’re going to gossip, let’s at least make it interesting and credible!
One thing I noticed was that when reading the news about New York Fashion Week and the MTV Video Awards, I felt that I was reading about things I had already read about on the internet. The same went with the article about the Sugababes, which was clearly written before Keisha left the band, so by the time the magazine hit our shelves, it was old news. Obviously, this is not Look’s fault, but it made me think about the place magazines have in the media when we can get more up to date information faster over the internet or in daily newspapers. In the case of Fashion Week for example, perhaps it would be more effective to cover the event from a different angle, rather than just report it directly, so as to not bore the reader with repetitiveness.
Continue reading Look magazine – 28th September 2009 Issue
 Cheryl Cole on the cover of more! magazine A magazine with Cheryl Cole as the cover star is bound to make me biased no matter what the content. However, in my excitement at a Cheryl interview, I didn’t notice that more! magazine is now £1.50 until I got to the till; I remember when it was £1! That makes it £6 a month; double the price of many monthly magazines. When you put it like that, is it really worth it? I most likely will still buy it because I hate missing out on things, but £6 a month is going to hurt at one point…
Like all Cheryl interviews, this one is honest and frank and makes me want to be her best friend even more. She’s one of the few celebrities where what you see is what you get, and that’s refreshing in an industry that is so fake. I love how she has her own insecurities. For example she says that she loves having big hair because it helps her feel pretty and secure, even when she looks a mess otherwise; as long as she has her hair extensions she can face the world. That’s why I love her because she’s a normal girl with body issues; and she loves cake, exercise DVDs and Running in Heels. What’s there not to like about her? I’d much rather read about Cheryl than Chris Brown who more! features again, this time with a story about his community service and how he still loves Rihanna, and oh we should feel so sorry for him…not. Come on more!, less column inches to women beaters please.
This issue features another classic more! 10 minute test, although this time we’re assured that this one is the real deal because it has been devised by a leading relationship psychologist. This week, the test asks you “Will you be together in 5 years time?” which is quite a scary question, yet one you sort of know the answer to anyway. It’s one of those tests with generic answers that make you think, “actually, that is so true,” so it does work to a certain extent. Although if you need to do a magazine test to see whether you’re going to be together with your partner in 5 years or not, then you’re either very smug because you know you will anyway, or you’re unsure, in which case I could probably tell you now that the answer would be no…
Continue reading more! magazine – 28th September 2009 Issue
Every week, I will be doing a quick update of what the weekly magazines are saying about celebrities in order to save you having to read it so you can get onto the good stuff like fashion and real life stories.
So this past week, who has been in the magazines and what have they been up to?
(Please note that this is a Jordan aka Katie Price free zone as I do not feel she deserves any airtime whatsoever…)
 These photos of Kate Moss at the GQ Awards got everyone talking last week...
- Apparently Jennifer Aniston and John Mayer are back together. Word on the street (i.e. Look Magazine Street) is that he proposed to her. Watch this space. Although even if you’re not watching, I’m sure enough magazines will be talking about it…
- Renée Zellweger and Bradley Cooper are moving in together. That was quick, but gossip like this is just that. Gossip.
- On the subject of Renée Zellweger, Grazia reports that she is refusing to put on weight for the 3rd Bridget Jones movie. Apparently it will be done by computer. I’m getting images of the fat Monica in Friends…
- Following Kate Moss’ “performance” at the GQ awards, more! magazine, Look and Grazia are all reporting that she is having some sort of breakdown model mid life crisis. In her 30s. I think she just got drunk at a party, but you need to give something to the press!
- Emma Watson has started university at Brown University in Rhode Island in America. The same university Serena is meant to go to in Gossip Girl. Emma said that she chose to study in America because she is unknown there so will have more privacy. That’s why I’m reading about it and seeing pictures of her with her new friends on campus…
- Katy Perry is engaged to her on-off-clearly on again boyfriend Travis McCoy of Gym Class Heroes fame. Her song is true then that her boyfriend doesn’t mind that she kissed a girl and liked it.
- Fearne Cotton and Mr. Hudson are “just friends”. Same as last week, same as next week. Move on.
- Finally, hot off the press, the news of the century from Grazia is that Jennifer Aniston aka Rachel from Friends, is getting a new hair stylist. I’ll just leave you all now to let that exciting news sink in…
 Grazia - 21st September 2009 Issue The front cover of last week’s Grazia promises that it is the biggest issue ever; well, the wrist injury that I sustained while lugging it home already made me aware of this! I thought weekly magazines were supposed to give you quick fire updates on the week’s fashion and real life news, and could be read in one sitting on the tube; monthly magazines are to be savoured slowly, sort of like a novel. Well Grazia seems to have moved on to the monthly camp, not only because of pages and pages of designer ads and promotions, but also because seeing as I have a life outside magazine reading, I had to read it over the course of the week, rather than in one go like Look and more! magazine. So how did Grazia fill their 200 page weekly magazine?
Well, Alexa Chung is clearly the style darling of the moment now, with a 4 page article, complete with 19 photos, dedicated to her and her über-cool style. It’s funny how the tone of the media has changed towards her; I remember when I used to read about how annoying fashion victim she was, but now she’s moved over to America and is having a successful career there, it’s just high praise. How fickle. However, even I must admit that Alexa always looks amazing and I only wish I could carry off the looks that she does; but a 4 page article dedicated to just that?
Like Look, Kate Moss’ “meltdown” at the GQ awards is a hot topic in Grazia. However, I actually laughed when I read that one of the reasons Kate Moss is miserable at the moment is because she was compared in the media to the actress Gillian Taylforth; Grazia seems to be forgetting that they did a feature a few weeks back where they said that Kate and Gillian were spitting images of each other. Not so innocent there now, Grazia! I also find it ironic how Kate is also featured in at least two designer ads in this week’s issue, including the Longchamp campaign. It just goes to show that meltdown or not, she is still one of the most iconic British supermodels.
Continue reading Grazia magazine – 21st September 2009 Issue
 Alesha Dixon on the cover of more! magazine This week’s cover star is the gorgeous Alesha Dixon. Strictly Come Dancing starts today, and with Alesha as a Strictly judge and Cheryl Cole as an X Factor judge, we can forget the ratings battle; it’s the battle of who can get on the covers of the most magazines! I’m not complaining though as I love them both, and Alesha’s interview reiterates why, as she comes across as a strong, talented, inspirational role model for budding young stars.
As well as the Alesha interview, Alan Carr interviews household favourite Vernon Kay. The media have made me so cynical that I see this as another PR opportunity, since Vernon’s wife Tess Daly is the presenter of Strictly Come Dancing and Vernon does plug the show quite a bit. However, PR stunt or not, the interview is a great read; I hope Alan continues to do interviews for more! because he always seems to be good friends with his interviewees and this comes across in this week’s interview which is funny and honest and which makes you wish you could join in on the conversation!
Remember last week more! said that “74% of men prefer blonde women to brunettes and red heads”, well this week, it’s bad news again for non Nordic looking women as apparently (according to “Man Facts”) “70% of men have a preference for blue eyed girls”. After the initial “oh dear, I must invest in blue contact lenses”, I thought about how dubious that statistic is, and once again I did my own research (i.e. hounded my male friends) and discovered that men don’t actually care what colour eyes you have, and even when pushed for a preference, blue was not the majority of responses…
Continue reading More! magazine – 21st September 2009 Issue
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