My Favorite Magazines

When I was younger, I remember wanting Seventeen but only being allowed American Girl. These days, I take a lot of care in the types of things I read and watch, because I know that it shapes my thoughts and perspectives. I have a lot of favorite sites, blogs and books, but I also appreciate a good magazine. One of my favorite ways to spend a weekend morning is flipping through new issues.

I used to only buy them when I was getting on a plane or sometimes for beach trips. After I started blogging, I found that I was pulling a lot of inspiration for posts from magazines and buying more and more of them. Here are my favorite magazines and a little about what I like about them:

Allure/Glamour: This one’s all about beauty, so of course it’s one of my favorites. I flip through and find out about new products that are coming out, like the new waterproof version of my favorite mascara from Too Faced. I especially loved the cover pictured above and bought purple eyeliner to copy Salma’s makeup look. Glamour’s similar to Allure, but covering a more wide range of topics. I loved this article they did on confidence with Mindy Kaling.

Better Homes and Gardens/Good Housekeeping:

O: I love Oprah’s Favorite Things and she has a really great set of contributors. Everything is positive and helpful.

Real Simple: I like that the tips and shopping suggestions are always attainable. There are recipes too, but I skip over those and look for home decor, fashion and beauty. In the latest issue, I loved the dresses they picked out for spring. The blush sheath I just bought from Ann Taylor was featured. It’s very cool to see things you have in your closet in a magazine.

Richmond Magazine/R Home: My favorite part about these is seeing my friends and people I admire featured in the content.  I met Carey of Corks and Caftans through work and it was very cool to see her feature in their BVLD insert.

I’m also a huge, huge fan of Young House Love. I first heard about them when they spoke at an AIGA Conference and was so absorbed in their story about leaving their careers in advertising  in New York and building a business together here in Richmond. I even got a photo with them that night. R Home featured them and their new book (I bought one one but two copies – I guess I thought I needed a backup?) a few months back.

My friend Olivia (@lovebrooksy) curated an art deco piece for a summer issue.

And my friend and fellow Elements Beauty Blogger Caroline of Sweet Caroline RVA writes for their bridal issues.

Shape/Women’s Health: WH is an interesting one. They cover fitness and recipes, obviously, but also mix in some fashion and beauty. I don’t subscribe to Shape but I pick it up at the grocery store when the cover looks interesting. They have great features on workout clothes that have introduced me to some new brands. How fun is this bikini from a summer issue?

I try to get my magazines through Amazon so I can manage all of the subscriptions in one place. For a few of them, I’m also subscribed to the digital versions, which I really enjoy. I get an email when the new issue comes out and download it to my iPad. When you read the issue through the Newsstand app, the formatting is a little different and more interactive than print, which I like. A lot of times you can also click through directly to buy what you’re reading about.

Which magazines are your favorite?

PS: The best part of magazines are OBVIOUSLY the free sample/perfume inserts, am I right?