How does this sound?
- Huge pile of magazines
- Big comfy bed
- Sunshine streaming through large windows
Yeah, that’s going to be my self-imposed reward this afternoon. Quality meow time with myself, perhaps a husky tabby companion and magazines!
Honestly, how do these things pile up so quickly? I subscribe when I see a really good deal, usually after I buy an overpriced $4 issue at the bookstore and then 20 of those postcard subscribe thingies fall out. “Get 12 monthly issues for $12!”
OK, Mr. Marketing Guru, I will. 🙂
I think I’m up to seven subscriptions now…
- Entertainment Weekly — I LOVE their movie, TV show and book reviews. Plus the writing’s really good. I also like their graphic design style. I get a lot of ideas from them for my posts and pictures on the blog, like the way they style their titles for articles and use colorful shapes. This is probably one of the longest subscriptions I’ve held. Must be 4-5 years already.
- Nylon — Just really cool style. I like the sassy writing, and they have an extensive beauty section.
- Allure — A good in-depth beauty mag.
- Glamour — Got a little of everything. The traditional glossy.
- Popular Photography — Gotta get the gear!
- Better Homes and Gardens — Good source of inspiration for interiors and recipes.
- Real Simple — Just everyday life things.
Whenever a new one comes in, I set it on a stack in the corner of my room, and before I know it the stack is 12 feet tall and about to fall over!
This month I’m loving on that coppery red blown-out eyeshadow Julianne Hough is sporting on the cover of Allure.
Dude, if I had her eyes, I’d be rockin’ that makeup every single day. I love the contrast of the coppery tones and her blue peepers.
I’m also digging the graphic design on this cover of Nylon…
And try to peel your eyes away from hottie Mr. 50 Shades of Grey for a second to appreciate Dakota Johnson’s bangs on the current cover of Glamour. It just may be my next hair style. 🙂
How about you? Do you subscribe to any magazines? Which ones are your faves?
Kiss & Make-up says
That’s some heavy literature right there! 🙂 I like ELLE. It’s a shame I can’t get the English version here.
Rachel says
I’m with you there, I’ll buy a magazine for $4 or $5 because it has Britney spears on the cover (I love her!) and then I end up subscribing to it! Before I know it I have a bunch of subscriptions and get irritated and cancel them all! My parents subscribe to People and Entertainment Weekly so I can just take all their old magazines. I wouldn’t mind Better Homes and Gardens or Real Simple or even This Old House because my dad and I are in the process of renovating a 100-year old house that I plan to move into! I’m going to need some grown-ass woman decorating ideas!
Karen says
Hey Rachel,
You will LOVE BHG. My mom gets me a subscription every year and I love it.
That’s so cool that you are renovating with your dad! What type of decorating style are you going for?
Rachel says
I have no idea! That’s why I’m looking for inspiration in interior design books from the library, but I thought a magazine subscription would have some more current ideas. I have some furniture, and I’m not sure if I want to get a new couch because the cat will just destroy it. My aunt calls my style “eclectic”!
Karen says
Maybe head to the bookstore. Does your phone have a camera? Flip through the magazines and take pics of the rooms that you like. Eventually you’ll start seeing a theme.
My style is eclectic too. I like a mix of old distressed furniture mixed with sleek modern pieces.
Noon says
God I miss magazines, Nylon is my favorite! Though I will forever mourn the loss of Elle Girl. These days the only mag reading I get to do is sneaking UK Vogue from the rack at the student library.
Twyla Munden says
Glad to hear I’m not the only one that ‘needs’ magazines only to have them stop pile up in a corner til it gets outta hand.. at the moment I have a pile in the bathroom from 2014 to get thru before I start on 2015.. lol. I’m receiving Cosmo, Fitness, Self, Womens Health & 1 other that I can’t recall.. lol yup I needed that one that bad.. lol
ame says
I am addicted as well. Like…ridiculous. I am in the middle of the 15thAnniversary Real Simple, which I LOVE–it might be my favorite RS ever–and the Allure right now, and I am really loving the article in Allure about the various editors and their skincare routines. I still have InStyle to read. I just finished Glamour. I subscribe to SO MANY MAGAZINES.
Redbook redid the whole magazine about what two years ago and it’s FANTASTIC as well.
Karen says
Hey Ame,
I’m loving that 15th anniversary special as well! SO MANY RECIPES! Have you made anything from that issue yet?
Ame says
Not yet! I made copies of a few and stuck them to the wall to make though!
I always love the reader ideas too. I kinda wish they would come clean out and redo my house. It’s a landfill!
Karen says
YOU AND ME BOTH. I want some super-duper organizer people to come over and save me from myself. They could start with the pile of magazines in the corner. LOL
Tatiana says
I’m no longer subscribed to any magazines. I used to subscribe to a few foodie magazines, like Gourmet (the publisher killed that magazine) and Food and Wine. But I soon realized I didn’t have the time to read them, let alone try all the new recipes in them. I got tired of them stacking up and cluttering up the space, so I let the subscriptions lapse. I usually just by the September issue of Vogue off the newsstand to see what the upcoming fashion trends are. With so much content on-line now, it seems silly to subscribe to paper magazines. It’s just more temptation and I’ve got enough of that with this and a few other beauty blogs I read.
Jennifer says
Guurrl, it is like you are in my brain. I was just looking over my subscriptions this week thinking I’ve got to cancel some of them because I can’t keep up and the guilt is killing me.
I’ve been subscribing to Allure for years. That is a must read every month. I will always subscribe to Allure. I also get Yoga Journal, which I love and is super useful.
Other glossies–Vogue, Elle and Glamour–all of which I think are going to go because I just can’t get through them.
I also get Cosmo because I like to pretend I’m still 25.
I get BHG and Martha Stewart Living, both of whom I think I’m ditching because I’m just not that into home decor and Martha isn’t that inspiring to me anymore.
And, I get Fine Cooking, which is the best cooking magazine Ever. I highly recommend it if you want to cook more. And it gives you more formulas for dishes instead of recipes, which is good if you’re like me and insist on tinkering with every recipe.
Have a good afternoon 🙂
Karen says
Wait… no Cat Fancy?!
Allison C says
I love to read Nylon when I’m at Vidal Sassoon having my hair colored, but I don’t subscribe to it. I subscribe to The New Yorker which I adore because I’m interested in politics/culture/fiction, though they have a tendency to pile up since they come once a week. I subscribe to Martha Stewart Living for the recipes, gardening tips and crafts. For beauty, I subscribe to Allure and I read the others at Sassoon. I used to get a million magazines but I just don’t read ’em so I’ve paired down over the past few years.
Agata says
I am not subscribed to any magazines. My mother-in-law used to work for a company putting out magazines at drugstores (CVS etc) and she would always bring me all the magazines, I loved it although I had stacks of unread ones laying around everywhere, driving my husband crazy. I liked the beauty ones, but mostly for pictures, lol. They are so expensive to buy them regularly though.
Karen says
I totally thought of you when I saw that eye makeup on Julianne Hough. You could so rock those colors!
Agata says
Ohh, thanks Karen! I looked up the deets on that photo shoot. Now I feel challenged to actually recreate something similar!
Karen says
You’re welcome! I hope that it works out for ya.
Lisa says
same problem here! and i like to read them thoroughly, so they almost become a burden as they pile up because i feel like i have to read them all (i know that sounds crazy). i get something like 10 a month now – partly due to Sephora and Dermstore giving away free subscriptions with purchase!
i think my favorites are Bon Appetit, Allure, and InStyle. the older and busier i get with the rest of my life, the more i want my magazines to be more mindless reading and pretty pictures rather than in-depth stories.
Lauren S. says
I enjoy BHG as well, and Nylon looks super interesting! Thanks for the inspiration Karen!
Karen says
BHG is fun. I’m a beginner when it comes to home decor and I like that it’s accessible.
What else are you reading these days?
Lulle says
The only subscription I have is for Sunset. It’s a good mix of travel, food, decoration and gardening advice for West Coast peeps. I like it, good pictures, some interesting subjects, and I discovered hidden local travel gems through it.
I don’t read women’s magazines at all. I used to when I was younger, and then I got severely annoyed by their poor beauty columns (everything is always a miracle), the way they tend to feed prejudice and social pressure (you have to look perfect, have the perfect relationship, a perfect job by 25, perfect kids by 29, etc… if you read these articles), and mostly, the way they picture the female body. After another fashion section featuring a medically malnourished 15-year old, I just threw it all out to the trash. It’s been about 10 years, and I don’t regret it at all.
On the other hand, if there was a magazine whose goal was to empower women, rather than tell them what they should do/be/buy, I’d love to know cause I would read it.
Karen says
Hi Lulle,
I like Sunset too. My parents get it and whenever I’m over at their house I’ll thumb through it. What local travel gems have you found?
While I enjoy reading women’s magazines I do have to say… It would be nice to see more body types, different ages and women of color represented in the big glossies. I hope that they get there someday.
LindaLibraLoca says
My only subscription is “Brigitte”, a woman magazine my mother used to read, and of course a horrendous amount of technical literature which gathers dust at my desk…
Tulipthecat says
I love magazines. I started getting emagazines because I can’t figure out what to do with the old magazines I had. I e-subscribe to shape and glamour. I think from my purchases from JustFab I now get InStyle delivered to my house. I bought a subscription of fitness from a kid selling magazines. Our household also gets entertainment weekly, people, and Real Simple. So we never run out of things to read.
Karen says
How are you liking InStyle? I used to subscribe to it years ago, but then I stopped reading it because it just made me want to buy stuff, LOL.
How was your Easter? Did Tulip get any special treats?
Tulipthecat says
It’s ok but it totally does make you want to buy stuff. So does the People style magazine. Once the subscription is over I don’t plan to renew it. It’s lots of pictures and not much text.
Easter was good. I hid the easter eggs in the house for my nieces and nephew but then we couldn’t fine 1 of the eggs and I couldn’t remember where I put it. It took us 30 minutes to find the last one. I ordered Tulip a new cat collar from Etsy since she seems allergic to the one she has now. I bought 2 cute cotton ones.
How was your Easter? Did Tabs get an easter basket of treats?
Karen says
Good thing you found that egg! Otherwise, eww. LOL I want to see Tulip’s new collar!
Tabs got extra wet food and some treats from his Lola and Lolo. He’s a very spoiled grand-cat. 🙂
My Easter was good. I went out to the East Bay to visit my parents and my brother. We had a potluck — I made quiche and scalloped potatoes.
Trude says
Those are some perty bangs on Dakota! I’ll occasionally pick up Allure if it looks interesting. I get Redbook and Real Simple – Redbook is great for an all around magazine, and it’s not geared toward teenagers. 🙂
Stephanie says
They come fast don’t they? I get a lot of what I call “bubble gum reading” Star, Entertainment Weekly, US Weekly and a few food magazines, Food Network & Rachael Ray.
Karen says
Hey Stephanie,
US Weekly is my favorite magazine to read when I go to the salon!
How are the recipes in the Food Network magazine?
Stephanie says
I have found several “keeper” recipes in Food Network magazine. Last year they did a cake themed issue and it had 12 months of cake recipes. I kept that one! I’ve made several of the cakes, all have gotten thumbs up. (Salted caramel cake…what’s not to like?)
Karen says
Oh, I would’ve LOVED that cake issue. I can’t really cook, but I do enjoy baking. And that salted caramel cake sounds like a dream. I’m going to see if I can find the recipe. 🙂
Stephanie says
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/photos/food-network-magazines-birthday-cakes.page-8.html
Someday I’m going to make the honey almond cake. I made the chocolate caramel with and without the Orange sauce and I think it’s better with it. I thought it would be weird, but it’s not at all.
Erin says
I’ve got ELLE, Bazaar, and Glamour here right now. I’m not a fan of any of them, though Glamour is better than it was a few years ago. My neighbor was moving so she unloaded all her current within 3 month mags on me. I’m thumbing through them on and off when I’m watching the Voice or right before bed.
I prefer Instyle, Allure, Lucky, BHG, Sunset, and Food&Wine!
Elle, Bazaar, and Vouge always make me feel bad about myself and my income. The others I’ve mentioned still feature some expensive stuff but it feels more aspirational than judgemental.
Sylvia says
So many great picks! I wish there were more beauty-based magazines out there. Allure is great but I need MORE!!
Chelsea says
I get Allure, InStyle, People Style Watch, Marie Claire, Glamour, and Lucky. I also somehow started receiving Vogue (which I don’t really care for) and Martha Stewart Living (I’m not old enough for that yet!) I think Lucky was free too, and I probably won’t renew. I feel like Marie Claire and Glamour have gone downhill but I forget to unsubscribe.
Katie says
I *work* for ELLE and another big Hearst magazine (I can’t disclose lest I reveal too much of myself), receive access to a LOT of glossies, and yet, I *totally* feel you on never getting to the stack accumulating next to my bed! It’s really ironic.
I hope you had a lovely afternoon reading! (Though I’m smh that you’re reading our competitor titles, Karen!!!)
Karen says
Katie! It’s been a while since I’ve read Elle. I’ll check it out next time I’m at the bookstore. 🙂
Diana says
I used to subscribe to Glamour until 2 years ago. The fashion and beauty things it contains are affordable by fresh uni graduates like me lol.
Poo@beautyandmakeupmatters says
woo.. gurll you have subscribed to so many of them.. I just couldnt get time to read the weekly brunch I received with newspaper.. But I would love some Cosmoplitan or Elle to work on my fashion n glam skills.. 😉
Those glossy pages are just hard to resist!! ..
Marina (Makeup4all) says
I don’t even remember when was the last time I’ve bought a magazine. Probably Allure February. And I am currently reading Amelia Freer’s Eat Nourish Glow.