Pretty: The NYLON Book of Beauty

Too cool for school, NYLON magazine have just recently celebrated their 10th anniversary. So what do they do to mark this feat? Piss off some of their subscribers by informing them that they will now be receiving their beloved magazine in digital format. You can imagine that went down like a ton of bricks and rightfully so. I don't think it would take a genius to work out that if someone is committed enough to sign up for a supply of magazines then they are expecting a hard copy to be delivered through their door. NYLON execs need to get with the programme and fast before they lose all their readers. In terms of the magazine, on a stylish level it looks amazing - the layouts are fresh and so pretty but the editorial sucks. The writing is pretty bad and bland at the best of times and their title as a mag that is edgy and bit off the wall is not justified. I am sorry but I just cannot take a magazine who claims to be different from other glossies yet puts wash out Lindsay Lohan and doolittles, Paris Hilton and Nicole Ritchie on the cover seriously. Right now I would say NYLON is all style with very little substance.

On a much more positive note NYLON do produce some pretty impressive books. Recently the lovely J gifted me a copy of Pretty: The NYLON Book of Beauty. One of the attributes that die hard NYLON fans talk about when raving about the magazine is the unique way that they feature beauty products which goes far beyond applying make up. This book covers core beauty products that every lady will use at sometime in her life - iconic brands such as Maybelline mascara, Shu Uemura eye lash curlers, Revlon lipstick and many many more. As well as some tips on how to use them we are also given a bit of history of these great brands. The next section is all about the icon's whose looks have shaped each decades since the 40s. Greta Garbo, Josephine Baker, Elizabeth Taylor, Anne Bancroft, Pam Grier, Madonna, Uma Thurman et all are featured with a brief bio of their lives as well as the 'moment' that they shaped history. For Anne Bancroft it is her pressance in The Graduate and Uma Thurman her look in Pulp Fiction while women like Greta Garbo and Josephine Baker had an aesthetic influence that ran though out their career. The final section is a culmination of the basics from part one and the inspiration from part two and this is where you put your face on and do your hair. This section has samples of different make up looks and hairstyles. Pretty The NYLON Book of Beauty lives up to its billing and is as gorgeous on the inside as it is on the outside.

The book is written by NYLON beauty director, Fiorella Valdesolo, check out an interview with her here.

Pictures taken from the NYLON website.