Look - A Mix Of Celebrity Gossip and The Latest Trends!! (Look Magazine)

Member Name: xhoneybeex

Product:	Look Magazine
Date:	05/10/09 (37 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Lots of fashion and celeb gossip

Disadvantages: If you think about it, it's actually quite trashy, but I like it anyway!

~Also On Ciao Under Same Name!~
Hey everyone, and welcome to my Look review. Ciao failed to save my draft of it so I am starting from scratch, which I am not too happy about, but here goes...

**Basic Information**
Look is a weekly magazine aimed at women, and contains a mixture of celebrities, fashion and real life. It costs £1.50 per issue and a new issue comes out every Tuesday. It can be found at many supermarkets, newsagents and the usual stockists of magazines (Boots, WHSmith etc...)

**First Impressions**
'You shouldn't judge a book by its cover' is a phrase which I try to abide to, but when I'm looking to treat myself to a magazine I am obviously going to pick the one with the glossiest cover and the most enticing cover stories (not to mention a reasonable price tag!)...and I must say, Look ticks all the boxes on this front! The editor really must think the 'Look' is everything! Ha, ha, ha, ha...never mind! It looks very inviting, with a different bright 'colour scheme' every week - from hot pink to lime green. The word 'Look' is printed near the top of the magazine, in big letters and in the selected colour of the week and above that is a headline for one of this weeks big celebrity stories, in a rectangular box coloured in this weeks colour. Splashed across the front page is a headshot of the celebrity who they are doing their main story on. The celebs name is in capitals in the selected colour, followed by a 'quote' - you'll see why I have put it in that soon! - or a statement about the celebrity. There are also one or two fashion headlines on the cover.

**Introduction/Contents**
Much as you'd expect, the first page of Look just consists of contents - divided into four categories; Fashion & Beauty, Real Life, Every Week and Celebrity. There is also a quick note from the editor, Ali Hall, where she tells you what her and the Look team have been up to this week and points out some of her favourite sections of Look this week.

**This Week We Need...**
Another sort of introductory page shows us what has just hit the stores. It always consists of a 'Label Lust' where they feature a bag/shoes etc... by a famous designer for a ridiculous price (!), a 'Get It Or Regret It' product on the high street which is really on-trend, an high street garment a celebrity was spotted in and information about new labels and ranges.

**All The Dresses...**
I really enjoy checking out this next part of Look. It is a weekly feature and normally uses two double page spreads. It shows celebrities on the red carpet and what they have worn. By each celebrity it has their name, the event they were attending, and then Look's verdict on their Dress, Hair & Make Up and Accessories. They are usually very complimentary and put across their views in a professional but personal manner. If there has been a big event, such as the VMA's or the Oscars, in this section they fill you in on what happened and who won what.

**This Week's Big Stories**
Now, this is where I have my main issue with Look magazine. If you scan back through my review so far, you will see I put the word 'quotes' in inverted commas. This is because they very often use 'quotes' on the front cover on the magazine, but the celebrities have actually said no such thing. I still remember one issue, absolutely ages ago, when Britney Spears was on the front cover, with a quote underneath her saying something along the lines of 'I'll Risk My Kids For My New Boyfriend', but really all it was was a 'friend' claiming that Britney would be "willing to risk everything for her new beau." To be honest, I was quite surprised that Look are allowed to do that, as it really does give the illusion they have either interviewed the star or a the celebrity has actually, definitely said those exact words. If they simply use a statement as their headline, I can guarantee it will always be blown way out of proportion, for example a more recent story was about Leona having 'a total breakdown', but she was just supposedly 'worried' about her new single and that it wouldn't do as well as Alexandra Burke's. This is just one of the many examples, but I suppose all the media is guilty of exaggerating, so I can't blame too much of that on just Look. One or two 'main' stories are usually double spreads or three pages, and I find them well written (apart from the obvious, that the stories may not be true!) and I like the added features to the articles, e.g. they have miniature picture timelines and sometimes brief outlines of other celebrities who are in a similar position. They usually have around fifteen pages of this category, and the articles vary from three pages, a double page, one page or just a section of a page.

**Love Lives**
There are two pages of Love Lives, where Look informs you about the latest make up, break ups, babies, engagements and more! I often find these pages quite informative, and, much to my pleasure, they don't exaggerate or put words into celebrities mouths!

**Interviews!**
Most weeks include a Look interview with famous stars, where they ask interesting but not particularly probing questions, which makes the celebrities happy and ensures they are respected and satisfies readers at the same time. I don't really know what else I can say about the interviews...!

**Fashion Trends Of The Week**
Look includes many fashion features, including 'Fashion Trends Of The Week' were they show you the latest trends, and include photos of models off the catwalk and celebrities wearing them, and then give you a range of similar styled trends from the high street, with one or two designer labels thrown in! I find this very handy, and I like the fact they cater for all budgets - from Primark for us skinflints (me!) or Prada for those lucky rich ones (I wish that was me!) On some garments they have a little 'tag' which reads 'Buy It Now On Look.co.uk', and if you log on you can buy that item! I find this feature very handy as I like seeing what's out there.

**Celebs Wear High Street Too!**
This page basically says it all in the title! I do scan through this page and read it, but to be honest I don't really care if celebrities (they are just people after all!) wear clothes from high street stores. I would just like to point out they are always fairly pricey clothes anyway! I suppose it does comfort me a little that they aren't all draped in Versace, Chanel with Jimmy Choo's all the time!

**Real Life**
The real life stories are very in depth and you can tell Look work with the people that submit their stories very well and they never fail to produce very interesting stories. They do one double page spread of 'International Exclusive' stories, these are sometimes very upsetting, but worthwhile reading. Some of the stories are very inspiring too though; I always remember one in particular where a group of African women living in poverty got together with the help of some British women and started to make jewellery out of magazines! They now earn a good income - more than they were used to anyway.
The other real life story is usually closer to home and is a little more light-hearted, usually, but not always. Sometimes they will feature three or four different readers with shorter stories about the same topic. They are very interesting to read!

**High Street Hottest**
These pages are very handy, as it shows the cream of what the high street have to offer. Look feature different 'boxes' for each store and show around five garments from that store. Look normally show about nine different stores per issue, and shops commonly featured on these pages are: Marks & Spencer, French Connection, Miss Selfridge, River Island, Oasis, New Look, Warehouse, Mango, H&M, Dorothy Perkins, Topshop, Wallis, Next, Zara, Primark and House Of Fraser.

**Photo Shoot**
Look have a themed photo shoot which spreads over about three double pages every week. Themes can vary from Circus Clown (!) to Luxe Love, and I'm sorry to say I am not that keen on this feature! The models are stunning and the photos are very well-taken in terms of the pose and the setting, but this can make it hard to get a good view of the clothes! For example, it will say 'Earrings: £14, Accessorize' but you can't actually see the earrings as they are completely covered by hair. The clothes used in these shoots are almost always high street. I also find most of the outfits far too over the top and they would never be seen worn by any people in the 'real world'.

**More Fashion Features**
The first of the fashion features is something like '45 Wow Winter Coats From £35' or '100 Hottest Heels From £15', where they show us different styles and the way to wear the selected garment. It is a bit disheartening as the title promises bargains, but usually the £35 coat or whatever is a tacky piece from Primark or Matalan (I am not offending those shops as you can find some lovely clothes in there!) and the rest of the clothes, although many high street, are much more expensive, well, for a pauper like me anyway! Saying that, as they feature so many different styles, you are sure to find at least on product you like! After these there is another typical fashion feature which just advertises some pretty dresses or shoes or whatever!

**Credit Crunch Chic**
On this page is three columns, 'Under £5', 'Under £10' and 'Under £25'. Then in the said columns are three products, that cost under the above prices (Sarcastic readers: Nooo, really?!?). This page varies, as sometimes it features genuinely good bargains and it is encouraging to see there are some beautiful stuff out there that doesn't cost the earth, but sometimes it seems they slap any old tacky rubbish on the page, just because it is cheap!!

**Beauty Feature**
I love looking at these pages as they show handy hair and make-up tips and give a step-by-step guide on what to buy and how to apply. They also follow a theme, from 'Workout Beauty' to 'Rock Chick Princess', and after about three different styles you see Look's Product Hot List and they give ideas on what to buy to get the look.

**Beauty Trends Of The Week**
Much the same as Fashion Trends Of The Week, but shorter and about beauty products and accessories. They show the latest fabulous products to hit the store, and the hottest hairstyles around right now, and finally This Weeks Wonder Products. I find this feature very useful!

**The Test Factor!**
I love love love this page! Look's beauty editor, Sophie Beresiner chooses three lucky ladies that have applied to help her review products. Each girl is given a category such as 'Cream Eyeshadows' or 'Cleansing Bars' or 'Best Foundation' and four products of that category. There is photos of the products and the price next to it, and on the left hand side is a mini review which tells you the brand and the shade and the star rating which is put together by the beauty editor and the reader. They both then give their opinions about the product. One of them is always five stars and wins the 'Look Recommends' tag. They then have a little 'Look Top Tip' textbox, which gives a tip about the product and how to wear it, and a photo of a celebrity sporting the trend. Every week there are three different categories.

**The Life Consultancy**
In other words, the problem page. Look have a number of different experts writing for this page, and the topics are as follows:
Cosmetic Surgery with top plastic surgeon Adrian Richards
Finance with money expert Adele Jones
Health with Dr Kate Nicholson
Fitness and Food with personal trainer Kathryn Freeland
Gadgets with web and tech expert Katie Lee
Life Coach with Jessica Chivers
Sex with Emily Dubberly
Interiors with home guru Jason Coulston
Travel with expert Jasmine Harman
and finally
Love Life with Erin Kelly.
The page is nicely set out with on problem per topic, and each topic in a seperate box. There are also contact details if you would like to submit a problem.

**5 Second Reviews**
Look gives a quick opinion and star rating about this weeks TV programmes, DVD's, Films, Music and Books.

**Horoscopes**
Michele Knight guides us through the week with a horoscope telling us what is in store for us and also a Look Out tip! I enjoy reading horoscopes just for fun, although lately Look has started to predict mine quite well!!

**Where To Look**
As we near the end of the magazine, Look has a directory full of details of where to buy fashion and beauty products, listed in alphabetical order.

**The Look Directory**
Internet based companies can pay to advertise their website here.

**Accessory Addict**
This page is right at the very back so I bet people often miss it, but it is just a themed page of cool accessories.

**Offers**
Often Look feature some sort of discount offer at a popular retailer, which is great!

**Subscription**
You can subscribe to Look for a minimum of twelve months for £33.99 per six months, and they normally offer the options of paying annually or quarterly. You can even sometimes get a free gift!

**Website**
At www.look.co.uk you can find out about Look, subscribe, find fashion and beauty news, buy a few products, find out the latest news and gossip, join in the fashion forum, look at photo galleries and answer polls.

Summary: Its a hard call, but I suppose overall its a good mag!