Add some Glamour to your life (Glamour)

Member Name: star500

Product:	Glamour
Date:	29/03/01 (134 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Cheap, compact size, short punchy articles

Disadvantages: Few in-depth features

Glamour is a new woman’s magazine that was launched during the first few weeks of March and it promises to give the low-down on everything that you need to know about how to look and feel good. But is there really room for another glossy on what is already a very over-saturated market?

Being the magazine addict that I am, I bought a copy in the first few days of it’s launch and decided to compile this review to let you know what my initial impressions were.


~ What’s the story then? ~

Glamour is the newest glossy from the publishers of Vogue, Vanity Fair and Tatler. As I’ve said before, the magazine market is already very crowded with a variety of monthly publications and it is a daunting task to establish a readership when there is so much competition around. However, Glamour does have two gimmicks in it’s favour:

* It is hand bag size (not quite A5 but not far off it) and this is a great marketing tool as all other glossy mags are of a standard size and more difficult to carry around with you and read on the train.

* It only costs £1.50 which is around £1 cheaper than its main rivals which include Cosmopolitan and New Woman.


~ What sort of articles does it feature? ~

Obviously with a name like Glamour, the bulk of the magazine deals with how you look, feel and dress. This is primarily shown in sections such as:

* Fast Glamour: Around twenty pages of quick make-up tips, the latest catwalk looks and the best fashion and beauty buys.

* Glamourama: Celebrity gossip, style and chat.

* You You You: One page each devoted to subjects such as Love, Work, Money, Sex, Mind and Body.

The above sections are in a quick-to-read, easily digestible format with only short articles included. There are a few in-depth articles too with the first issue containing features such as:

* Natural Born Killer: The story of a woman who w
as imprisoned when she went on a shooting rampage after seeing the Oliver Stone movie "Natural Born Killers".

* Where Hollywood Pays To Be Humiliated: A look at America’s latest fitness craze - Boot Camps.

Other features include an interview with their covergirl Kate Winslet, Victoria Beckham’s style secrets and Joseph Fiennes has a quick chat.


~ Is it any good? ~

It has a variety of short, punchy articles but the first issue had quite an American slant. However it is definitely worth the £1.50 cover price.

Although it comes from the makers of Vogue, Vanity Fair and Tatler it seems to be targeting a slightly different audience. I feel that it is best likened to a magazine such as New Woman as it has a very down-to-earth feel about it and does not concentrate solely on expensive products or designer fashions.

However, if you are the kind of person who enjoys reading in-depth, serious articles (not unlike those found in a magazine like Marie Claire) then you may want to give Glamour a miss because, so far, it doesn’t seem to be carrying those kinds of features. This may change, though, in future issues.

There are also quite a few pages devoted to advertising and, because the magazine is of a smaller size, these are mostly full page adverts with some companies advertising over two or three pages at a time. At the beginning of the magazine there is a run of adverts for about twelve pages but this is the most shown together in a block as the rest of the magazine favours blocks of two or three.


~ Would you buy it again? ~

I’ll definitely be having a look at the next issue and if it is as good as this one then I may become a regular reader because with it’s low price you really can’t go wrong.

~~~~~~~~~~

Glamour is available in newsagents priced at £1.50

The first issue has a special subscription off
er whereby for £9.99 you receive twelve issues plus a free gift from Estee Lauder (comprising of a lipstick and nail lacquer worth £22).

They also have a website at: www.glamour.com which may give you a taste of the kind of features and articles to expect in the magazine.

Summary: