Monday 8 November 2010

Why can't we have our own Allure?



Back in the day when readers letters arrived by the sackful, urgent info came on a fax and important office announcements were made via a paper memo that landed on your desk, there was one major source for cutting-edge beauty info, namely Allure magazine. In my first job on a magazine, I hungrily devoured every issue of the US beauty bible and it seemed a lifetime to wait until the next issue. That's a vintage one, above, from 1994. Now we don't have to wait more than a nanosecond for anything, but don't you think there's still a place for a specialist UK beauty title? That's not to say it hasn't been tried here - my first job was on Looks Magazine (I promise to dig out some back issues, hilarious); I used to freelance for the much-missed spin-off Marie Claire Health & Beauty; then there was Shine, and the fashion and beauty mag, Happy - all of which I loved. Sadly none of them survived.
Personally, I can do without the true-life stories, celeb features and sex tips that fill out many magazines - pure undiluted beauty is what I'm after. Do you think it could work, or are you all total web converts?

13 comments:

  1. I loved Marie-Claire Health & Beauty. So sad when it was discontinued.

    Allure has lost its, well, allure, for me over the last year or two. The covers are now so airbrushed it's often difficult to recognise who it is, ("Kate Winslet?...no, it's Kate Bosworth, oh.") I do feel like the brands recommended are most often those advertised in the magazine too - the only article I still rated when I stopped reading it was the Dick Page column.

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  2. Hmm, good points. Know exactly what you mean about interchangeable celebs. And I guess now we have so much access to unbiased beauty online, it can seem a step back to only see products endorsed that are backed up by advertising...

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  3. I used to LOVE Looks! Bring that back!

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  4. I thought Happy was such a brilliant magazine, I was really surprised it didn't last very long.

    I too could do without all the sex tips, celeb gossip, horoscopes etc. I never bother with them. I'd love to have a specialist beauty title in the UK with a whole loads of incredible beauty shoots which list all the products used. I'm so tired of looking at fashion editorials and wondering where the makeup is from!

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  5. Yes, yes,yes!!! At uni I created a beauty only magazine in a project, I would love one and think all the beauty community would too :)

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  6. I absolutely agree, Happy was a brilliant mag I was never sure it its demise was purely political it just seemed so out of the blue.

    Not sure about a beauty mag, it would seem almost like a step backwards. A conglomerate of beauty bloggers working together for an online publication would be amazing...

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  7. Totally agree- and I remember looks magazine! Was a favourite of mine for it's fairly short life! I would love to see a beauty mag on uk shelves- even if only a seasonal spin off of another monthly title!

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  8. I also remember Looks magazine, and indeed you working for them. In fact, didn't you model the Looks tshirts that they sold at one point? I thought I was the height of cool when my mum bought me one after muchos nagging :-)

    Am a huge Allure fan of many years - I still pick up a copy every time I head over the pond. Aah the heyday of Niki Taylor, Cindy Crawford et al...

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  9. LNR - Oh my goodness, these things can come back to haunt you, can't they!! We all got roped into modelling all kinds of things! The grey lycra catsuit I prefer to forget! Nice to know we had so many loyal readers though.

    So great to hear everyone's feedback!

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  10. I moved to the UK in October from the US and I was disappointed to find that I couldn't get Allure! The UK definitely needs its own version...

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  11. LOOKS was one of my favourites back in the day & I still have my stash of copies, along with Happy- such a disappointment when that folded. Loved Shoo too. We def need a beauty mag over here but it would only work if it was at the forefront of news- still pick up Allure whenever I'm in the States.

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  12. I loved Marie Claire Health & Beauty, such a shame it was discontinued. There is a newish beauty magazine out called Expert Beauty but I didn't feel it had enough beauty content! x

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