"Beauty magazines only make you feel ugly"?

"Beauty magazines only make you feel ugly" is a saying most of us have heard. True or not, beauty magazines is a great source of inspiration for most uf us, when it comes to fashion, health and beauty. I love getting a sneak peak into the wardrobe of true fashionistas, and to get tips about the latest trends and the newest hot brands. However, there is in my opinion very variable how good a beauty magazine actually are, and after years of trial and failure I have finally found my favourites.

My beloved Elle UK.

Elle UK is like a jar of candy every time I open it. Lots of pictures and not too many "serious" articles. Because let us be honest, we do not buy fashion magazines to read about serious stuff (if we wanted that, we would by a newspaper instead). The pictures are beautiful and in overflow, the front page is always gorgeous, and the tips you get is actually worth noticing. Elle is also the magazine that usually are the first one out with a runway edit (very important for inspiration) in addition to always being spot on with the trends.

Some may say that there is too much advertising in the magazines. My response to that is: You are missing out on the very best part of the fashion magazine experience. I always spend at least 15 minutes flipping through and studying the advertisements who appears infront of the editors letter, before I emabark on the rest. The reason? If you study the fashion pictures and campaigns released by the brands by hard, you can easily get a little bit of extra fashion pow-wow. For example, I studied the new Donna Karan New York campaign, and I noticed that the models were wearing this icy blue nail polish, together with the camel /brownish and rough clothes, it gave them quite an edge. Next time I went to "Tammy's nails" (this very cute nail saloon in Portsmouth, who gives you the best manicure for only 10 £) I asked if I could get my nails done in that icy blue shade. I turned some heads on the street, some old ladies wrinkled their noses, but I felt utterly fashionable, and a little bit daring. I almost got the same rush as when I was working my socks in sandals in Honfleur - France- and the other visitors at the resturant could'nt stop staring at my feet - and their food went cold.

So read the ads, they are not just rubbish, they are inspiration.

Elle also does great Collection issues, they cost a little more, but they look quite fancy, and you get even more gossip and glory form the catwalks.

My Norwegian favourite - Costume.

Whenever I am in Norway, my favourite is Costume. Written by fashionable women for fashionable women. They do not waste my time with too much silly stuff, and provides loads of pictures, information about where to get it and what it costs, and reports about where you can buy the best vintage, the best outlets and so on. And they stear clear of all the relationship stories/ sex tips that so many magazines turn to, just to sell a little bit more (as everybody know, put "how to get better at this and that" on the front page, and you will sell a 1000 more copies). Last time I checked Costume was all about clothes, I really,really hope they will keep it that way. If they do, they will at least keep me interested.

The Collection issue of Elle a/w 2010.

When I was little I learned that if I did not have anything nice to say, I should not say anything at all. And I honestly try to live by that rule. However, I am a girl, and everyone knows how girls can be. So here is a little bit about the lesser great things in the beauty/fashion magazines.

I was not used to this particular part of the beauty magazines from Norway, so I was quite shocked when I first realised that the last 20 pages or so in the UK fashion magazines are ads for plastic surgeons and different ways of dieting. I think that is absolutely horrendous. It is sort of like saying "OOh, look at all these gorgeous models, look at their full lips, their perfect breasts and toned abs - and then BAM! You are never going to look that way unless you suck out all your fat through a tube, inject loads of chemical substances in your body or eat nothing but water and seeds. Haha!".

That young girls feel somewhat unsufficient after reading a magazine is bad enough, hopefully they get by know how much photoshopping there actually is going on out there. But to put pages and pages of ads for plastic surgeons in magazines that are read by girls that probably are as young as 15? What kind of message is that sending? Plastic surgery is completely normal, everybody does it?

I really hope that this particular trend does not hit Norway. It is a great shame that the fashion magazines in this way displays that they care more about selling ad space, than the message they are actually sending their often young and insecure readers. Right here, I will slap my favourite, Elle UK, over the wrist and say "shame on you". ( But these kinds of ads is sadly more the norm than a rarity in the UK).

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However, keep on reading magazines, enjoy them with a Chai Latte or a steaming hot Americano, and for Christ sake, enjoy that piece of chocolate as well. Have'nt you heard that every girl should get her chocolate and coffee? Because we're worth it.