I pulled a magazine out of my mailbox the other morning. I get a lot of magazines. It seems like every family member under age 35 and over the age of 35 are sending magazine subscriptions to my freaking house. Seriously, some magazines I get twice.Β Most of them I stack in a cabinet for the day I donate them.
{As a side note, a friend of mine suggested bringing my piles of magazines to women’s abuse shelters as the women there tend to have limited movement, and often, not much in the way of entertainment. Just a kindness thought. How To Help Your Local Women’s Shelter }
So, the other day, I pull this magazine out of my mailbox.
Now, this cover made me think a few things in a very short space of time. Let’s see if your thinking was anything like mine.
- Damn this woman just stays beautiful.
- I love the title of this article.
- The end of anti-aging? This that really possible?
- Which magazine is this?
- Allure has been doing some interesting things lately. They keep getting my attention.
- I wonder if they got a new editor-in-chief or something?
And so I went and googled it. This is where the minutes of my life go, googling shit.
Turns out, although I don’t consider myself the avid fashion follower, I was right. There is a new editor-in-chief at Allure magazine.
The question of anti-aging was an interesting one, but the thing that interested me more, even more than the striking image of Helen Mirren, was that the magazine is Allure. I’ve been paying attention to them for a while now. Always it’s their covers. Something grabs me; some difference. Here are some recent examples with my points of emphasis.

Women who go about their daily lives as normal people feel the need to “put on a face” before leaving the house. Imagine a celebrity woman, high-definition cameras with mile long lenses, expensive make up artists all around, and saying, “No, I’m good. I don’t feel like wearing makeup today.” Even the best among us might be shaken. It’s not that she’s banished makeup from her life; she just doesn’t feel an obligation to wear it; she also doesn’t feel hideous without it. Who wants to walk around in a prom dress all the time? Sometimes a girl just wants to be free.

By the way, Zoe Kravitz’s face makes me want to lay down and die. I give up! I haven’t been in love with someone’s face more than hers since her mother Lisa Benet. I used to watch her mother on t.v. and dream of having that face, and now I get to be tormented all over again. I don’t know why they hate me.

This too is American beauty. America is a bit of everything, but my whole life I’ve seen one representation of what an American beauty looks like, and it was never like me. I remember a female student of mine crying when I asked why she doesn’t cover her hair. She told me that she was ashamed, but she was afraid. She was afraid that someone might hurt her if she wore it. Some people are dealing with things that we never have to consider.

This cover is by no means revolutionary, but I like that they highlighted Emma Robert’s quote. She isn’t trying to convince us that she should roll out of bed and stumble into work crusty eyed, but we can all agree that capturing photos of celebrities without makeup seems to be an Olympic sport. Or maybe it’s more a gladiatorial ring with women being the most victimized. Congrats to her for wanting to keep her head in her craft.

I don’t think I’ve ever told you all this, but the reason that I started using Pinterest some years back was because I was searching for and cutting out photos of beautiful non-white women to show my daughter who at 6 years old had already expressed a dislike of her complexion. My friend suggested that I create a board on this thing called Pinterest. I named this board Beauty Beast. Imagine, at 6 years old my daughter couldn’t express exactly why she didn’t like her complexion, only that lighter skin seemed prettier. She wanted to be my color instead of her darker self. So I made a board. And now she has a magazine too. See daughter, I’m not the only one who thinks you’re beautiful. That’s a powerful thing.
If you want to see how far Allure is willing to go to let women know that it’s okay to feel beautiful however they come, then you have to check this out. They wrote a story with portraits of women proudly bearing their pubic hair. Thank all goodness! I’ve been trying to figure out for years why pubic hair was always an acceptable part of a woman’s body until, what? The 80s or 90s. Someone please research that, but I know I shaved down there for the first time with a dry razor in my parent’s bathroom in middle school, and I unfortunately lived to tell the story. I wasn’t even having sex! Wtf? I’ll have to write that post one day. Allure also produced a video series on body image and accepting our differences here. Click the fucking link. It ain’t hard and you’ll be happy you did.
Teen Vogue is also killing the fashion magazine game with articles on healthy body image and activism. Here are some samples with very brief comments.






Here’s a podcast episode about Teen Vogue by the Stuff Mom Never Told You podcast titled How Teen Vogue Got Woke. Fyi, you should all be listening to this podcast. The link will open in a new window so do yourself a favor and click it, and after you listen and scroll through all of the insightful episode topics, come back and thank me.
Now listen, there are plenty of aspects of the beauty industry that I don’t like, but… I think some of the magazines are really trying.
I get it, you aren’t tripping over yourself to buy your daughter a fashion magazine, but I’m saying you may want to give them another look.
When everything was make up and looking younger, women had a fit. So how do we encourage and solidify change? By showing support.* Happy reading!
*This is not a sponsored post. All of the opinions and observations are my own.
So, Dear Reader, tell me what you think. Have you been noticing the changes or did they catch you off guard? Which cover or topic did you find most relatable? We’d love to hear your thoughts (yes, I speak for everyone π )
My name is Lyz-Stephanie and I want to inspire you to live a more interesting, fulfilling and beautiful life. Think of me as your well-being and happiness guide. I know that things arenβt always easy. Life doesnβt drop dreams into our laps, but every day we can do something to make our lives happier and richer, make our minds more active and engaged. Iβm on the journey. Will you join me?
If you like what youβre reading and think Iβm kind of a cool chick, please share the link. And donβt forget to find me on the other side! Instagram I Twitter I Pinterest
This is incredible! Thanks for sharing!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks so much for saying so, Liz. Thanks for reading!
LikeLiked by 1 person
First, I’m so glad you’re okay after Irma! I also wanted to let you know that I nominated you for the Liebster Award here: https://dothething.net/2017/09/12/19-earn-a-masters-degree-liebster-award-2/
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hey Liz, I appreciate it and thank you so much for the nomination π
LikeLiked by 1 person
Definitely deserved!
LikeLike
Thank you for sharing! I have noticed some of a difference, but I guess not as much as what you shared. Being the mother to a bi-racial daughter, I do find it very important to raise her being comfortable with and proud of both sides of her heritage, and am always looking for great displays of diversity like this!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Oh yes, I see you can totally relate. Biracial children often feel like they have to pick something, butt showing that diversity is normal and okay help them see that they don’t have to pick a side they can be their own mix of things. Thanks for commenting darling and adding your views. π
LikeLiked by 1 person
Love how you’re using Pinterest!
LikeLiked by 1 person
That board pulled me in and now I’m in too deep! Thanks Amy. Pinterest is the awesomest
LikeLiked by 1 person
Bless this post! Thank you for showcasing some goodness in the media (: I don’t get magazines, so usually I’m seeing these types of things in Snapchat’ discover tabs and scrolling through Facebook…but to see the bold titles here is remarkable. I love that they aren’t photoshopping/airbrushing the hell out of the models as well
LikeLiked by 1 person
To actually see pores and wrinkles on a woman’s face on the cover of a magazine is something cool to see for sure. I’m glad to hear that you found this type of post interesting to read. Sometimes I just put stuff out there not knowing what the reaction might be
LikeLiked by 1 person
As long as you’re for it, post it! This one is fantastic (:
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks for sharing another thought-provoking post. π I don’t know women’s magazines but I remember from my Cosmo girl days that it was always white women on the front, though I doubt I realised it at the time. At least, I realised they were all a certain type – blonde.
So much love for Alicia Keys and her no make up life.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I love spreading the word of good things, especially for women. I remember those good old Cosmo days. I had no business reading them as a teenager lol. Thankfully our girls now have more to choose from. Alicia Keys rocks. No blonde hair or makeup required.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Magazine covers are changing every so beautifully. Thanks for sharing, I enjoyed reading this.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks LaToya, I appreciate hearing your feedback. π Thank goodness it’s changing!
LikeLiked by 1 person
You’re welcome π
LikeLike
I love Teen Vogue! I bought a subscription for the 16 year old in my life… and somehow I always end up stealing every issue they send us and reading it myself! π
LikeLike