Magazine Review: Elle July 2010 - Rihanna

This issue is all inspired by musicans. Unfortunately for me, thats not something that appeals to me at all. I can appreciate fashion & beauty trends started by influential people in the music industry but as a theme, it leaves me feeling very... eh.
The only notes I ended up making were about Beauty & the Articles.
For Beauty, they had a short writeup on the popularity of blue eyeshadow (not 80s baby blue but bright teals, turquoises, etc), the Beauty Insider column was on Beyonce (guess she does her own makeup quite frequently), how long bangs (ala Zooey Dechanel) are the rock n roll hairstyle of choice & several hit musicians' beauty picks.
In Articles, Afternoon Delight (about sex hotels) & Turn On, Tune In & Drop Out (tv addiction) both stood out.
Again all of the Fashion articles/photo spreads were music inspired & themed.
Overall, it was a good issue but if you are very inspired by music, it might be a must-get.

Magazine Review: Women's Health July/August 2010 - Ashley Greene

I can't wait until I can actually start working out again. I doubt I'll stick with it long since I tend to be lazy but at least I can try. lol
Let's start with the Workouts in this issue. They have a plyometric (jumping/quick movements) workout, Master That Move: Chin Up, the 15 Minute Workout: Get Hot Legs & Reshape Your Body in Record Time (requires resistance band, stability ball, dumbbells & body bar).
For Food, Giada has a few light summer dessert recipes & there are several summer cocktail recipes along w/10 Things You Can Do with a Tomato (stuffed, granita, etc).
In the Articles, they have a page on popular supplements & how to decide if you need to take it, Label Fables (serving size misconceptions), Dry Your Eyes, Guys!, Slow Down for Hotter Sex, Escape Any Sticky Situation (taken from book by Jane Buckingham), Survive Your Doctor (how busy doctors might overlook serious concerns since women in mid 20-30s aren't a high-risk group) & Is Fidelity Obsolete?
In Beauty & Fashion, they have a page on products to even your skintone, several twisted & braided hairstyles tot ry & fashion bloggers wearing white buttondown shirts their way.

Overall, I'm on the fence about this issue. None of the workouts stood out to me (I prefer to not have to buy a lot of equiptment & I'm in a 2nd floor apt so I can't really jump around while I workout) but I did like the Twisted Sisters hair article, Label Fables & Is Fidelity Obsolete?

Magazine Review: InStyle July 2010 - Cameron Diaz

Not as good as I have come to expect from InStyle but I guess its still worth getting. The highlights:
Fashion - Her 10 Best Ever! Megan Fox, Man of Style Stephen Moyer, cute random pieces & looks
Beauty - Heat & Humidity-proof makeup, Hot & Not Bothered(summer beauty issues like sand sticking to sunscreened skin, blotchy self-tanner, etc)
Other - 101 Reasons to Smile This Summer (wedges, teal eyeshadow/liner, the World Cup, 3 cocktail recipes, Angelina Jolie in Salt, bright lipgloss, etc) & Summer Party ice cream (twists on homemade ice cream sandwiches, gourmet sundaes).

Magazine Review: Self July 2010 - Anna Paquin

I'm surprised Anna Paquin hasn't been on more magazine covers. This is the 3rd season of True Blood & its quite a popular show. Her interview was interesting. She comes across as down to earth as you think she would be.
For other Articles, they have Steal His Mojo (men's attitudes towards sex, like expecting to have an O every time & getting busy even when pissed off) & Who Controls Childbirth? (talking about one women's bad hospital experience & how she's looking for alternatives for when she has her next baby).
The only two things worth mentioning for Beauty were instructions on how to do a fishtail braid & nailpolish for your star sign (I'm Taurus & they suggested a red).
For Workouts, the pullout cards were for a beach volleyball inspired with plyometric moves. Also Bikini-Ready Now (w/Vanessa Minnillo) which focused on cardio->strength->abs.
There was also the Self Healthy Food Awards. Even though I normally love those kind of articles I didn't find a single item to check out. ???

Pretty boring issue overall

Magazine Review: Allure July 2010 - Diane Kruger

Two thoughts: 1, this issue is really thin (only 120 pgs). 2, YAY finally someone *different* on a magazine cover. So many magazines just recycled the same old people. Gets boring.
I've really been wanting to see some great summer beauty ideas. Unfortunately I didn't get much from here either. They did have an article titled Summer of Sexy but the only makeup idea was to do a smoky eye with copper instead of black. Other topics were How to Flirt &, Hot Hair (loose waves), etc. Dick Page's column was about how to lighten up your makeup (formulas) for summer, switching to lip pencil & cream products, etc. Also an article titled Shiny, Happy People, about how to get that celeb body glow.
For other Articles there was Forbidden Fruits ( about developing a sense of style in a restricted religious environment), Super Ego (39 tips for projecting confidence) & Deadline Diet (diet & exercise tips for losing weight & toning if you have 10 days, 4-6 weeks or 4-6 months). The Insider's Guide included some different things this time. Stuff like mixed drinks that start with vodka & lemons, How to Bodysurf, but also Bella's (Twilight) Beauty Secrets.

Overall, it was ok. I read through it pretty fast. Not a must-buy, IMO

Magazine Review: Glamour July 2010 - Jessica Biel

Budget issues seem to be popular this month (Lucky did one as well). I do appreciate the effort since I love low-priced finds.
The Fashion topics covered in this issue are Florals for under $50, another fashion spread with everything under $50 (& beauty under $25) & dresses for under $100. They also had a summer fashion Dos & Don't pictorial.
The Beauty topics were very lacking. They had 8 Glam Ideas for Your Hair, but none of the ideas felt very new. And a lol - one of the beauty Q's was how to wear a smoky eye without looking like an alien, but the celeb examples of how to do the look in a non-alien way looked very alien.
They have an Miniskirt Workout that looked like slight variations on popular moves (like a squat but w/a heel lift, etc).
For Articles, the topics covered were 5 Lessons I Learned from the Wrong Guy, The Hardest Words for a Guy to Say & The New Sexxed Up Office.

Overall, the issue was very eh. So far so many summer issues have been very disappointing.

Magazine Review: Cosmo July 2010 - Shakira

I had really been hoping for more summer beauty articles, etc, but every magazine has been letting me down. Maybe Allure will save the day....
Not too much to mention about any section. For Articles, there is How to Break a Toxic Love Pattern, Why More Girls are Kissing Girls & Fascinating Info ABout You (random tidbits of info. Interesting but for me, not really accurate).
Beauty, an article about how to deal with summer hair problems (frizz, limpness), What Guys Really Love About Your Looks (hair up vs down, lip color) & The Sexiest Way to Glow (self-tanners).
Very little for Fashion, just how to wear sundresses for work & play.
I'd skip this issue unless you really need the sex tips. lol

Magazine Review: Lucky July 2010 - Milla Jovovich

Overall this issue was not that exciting. Although I did like that every item featured & on the models was less than $100. That definitely made me look closer at everything, since its more likely to be something I could afford.
The Under $25 Beauty section wasn't too great. How often do they have beauty items over $25 anyway? Plus, considering it was suppose to be a budget issue, they didn't have as many drugstore items as I would've liked.

Magazine Review: Marie Claire July 2010 - Taylor Swift

I first read through this when it was 100 degrees outside & about 85 inside. The last thing I wanted to think about was heavy clothes so I skipped the fashion sections in favor of the beauty & articles. I know why magazines talk about fall so early, since the fall designer runway collections came out awhile ago but in this heat I imagine the reader who wants to think about boots & camel coats might be few & far between.
Starting with the Beauty articles, they have an article on The Pure Cure (things like acupuncture, charcoal therapy, ayurveda, etc), Full Spectrum (summer trends for your skintone), Master Class: The Blowout & Slimming with Self-Tanner.
The most interesting article to me was the one by Lori Gottlieb (author of Marry Him) about female friends & how they can be fake & possibly harmful. Other noteable articles were The Savy Girl's Guide to Contraception & How to Throw a Party in the Great Outdoors (5 pgs of tips). In the Love/Sex section the topics included what cities have more single men, japanese women who pay escorts to hit on their husbands so they getting bigger divorce settlements & a girl who gave up sex for a year. Also a mention of YouTube vloggers.
When I finally cooled off enough to look at the fashion pages, there were some decent mentions. Instant Classic: Plaid, Fashion Resume: Erin Wasson, American Standards (the new classics, which include camel coats, leather skirts & riding pants), Dress Code (real women & their wardrobe secrets), Designer Dossier: Patrick Robinson, an article about Project Runway winner Seth Aaron & the Big Girl/Skinny World column was about dressing for the wedding season. Also in the fashion photo spreads I noticed a gorgeous black model, Fatima Siad, apparently a former ANTM contestant.

NOTE: I wrote a full page of notes on this issue, which I haven't done in awhile. Think it might be worth getting.

Magazine Review: Harper's Bazaar June/July 2010 - Katherine Heigl

What stood out most about this issue was all of the ladylike fall fashion. Things like cat-eye sunglasses, kitten heels & structured skin bags. Felt quite inspiring. Even the celebrity photoshoots had a very demure, ladylike feel. For other fashion articles, they had SUmming up the (fall) Season, the Runway Report (lots of camel/gray, the new bohemian, opulence, 90s minimalism, cozy chic, the great outdoors, etc) & Roberto Cavalli's Fashion Circus.
In Beauty, the only noteable thing was (Fall's) Best Beauty, Guide to the Season's Makeup, Hair & Skin. Looks included groomed brows, chic polish (greige - still!) & touseled locks.
For Articles, there was Gloria Allred's Fighting Spirit (lawyer who represents the women involved in the Tiger Woods, Jesse James scandals & an article on Bristol Palin (when I saw that I almost threw the magazine out right then. Bazaar does seem to like to feature controversial people - thinking of the Miley & Paris and Nicole covers).

Overall, quite inspiring if you want to think about fall already.

Magazine Review: People StyleWatch June/July 2010 - Lauren Conrad

Not a lot of notes for this issue. Lots of cute pieces scattered throughout the issue. Some standouts include The Best SHorts for Your Body, Summer Work Looks & 6 pgs of sunglasses.

I always think of this as a must-buy but its not quite as thrilling this month