OK ladies and gents. Prepare yourselves for a rant.... (and some swearing. I'm sorry, I'm angry. But I did use stars.)
At this time of the year, magazines are rife with articles about "Beauty Products of the Year", and such like. Now given that I have been foolish enough to buy these magazines in the past (and usually been disappointed). you would think I would have more sense than to keep on falling for it time and time again. To be fair, I managed to avoid buying mags for beauty articles for much of the year, but something about these articles just gets me everytime... Its as if I expect to seriously pick up a little nugget of beauty goodness that I can pick up and review, that no-one will know about.Usually I'll give the article a quick scan, and realise its not worth buying, replace it on the shelf and walk away, safe in the knowledge that I have access to the best information online via my precious blogs.
One example of the unreliable beauty info in magazines that springs to mind is the recent "revelation" in a mag, that Matte Nails were in... in November... who knew? Well, the vast majority of beauty bloggers did for a kick off, back when they were actually in, and not when some bored beauty ed decided to pluck something out of the sample closet to toss to the plebs... How many times have you seen a beauty article featuring an out of date MAC collection LE item?
Cue the January 2010 edition of RED magazine...
(Picture sourced here)
My god that blue banner really got me going, I recognised the Maybelline colour sensational lippies on there, and I actually started to half hope that maybe some feedback from consumers and bloggers might be included (I know, I know, I'm a fool). Even more exciting was a small byline promising to reveal "The £1.11 skin secret insiders love"... Pehaps this could be some new revelation like that Aldi skin cream or No7 Perfect and Protect serum - remember when that flew out of Boots faster than they could get it on the shelves a few years back?
Home I dashed with my mag, donned my favourite PJ's, assumed the comfy spot on the couch, cuppa in hand, and began to read...
How depressingly predictable... L'oreal make a really great hairspray called Elnett apparently, Who knew? Although to give them credit, they did include some of the brands that are decent staples - Garnier hydrolock, and Korres lip butters for example. However, what really got my goat was the £1.11 so called "skincare secret". You will never guess what it was... go on, have a guess...
Vaseline.
Yeah, thats right, I said Vaseline.
F*cking Vaseline!
According to RED wisdom, this is "An age old (no sh*t) skin saviour, it protects, hydrates (debatable - I'd describe it more as a barrier cream than as one with any properties enabling it to be absorbed into the skin), and adds a lovely gloss to lips(this is news to me, I thought sarcastically).
Now, please, don't get me wrong, I don't have any issue with vaseline. Its a perfectly decent standby to slather on the lips/groom the brows etc, heck I've even been known to remove mascara with it at a pinch. But its hardly a revelation in beauty and skincare is it?
It will also come as no surprise whatsoever when I tell you that a lot of the brands featured had taken out ads in the issue in some form or other - a six page spread on the Maybelline Colour Sensational lipsticks, Garnier and L'oreal had taken out several ads as well. Of course in the interests of fairness, it must also be pointed out that there were also ads in there for fabric softener, and various vitamins, none of which were featured in the article(thank the lord). Also not every product or range featured in the article had placed an ad in this edition. However it would be naive not to acknowledge the influence advertising budgets have over what is and isn't featured in a magazine - they are a business after all, and we are in the midst of a recession.
What really gets me about this, is the lack of respect the magazine is showing their readers in publishing a magazine making promises upon which it does not deliver.
RED magazine costs £3.50. It appears to be aimed at thirty-something and older women, who enjoy a decent wage, and want to indulge in the odd luxury, with a mixture of the usual fashion and lifestyle, as well as articles on issues such as how to look like you understand wine, and how to spot menopausal symptoms. This demographic would probably aspire to a comfortable lifestyle, and I would assume that this would include wearing up to date makeup and using effective skincare. It therefore seems slightly insulting to suggest to this group of women that Vaseline is a skincare secret or revelation of some kind - how many women do you know who don't have a tin of vaseline lurking in their bag?
I have no problem with magazine editors having to recognise the need to have ads - I have no desire for anyone who writes or works for these magazines to lose their jobs. But at least pay your readers the respect to give us up to date beauty information. Obviously as beauty bloggers/enthusiasts, we know about the latest collections, but a lot of female readers may be unaware of the frequency of MACs collections for example, so don't let them go to an often already intimidating store/counter and ask for a product that was LE 3 months ago. And please dont lure us in with promises such as skincare miracles, only to fob us off with something like Vaseline. Give readers up to date, reliable and relevant information. That way we will trust you. We will repurchase your magazine. In an ideal world, lesser known, but great beauty brands such as RMK, Illamasqua, Rococo, and Suqqu for example will get more exposure, potentially giving brand monsters such as MAC more competition, forcing them to produce a higher standard of products. The possibilities are endless... And yes, I am partly suggesting this in jest - I don't expect miracles...
The bottom line is, if a magazine produces reliable content, consumers will repurchase. The beauty content in womens magazines should not simply be viewed as an easy source of income for magazines - Beauty companies will want to advertise in magazines with good readership. Magazine editors - stop doing yourselves and your readers a disservice by continuing to try to feed us this drivel!
This also makes me realise that as members of the "online beauty community", either through blogging, you-tubing, involvement on forums etc, we are lucky enough to be able to see through all these issues - yes, as bloggers/whatevers we do get products to review etc. But the difference is, if we give a product a bad review, and that PR agency decides to stop sending us samples, we'll still buy makeup. We'll still review makeup. We'll still share our purchases and make decisions about whether we would repurchase. We are not subject to the same pressures of advertising and revenue. We do this because we love it.
Let me also make it clear, that in no way am I singling out this particular magazine for a rant - I have noticed this in several publications recently. I also want to point out that this issue applies to other areas such as fashion... as a UK size 16-18 woman, I often buy magazines with articles promising "Real Fashion for Real Women", only to find that they have catered for size 14's but no higher, and not only this but I then have to be confronted by images of post-pubescent women with unhealthily low BMI's, just to boost my ego even further... Oh and if I see another photo of Alexa Chung wearing some completely bizarrely put together outfit, bearing a caption telling me how stylish she is, I might scream!
Of course, the other side of the coin is that all this leads inevitably to online communities, blogs and review sites for more accurate information on subjects traditionally found in magazines. Magazines were previously hailed as the source of information on fashion, beauty, skincare, haircare etc, however they are becoming recognised more and more as advertising and propaganda machines. Put simply, they have been given enough rope. And they are now starting to hang themselves. This means ultimately that the only way is up for the online communities such as blogs, youtube and review sites such as makeup alley.
What do you think about this issue? Does it matter to you/irritate you as much as it does me?
I'd love to hear your views, whether you agree with me or not!
46 comments:
Brilliant post Jen.
Oh I feel so smug when I read articles like what you've talked about. It feels like we all know more than the magazine (well we probably do) about the products featured. Yeah I've seen LE products in the mags too. I just think 'what are you on?'. And it also winds me up when they get the names of stuff wrong and if they describe it wrongly. I've stopped falling for these 'best beauty buys' cons. Thank god for that cos that Vaseline fiasco would have had my blood boiling.
Yeah Alexa Chung looks like a 12 year old. I just wanna hold her down and stuff pies into her face.
xx
I know this from inside: editorial content is always somehow linked with advertising, since advertising is what pays for the magazines. If these were ad free we'd pay over 15£ for an edition.
But it does irritate me nevertheless, and I have mostly stopped reading magazines altogether, because these reviews are biased. I'm also upset by the fact that the "beauty advice" they give is worthless, I mean if it wasn't for YT, I still wouldn't know how to apply eyeshadow although I started reading those magazines when I was a teenager. They could do so much more on educating women on how to pick and apply makeup, and that would probably lead to increasing sales both for the magazines and the cosmetics industry!
Yeh its a bit naff that the beauty item was Vaseline but to another person this might have been a great beauty tip that they didn't know before. Not everyone is a beauty blogger, has access to beauty blogs or is even interested in reading beauty blogs because lets face it there are tonnes of insanely boring blogs out there.
I think it would have been naive to think that the magazine was going to tell you something you didnt already know. Their job is to sell magazines so a whopping headline like that will attract people to it.
Very much like Ok! magazine when it prints quotes on their front cover insinuating Jordan is pregnant but when you actually read the article she isn't at all.
Without these tactics we wouldn't have marketing, PR, advertising and journalism. At the end of the day it boils down to the naivity of the buyer.
x
completely agree my love, sick of talking to people i know about makeup & bring up a brand as brilliant as Illamasqua or RMK & they've not a scooby doo what it is! i feel the need to educate them! haha!! & i make sure i do!!
As for the real women stuff dont get me started sizeism should not occur!
xxx
@Legs Eleven 7 - Thanks - glad to know that I'm not the only one irritated by Alexa, and the Vaseline issue lol
@Musings on Beauty - I think its something we all know deep down - I also agree mags could do a lot more in terms of telling women how to apply makeup. I'd never heard of the outer v or anything like that before I got into you-tube!
@Saskia the Salsa Fairy - thats a really fair point actually. I do recognise that us beauty bloggers etc are sometimes a bit fanatical because its what we love etc, so thanks for pointing that out... I think I actually probably knew from experience, as well as my knowledge of the "PR machine and advert machine",when I was buying the mag that I was in for a dissapointment. It just got me thinking that women are being short changed a bit in terms of information... I also agree about that OK mag thing - they are the worst loL! Thanks so much for taking the time to read and comment x
@Nicola - Thanks so much for the comment love xxx
great post! whenever i go into shops to buy myself a magazine im always dragged in by these "loose 14 pounds in 14 days" and "have the skin of a 5 year old overnight" articles!
Nothing can beat us in the beauty community we are light years ahead of these beauty mags and they wont be catching up any time soon.
Id rather read some of the girls blogs on here then magazines anyday and it wont cost me a weeks wages for the pleasure of 90% adverts either.
xx
@Charly - thanks so much for your comment - I have to say, Saskia above made some great points - maybe we do bring it on ourselves by buying the mags in the first place - after all, we do know full well as bloggers about the PR stuff... I think we are priviledged to have that knowledge, but a lot of readers dont...
I think I've bought exactly one glossy mag in the last 6/8 months. And that was because I had a long wait at a train station when I was going down to an event showing me products that weren't featured in the glossy mags for about another 3 months.
I think most of the women these magazines are aimed at aren't aware of the blogging and youtube worlds, they want to see brands that are familiar to them in the magazines they read routinely. Spending £15 on one item from a new brand is probably not something they are going to do.
But seriously, bloggers and youtubers have to disclose when we've received something for free. I think it's pretty disgusting that magazines aren't held to the same standard. We're small fry with much lower reading figures than these magazines. I know it's pretty obvious that they get the products for free, but I know several people who had no idea until I mentioned it to them. Isn't advertising revenue from these brands dependant on these "omg, awesome products!!" articles? Shouldn't that be disclosed?
The online blogging world moves a heck of a lot faster than printed media. The trends they're telling us about now (like you said, matte nails), we knew about 4/5/6 months ago.
Don't get me started about the make up how-to articles that feature in magazines.
I like buying hair magazines though for the crazy make up, much better than the usual suspects :)
Excellent post! I 100% agree with EVERYTHING you wrote, especially the Alexa Chung part. This has bugged for a very long time. I don't think she looks stylish, in fact I think she looks like she needs a bloody good wash.
I only buy magazines now if I'm extremely desperate, like on a long train journey with no other form of entertainment. Otherwise, I don't bother.
Oh, I also thought legseleven7 said she'd piss into Alexa's face, not shove pies in it lol x
I have to agree with you Jen. When I get a new mag I always find myself dissapointed when I sit down to read it as every mag is the same - same products, same reviews. What about what we want? what about the things we want to see and read about? People should stop reading magazines and start reading our blogs and they would get a whole lot more info on NEW brands and products and guess what they may even get some tutorials which help a whole lot more people then paying over 3 pound for a magazine that is just a waste!!!
Great post Jen - You go girl.
I can't remember when I last bought a glossy magazine...might have been 2008. Any way, this feature is nothing new and has been regurgitated from previous annual editions. I know because I once spent a few weeks working at a women's magazine and my first job was to rewrite a fashion article from a year before. I just had to jazz it up a bit and it was published!
So whenever you read a sex guide article or the best beauty products to fill your bathroom cabinet with and think you've read something similar before, chances are that you have!
It's a shame because as a reader (and I am sure I speak for many), I like to read about new and innovative topics and one of the reasons I've stopped buying and reading magazines is because the content is nothing new. I think beauty blogs are one cause for driving down magazine sales too and deservedly so.
Fantastic post Jen. My thoughts are the same as everyone elses whos posted before me, and your own. I stopped buying mags a couple of months ago, when I got into blogging. I so much prefere the honest reviews of my fellow beauty bloggers than any m,agazine editor, and half the shit they write we know anyway, like the vaseline for example.
xxx
This is a great post Jen!
Most magazines I used to read always showed the same brands over and over again and brands such as RMK should be given some recognition!
I also think that beauty bloggers offer real reviews and real opinions and magazines don't do that. Bloggers should be
recognised more =D!
And with Alexa Chung, God don't get me started >_< ...I really hate her style. I cannot stand it when magazines say she's so friggin stylish, yeah right.
Anyway, I love this post =).
XXX
Great post, you hit the nail absolutely on the head in most respects.
I only seriously got into beauty products about 12/18 months ago, and in the beginning I got most of my information from magazines such as Instyle (this was before I discovered beauty blogs, youtube videos and sites like Make Up Alley).
As a complete novice I did pick up a few titbits from various magazines, some of the tips I still use today, but I also quickly learnt that there was a definite bias towards certain brands. It didn't take much more than a couple of hours online to discover there is a whole world of products out there other than the usual suspects touted in magazines!
Though I'll never forget almost getting laughed out of MAC for asking for a long gone LE lipglass which I'd spotted in one of my mags, I can't help thinking that these features are probably planned so far ahead that its inevitable some products which are available at the time of writing aren't available when the magazine actually hits the shelves. In addition to that we all know the speed in which some LE products sell out. (Or at least I do now haha).
I definitely think that there needs to be more of a focus on some of the lesser known brands in the mainstream media - sometimes my friends think I'm talking a foreign language when I mention a brand that isn't sold in Boots - but as other people have said, unless they advertise in the magazines in question its unlikely to happen anytime soon. I guess that means its up to us to spread the word!
xx
I totally agree with a lot of the comments here.
I used to buy these magazines like food when I first started getting into make up (hardcore lol) this time last year, but I've quickly learned that they are deceptive. Most reviews are so thinly veiled as adverts, it's hard to understand how people do get sucked in.
Unfortunately this pay-for-good-review phenomenon is passing onto beauty bloggers/tubers as well, which sucks. I understand companies have to get their product out there, but surely they should promote ALL types of reviews. After all, if you don't have reliable feedback, how can you produce a better product?
I only read a few blogs now, youself and a few less subscribed ones, such as Musing on Beauty, Jangsara etc. I stick to forums and MUA because at least I know I am getting the truth!
Great post hun! I agree with you and find magazines so disappointing on the beauty front! They should be putting in more effort to be up to date, relevant and actually deliver on even 10% of what they promise. However, we have to think about how long it takes to get to print.. we are lucky enough to think of something at lunchtime and be able to post it on our blog hours later, while for them it may take months.
Also, as someone already mentioned I don't think these magazines are aimed at the truly beauty/ fashion conscious person as they never really give any detail. For example, if they review a mascara all they print is some quote from Joe Bloggs saying it really gave her length or whatever and then a jolly little 4 stars out of 5, with no pictures of before and after or proper explanation, let alone what Joe Bloggs really thinks. I think it is more of a case of products catching the readers eye and the image staying there till they come across it in Boots and think "ooh I have seen this lots, it must be good". At the end of the day they are generating sales for their magazine and for the products that have been advertised, unlike blogs that are here to give information above everything else :). That's just how I feel anyway.
Sorry for the ramble! I just have to say I love your blog and consider it a far superior source of info to any glossy :) xxx
@Sirvinya - I often buy these mags for the same reason actually - long train journeys! I totally agree that most women would NEVER spend a fraction of what we do on beauty products, but in a way, that makes it even more improtant that they get relevant up to date information - after all there are some great drugsore brands like Sleek and Prestige, which get very little coverage...Definately 100% agree to that we should disclose - it prevents us from falling prey to the same influences as magazines, and we have to carry that pride of being honest with out readers.
@Lollipop - awful mental image of Legs Eleven 7 pissing on Alexa lol - no more mags for me (well no beauty ones anyway!)
@Happy1234 - thanks for your comment hun - I do think I was being naive in buying the mag in the first place, as saskia has pointed out, but I semi-knew that anyway lol. I just wanted to point out that a lot of female readers are not aware of all this stuff, and accept the info in mags - I used to myself when I was a teenager!
@Sheenie 121 - thats a really interesting comment, I, knew magazines could be questionable in their content, but that is shocking! Thanks so much for your comment x
@Jo - thanks so much, I was wondering if maybe we do take our knowledge for granted though - would all women know aboutg vaseline? Maybe I was too harsh?
@Linda Phuong Tran - thanks so much for your comment - clearly Alexa is not as popular as magazines would have us believe!
@BrionyLou - great comments, thanks so much - I really do wish there was more focus on lesser known brands in magazines - the regular woman on the street isn't being given the full picture of what is available...
@Chloe - Thanks so much for your comment - I agree that some bloggers are possibly susceptible to the kind f subliminal ads you describe, and thats why it is so important that we disclose to readers. For example I recently reviewed an awful mascara - I still sent the link to the PR, but I doubt I'll ever heart from them again, but thats fine - I'm not here to give automatic free positive publicity!
Well... we all know who pays the editors and assistants salary.
So is more then fair that those brands have the biggest notice in the magazine.
My fav magazine number/edition ever was a organic/natural issue Marie Claire mede probably 2 years ago. Most of the products were from small companies, beauty, fashion and life style...
Do you think they will do another?
No, because all the pub was payed by the convencional heavy chemical companies. Well 2+2=4 on every economy.
Sad but is true.
Other funny thing too, is the fact that appart from the heavy companies you only find the very status brands, those that every editor loves to refer as a "cult thing".
Well, there are beauty blogs, YT, but lets be honest not everything is true and honest and even when is for someone else is not for sure will be for me.
I saw ravings about products that I hate and the oposite.
Great post. xx
As usual you've put succinctly into words what most of us are thinking! Some magazines have long lead times (meaning they need to be ready to print way before the month they are published) so they don't have the short reactivity time that we do. However, the number of times I see ads on TV saying 'Most highly recommended by X magazine', I know it is completely unreliable because the brand is what keeps the mag ad revenue up and therefore it is incumbent upon the magazine if they want to keep their ad revenue flowing to indulge their clients. Ultimately magazines aren't really about the reader, but are more a money machine that looks pretty. Also, some magazine editors just don't see the relevence of beauty - Sunday supplements in particular - and view their readers as 'above' this kind of frippery. They'd gladly shelve their beauty sections but revenue from the ads dictates that they can't. In some cases, I really think if their hearts aren't in beauty to the point they are featuring out of date collections and almost exclusively advertiser brands, then don't bother. Leave it to the experts - us!
This is a really good post. We've all known for a loooong time that the beauty pages of magazines relate directly to advertising and PRs.
I only ever buy the annual Times supplement that has the products supposedly voted for by readers and it's always the same thing - Touche Eclat and Vaseline, hehe.
Anyway. Well said. I'll assist in the force feeding of the grubby skinnies too ;)
@Natalya - thanks so much for the comment - I get what you mean, most of this is all product placement and hammering images into our heads... There is no substance behind these recommendations, just a rehash of a press release, which only ever mentions the positive aspects of a product anyway - where is the journalistic skill? Thans so much for the lovely comment about the blog too - that means a lot!
@Gabriela - thanks so much - I'm glad you enjoyed the post.So true about advertising too x
@BritishBeautyBlogger - thanks so much. I totally appreciate that magazines have a long lead time, and that does totally account for some out of date info being on there - we do see the same brands over and over again - even on a drugstore level, it would be nice to see brands like GOSH, Sleek, and Prestige gettinga look in too... sadly, that will never happen, because as you mention, Beauty ads are simply often seen as an easy source of income through ads and product placement...
@Helen Nice Things - funnily enough, touche eclat did get a mention! Lol... maybe readers only vote again and again for these products because they dont know what else is out there!? Its exactly the same with nail varnish - I have been made more aware of so many other brands through reading blogs such as yours... I'm having a real mental image of us terrorizing Alexa Chung lol!
Err just want to point out that last time I looked, when you vote for your favourite Times beauty products, you are asked to choose from a drop down menu! So that would account for the same names cropping up time after time!
@BritishBeautyBlogger - thanks for pointing that out - explains a lot!
Very eloquently put. I too used to foolishly believe the people writing these articles actually knew something....it didn't take long once I'd immersed myself in the world of beauty blogging to realise I'd learn far more here from bloggers like you...and for free! I certainly haven't bothered buying a magazine in probably a year now.
Keep up the great blogging!
Great post and I definitely feel the same! Whenever I read a glossy (which is regularly I admit, I'm an addict...although it's mostly for the real life stories and fashion) I find myself constantly thinking "Yep, know this product, know this is good". I also find myself skimming over all of the info on new beauty products because it just seems so 'advertised'. xxx
@Ondine - Thanks for commenting - The prob is a lot of people are not aware of the blogging community and don't actually realise they are being given duff information!
@Ondine - thanks for your comment too - like I say,I think its a shame that most readers don't know that the info they are being given is duff! x
Wonderful post! Magazines are going to have to engage with us and change they way they review and report cosmetics news if they are to keep up! xxx
BRAVO! Great post!
It really irritates me that magazines are so predictably crap with their beauty sections. Maybelline great lash mascara, best ever reccmended by make-up artists??? F**K OFF!!
Only one that is good is Tatler.. and that magazine is so goddamn snooty and superficial in all other areas I want to vomit reading it. SO.. yes,, LOVE this post! xoxo
Eloquently said, MizzWorthy. I stopped reading 17 (I technically still fall in the demographic as it's targeted to 15-21 year olds) after I noticed the products started to get out of my own price range (Chanel, Lancome, YSL). I'm one of those people who believe your teenage years should be about experimentation with drugstore make-up. I'm turn 21 01/31 and I'm just starting to try out more expensive cosmetics like Smashbox, Benefit and Urban Decay. I've always used OPI and Essie nail varnish, but Chanel? At 15? I don't think so. I've never even seen an ad for these companies showcasing teens. It's not their demographic!
I don't usually buy beauty magazines anymore. I like reading blogs like yours that aren't trying to sell me a product like a beauty magazine does and give me an honest opinion. Hair tutorials run amok on YT and the 'net and I learn better through a YT tutorial. Beauty mags, I'm finding, are way behind the loop in terms of collections and nails. For example, I've all ready seen and decided which colors I want from the Up & Away collection from China Glaze, which haven't even been seen in magazines yet!
I really like reading Better Homes & Garden magazines. 1/2-3/4 of that magazine is committed to interior and exterior spaces and decorating them. They need to fire their food editor because some of those recipes don't even sound edible but it's a great magazine.
Great post! And I couldn't agree with you more. I used to work in advertizing and magazines and know for a fact that the budgets define the magazine's content. Not every single article of course, but most of it depends on who buys more pages. And some so-called news and updates are nothing more than free advertising space for the good customers! Recently, at the Greek edition of InStyle magazine there was a huge article about beauty secrets and tips from the pros. Amongst other, there was a "tip" on how to give life to your old mascara by adding a few drops of...Coca Cola!!!! OMG, that is preposterous! Do that and you will kiss your mascara goodbye! How can they go about writing such bullsh*t? I rarely buy greek magazines because most of them are just copying the foreign editions. I may buy the British or Italian Vogue, but only for the amazing fashion shoots. There's nothing that I can't find on the net, so why bother with the magazines?
I wholeheartedly agree with your post every single word. Especially that bit about flipping vaseline, especially because for me personally one tiny bit of vaseline on my face is enough to cause my eczema to go bonkers and they never mention what petroleum jelly actually is either, maybe if they had a clue they would suggest a nicer alternative such as Lucas' pawpaw ointment or that un-petroleum jelly which does the same things but has better ingredients. Anyway I think that's probably just me who hates vaseline but still they need to be more innovative and fresh rather than keep peddling the same rubbish.
The only magazine I sometimes purchase for makeup or hair is called hair flair and beauty and I like the pictures as they do a lot of pics of closeup celeb makeup and hair which I like and can work from if I am trying to copy their makeup but they too have the crappy 'reader reviews' why is the picture of the reader doing the review they never have any makeup on? I don't ever understand that.
Anyway enough of me whinging lol!
Ha this post made me laugh so much! I'm sure Vaseline is every eleven year old girls first beauty buy. I think that the Beauty writers have a responsibility be on the ball by reading all the great info on blogs so they can relay this to their readers. But alot of time it seems like they can't be arsed. What I hate is the mis-prints and utter lazy reporting of shades. For instance I read some medicore celebs fave nude lippy was MAC Bliss, I practically ran to look up this unknown shade......Then with sadness realised that the said mediocre celeb must have done the 'interview' over the phone and the 'journalist' misheard her pronnunciation of Myth l/s!!!
I haven't bought a magazine in ages for the same reason, I'm sick of seeing the same products featured and constantly raved about to the point were you buy the product which then turns out to be a huge dissapointment.
If I want I review I look on blogs or youtube cause I know that in most instances I'm gonna get and honest and unbiased review.
Great post.
What you said couldn't reflect my thoughts more exactly. Every bit of your rant echoes what I have thought for years now, I only buy weekely mags now as they are generally better at being up to date. Monthly mags are dreadfully out of date.
Great post! xx
I absolutely love this post - completely true and totally hits the nail on the head. Who doesn't love a good rant?
Totally agree that when it comes to beauty, magazines in many ways don't seem to take it seriously and give the industry (and the readers) the respect they deserve. All too often the heavyweights of the beauty world (L'Oreal, I'm talking about you) monopolise the advertising, and thus the editorial. Frankly, it's boring.
I do, sadly, seem to still have an addiction to reading magazines - but this is very rarely to read the beauty content. The 'top' products are dull, repetative and far too predictable.
Magazine people - if you happen to read this - please wake up! Try to think outside the box a bit, we all understand there are constraints of advertising budgets, but they don't mean that mentions of the smaller brands aren't possible - or else it wont be long before magazines become solid advertorials!
Oh, and personally I think Vaseline is rubbish.
I'm glad you talked about this after the twitter rant haha I completely agree with this. I did think when I bought this magazine that it would be some aldi/lidl/spar! wonder cream for pennies.....oh it was vaseline well you live and learn!
Great post Jen x x
Excellent post, Jen! This issue has actually come up a lot with the recent FTC rulings in the US, as many bloggers (including myself) are left frustrated by the double standards and inconsistencies.
Beauty magazines suck, end of story. Long live the beauty blogger revolution! :)
I buy music magazines but never "women's" magazines - they are invariably so patronising and infuriating. No Alexa Chung is NOT stylish, she always looks like she's in school uniform, and she blatantly has an eating disorder: stop encouraging her!!! It's criminal. And as for beauty recs, well I think we all know that's probably the least researched bit of the mag - it's just an afterthought.
However, I must look into this Vaseline phenomenon, hmm how interesting!!!
thanks Jen xx
haha the bit about vaseline made me laugh, they make it out to be an exlusive new product! now i've started blogging i just listen to peoples reviews on here rather than magazines because i know they will be up to date and i won't embarrass myself, thanks for this blog! X
This really made me giggle! You are such an eloquent writer sometimes :P
Ya know, I remember getting quite upset that we weren't nominated for any awards last year in the Beauty mags - best new brand or something would have been nice! - and I took it quite personally at one point, considering the success of the brand. But we don't have an advertising budget; we are a privately owned company after all - "buying" awards is not really on our list of priorities.
Still, we did win our first Blogger Award this week and I have put it pride of place on the Illamasqua Blog! Thanks to bjooti.net for that.
And my New Years Resolution? To remember that winning a Best Lipstick award is not the be all and end all and that as long as our customers are happy, that is what really counts.
PS - Cocoa Butter is so much better than Vaseline and you can get a little pot of it for £1 at Spitalfields Market!
I have been avoiding beauty magazines for some years now. It started when I realised that the Greek magazines translated articles for the US or UK when I was in my late teens. I only bought British magazines for some time and then stopped altogether. It was a turning point for me to find all the beauty blogs I read now, because I feel that it's less advert, more personal style and point of view.
I totally agree with you of mag's providing us with out of date information. That is the reason I never indulge in beauty mags as most of the times we know more - well, because even we write about beauty!
Sometimes the makeup looks they create are so hidious putting these magazines to shame. I mean how many times and how many issues will teach us to create 'the perfect smokey eye'?, which most of the times will be plain black eyeshadow all over the lid.
I agree with you, totally!
@Oxford Jasmine - Thanks for the comment - I doubt that they ever will, sadly, however we just have to keep showing them how it's done...
@Tali - Oh, classic lol - Great Lash Mascara - who do they think they are kidding!
@Kate - thanks for your greta comment - Its true that magazines do need to consider their demographic - as if a teen reader would be able to buy chanel!
@Persephae - Coca Cola in mascara! How stupid do they actually think we are? My goodness!
@Sarah - interestring that we can get better makeup news from hair magazine! Oh, and I agree - they should feature other products - a lot of people are allergic to vaseline...
@Kerri - this is exactly the sort of thing I mean - going for a MAC lippie that doesnt exist - I have seen so many similar misprints!
@Pink Sparkle 84 - thanks so much for the comment, I totally agree - and thanks for reading x
@Rebecca - thanks so much for commenting - I'm glad you enjoyed the post x
@BeautyJunkieLondon - Thanks for the great comment - I know exactly what you mean about certain companies monopolising!
@Tillyness86 - I couldn't resist!
@KraseyBeauty - I agree, the FTC code is in principle a great idea, but there is a definite double standard there!
@Gail - I await your vaseline review with trepidation!
@Holly - thanks so much for your comment xxx
@Illamasqua - Thanks so much, and well done on the award!!
@Melia - thanks, I'm glad you enjoyed the post xx
@Shifa - Oh I agree, I have learnt tonnes about makeup application from Youtube and blogs - nothing from magazines!
@Catanya - thansk so much for reading and commenting x
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