I’ve just finished reading the book Free Gift With Purchase, My Improbable Career in Magazines and Makeup. Written by Jean Godfrey-June, the beauty director of Lucky magazine, it’s witty and hilarious and the first book I had read from beginning till end within the span of less than one week in a long time.
The book follows Jean’s stay at Elle and then eventually Lucky. My favourite parts of the book, other than her interesting beauty tips (“Any two random lipsticks you’ve ever bought – any – when combined, will always be flattering, no matter what your skin tone.”), are her descriptions of working in both magazines.
The latter, as any Lucky fan would imagine, is as how the readers perceive it to be. Everyone gets along with everyone (although I’m still sure there will be a few who don’t) and how they want to make the magazine as relative as possible. Nothing too high fashion and fantasy-like. It’s all about your best girl pal sharing with you the best fashion tips she has.
Meanwhile, Elle was a lot more dishy. The international creative director and photographer Gilles Bensimon, though Jean never named him outright, was a diva and playboy as rumours have it. It’s all a power play and as we’d all imagined, they and Vogue are arch rivals. And most of the staff there, no matter how loved you were, got fired eventually.
And now that I’ve read about current fashion director Nina Garcia’s recent departure from Elle, it was true that it’s a power play from the two current big wigs at the magazine too!
Maybe it’s just my interest in beauty writing and fascination with the American publishing houses and publications, Free Gift With Purchase really offered an insight!
