April 12, 2011

Musings of the Day: Do You Read Magazines?

Damn, I’m trying to remember this magazine I used to read when I was in high school. YA, Y&A, something along those lines…it was one of those magazines that features the typical beauty, interview, etc…dealio and had one of those embarrassing story sections.

I believe those stories were completely made up and false. They were too damn crazy to be real. There were stories along the lines of “I was swimming at my best friend’s pool and my super cute crush was there, when I dived into the pool my tampon flew out and floated next to his head…OMGZ I was so embarrassed” or “My boyfriend and I were having a hot and heavy make out section when I suddenly farted!”

I totally wanted to write a fictional embarrassing story and have it published.

Granted, embarrassing shiz happens all the time but some of these were SUPER far out.

Which brings me to my Musings of the Day….

Do you still read magazines?

Or are you an online media whore?

Do you get the latest celeb news, beauty launches, and womanly advice from both mags, blogs, and sites?

Jump!

I can’t honestly say I’ve read a magazine in a while outside of Heavy Metal and Doctor Who Magazine both of which I read like they are the holy bible and they’ll save my soul. I have a backlog of both which dates back well into the early 70’s and 80’s, yeah, I’m a pack rat.

I was always rather big on Japanese Beauty mags as well until recently.

I will say I am jealous of magazines who have access to the latest and greatest far more advanced than we lowly bloggers do. Public Relation teams make it pretty difficult to weasel information for upcoming collections out of them but freely give it to magazines which I personally believe is kinda a dying breed.

Do you read ’em?

Depend on all your info from websites and blogs?

Do share!

About the Muse

Isabella MuseIsabella is just an average everyday geeky girl who doesn’t blend her eyeshadow correctly, wears too much blush, and hopes she never finds her holy grail products because she likes the thrill of the chase so much. Her mission is to bring you super honest reviews on makeup, skincare, fragrance and all things beauty. She’s in no way an expert on the topic and she sure as hell isn’t a super model. But she’s passionate about makeup and is seeking like-minded individuals that like pina coladas, getting caught in the rain, and ones that enjoy spending hundreds of dollars at Sephora without feeling buyer’s remorse. If you’re that person feel free to reach out and leave a comment or follow me on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Bloglovin‘.

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Comments

  • Donna

    Y&M! I think it used to be called Young & Modern, and then just Y&M, and now it probably doesn’t exist. I love Lucky magazine though. I love magazines. I can’t take the internet into the bath tub with me. OK, I guess I can, but I like magazines.

  • Tigress

    It was YM magazine, stood for Young Miss I believe. I read that too!

  • Cj

    I don’t read magazines at all. I’ll sometimes browse over them when I’m in line at a store but they always seem really dumb lol. So I’m definitely a online media whore lol, TMZ app for my celeb news, and I circle a few sites for my skincare and makeup news 🙂

  • auroragyps

    YM! That was a good magazine. Sassy, however, was the best. A lot of teen mags changed their formats to copy Sassy.

    I read several magazines. I get Lucky ( 😉 ), All You, & People Style Watch. I used to get Instyle & Allure too.

    Those are just the “girly” ones. I used to get Dreamwatch (when they were still printing it), BtVS & Angel, Realms of Fantasy off & one, & Locus. I love Locus (news magazine for sci fi, fantasy, & horror writers/readers), but it’s almost $70 a year for a subscription and I just don’t read as much as I used to. 🙁

    • auroragyps

      Actually, I think it was Young Miss originally (yes, I’m that old). They shortened it to YM some time in the early ’90s I think.

  • vonnie

    i 99% just consume blogs and online media…..my mom just bought me a subscription to Elle as a gift though, so I’ll read it…..she also had Allure for me last year, so I flipped through those sometimes.

  • lara / the glossarie.

    YM!! they used to do the “why me” embarrassing stories in the beginning – so great.

  • Ally

    Hahah I am a magazine whore and a makeup blog whore…so Im just a big ol slutbag. But yeah I still read them. I LOVE Instyle, People Style watch, Lucky, Glamour, and now that I am getting a little older (the ripe of age of almost 28) I get decorator magazines too like Martha Stewart and Southern Living. I love them. I love online media and I love things like the Kindle and Nook, but there is something awesome about being able to put in post its, take a picture to the hairdresser, hold the pages in your hand etc. I also enjoy blogs like yours because I can find out what is up and coming. The people at our Bath and Body works cant figure out why I always know what is coming out before they do. 🙂

  • Ally

    Hahaha, I forgot to say that I TOTALLY hear ya about YM and Tiger Beat hahaha I used to get them to see JTT (Jonathan Taylor Thomas, for you youngins) and I think the embarrassing stories are funnier now! Haha such as…..I was at the mall, and I saw my number one crush and didnt realize I had spinach in my teeth…then I farted.

    • the Muse

      HA ally I didn’t crush on him at all but remember him all over tiget beat ;D! LMAO exactly those are exactly the dumb stories they featured LOVE IT!

  • Bridget

    Hey Muse, I think the mag you are thinking of was YM? I am the biggest mag junkie. I stalk the newstands the day they come out, also now I get about 6 different ones that come to my house. I pretty much get them for the beauty and fashion but it is entertaining to read the funny advise in some of them. I love blogs(yours #1) because you get to see new stuff everyday and there is always something to read unlike mags where its only once a month or so. Although there is something special and exciting about getting a mag and flipping through it. I guess Im a blog and mag junkie. 🙂

  • Liz!

    I love my websites and blogs, but I’m still pretty diehard about reading Allure magazine. I pretty much already know most of the info from the internetz, but I find it relaxing 🙂

    Was that magazine YM? It stood for “Young & Modern”, and then changed to “Your Magazine”, and then it like died or something. I loved that magazine! And I totally remember the embarassing moments stories.

  • becca

    Are you thinking of YM? I think it stood for young miss for a long time, before rebranding itself as young & modern. I used to read that in high school, although old-school Sassy was always my favourite! I used to read tooonnnnnnnnns of magazines… it’s only recently that I’ve stopped wasting money on them, because the information I got from them was always at least a month behind in comparison to the blogosphere. I trust bloggers more than I trust editors, anyway.

  • Lauren

    Was the magazine Y&M (Young and Modern)? I remember that from the 90s 🙂

  • Carrie

    I think you’e thinking of YM magazine! I got that too back in the day along with Seventeen haha. I remember those “embarassing stories!” These days I read Glamour, Allure, Elle and Entertainment Weekly, and of course Musings. =)

  • Felicia

    I read magazines! I love them! I prefer them to looking at things online because they often have closeups of products and I can stare at them and refer back to images without using electricity!

    I subscribe to Elle, Harper’s Bazaar, and recently Allure because the beauty section of Elle and Bazaar is way too skimpy for me.

    On the other hand, I love reading blogs, like yours, for the reliable reviews and information. Especially in the beauty section of magazines, how do I know if a certain product was sponsored to be featured? I also love blogs for featuring products from other countries. That’s how I found out about BB creams!

  • Misato-san

    websites and blogs are my feeding stuff. Basically I quite like looking for looks but I prefer to spend my money on stuff to create looks. Plus I think you can get inspiration from almost everything.
    (I recently published a look on my blog based on a Japanese idol XDDD)

  • Alea

    Could you be thinking of YM? I remember reading that as a teen! I’ve just recently gotten back into girly magazines, the last decade I was more into Entertainment and Design mags!

  • Jae

    Was the magazine YM? If so, I read that magazine all the time when I was younger. I also read Sassy in the 80s! Oh, Sassy. How I miss you.

    Now I stick to Japanese magazines like Biteki, Voce, Egg, and Popteen (even though I’m in my 30s, I still love ‘younger’ magazines!)

    • the Muse

      Yes Jae! That’s the one ;-D I remember Sassy ha! I used to “read” alot of Japanese mags too but I’m curbed my habit alot particularly b/c I’d keep them and end up with stock piles of Korean and Japanese mags on the bottom of my closet lol!

  • Ryou

    I used to read a lot of Japanese magazines, like Kera and Gothic & Lolita Bible. Nowadays, not so much, but I still do have a soft spot for kimono magazines. =D

    • the Muse

      me too ryou, for some reason I simply stopped…perhaps because it was a bit repetitious

  • Brittany

    Yes, I still read magazines occasionally 🙂 Although, many of of the features are often repeated and it can get old sometimes. I just don’t have the patience to read “23409734 ways to Get Him To Like You!” Haha, but I always look forward to the makeup and hair spreads 😀

    And Muse…are you talking about YM magazine by any chance?

    • the Muse

      YES brittany ;-D that’s the one! and yeah, I get tired of those too ugh repeat!

  • Marasy

    I do still read magazines, just because it’s nice to have something you can hold in your hands sometimes. And it has pretty glossy pictures. 🙂 But for useful beauty reviews and upcoming products, I definitely rely on blogs and Make Up Alley. I also read Gothic Beauty but really that is purely an inspirational magazine, not a whole lot of useful information there either.

    • the Muse

      Marsay, just like books, I feel the same way sometimes it’s nice to just have it your hands and smell the copy paper or that new book smell ;-D I love my kindle, ipad, etc..but nothing like holding it in your hands ;D!

  • badrockandroll

    YM – the newer hipper name for the magazine that took me through my teens (I’m older than you – it was called Young Miss for us oldies.

  • Stephanie

    Was it YM magazine? I used to read that one. I mainly read magazines at the gym to keep me preoccupied while working out haha, it’s the best 😉

  • Lindsay

    The only magazine I read are Cosmo, it’s like my guilty pleasure that I started buying at 14 and felt like such a badass for reading a sex magazine. I also read People because my mom buys it every week so I read it while I’m over at her house on the weekends. And Glamour. Although I only get it a few times a year.

    • Lindsay

      Did I say Glamour? I totally ment Allure! My pregnancy mind is getting the best of me, this baby be eating my brain!

      • the Muse

        LMAO Lindsay! OMG loved the comment about the baby eating your brain HAHA when are you due?!

  • thecandiedmango

    I avoid magazines like they’re communicable diseases. There’s too much gossip and a heavy focus on CHANGING who you are rather than emphasizing your assets. I rely very heavily on blogs. Sometimes I’ll watch Pixiwoo on Youtube, but that’s about it.

  • Jenn

    I believe the magazine was YM and the embarrassing stories were always my favorite part.

  • Sara

    I like the tactile pleasure of having a magazine to flip through while enjoying coffee outside on a nice day…..but I don’t actually have many magazines and *hate* those shitty ones with the recycled stories and “tips” (like Cosmo). Currently I’m only subscribed to two magazines (Fight! and AllYou), which is two more than I’ve had in the last ten years.

    Magazines *are* a dying breed (as you said), but what makes me sad is the dying breed of good writers and real journalists. I’m sick of fluff and reading the same tired story five times full of plot holes and spelling errors.

    Lol – those “embarrassing story” sections are the same now as they were twenty years ago! Just the way they’re written has changed. Either we’re all out of embarrassment, or nobody sends anything new in anymore.

    • the Muse

      ha sara sorry I am VERY much guilty of spelling errors my dear girl ;-D my hands type alot faster than my brain thinks sometimes ;-D AGREED a little more sexy and racy now though ;D!

      • Sara

        Oh yeah, me too! I was confessing to the boy the other day that I don’t put any effort in to proper grammar, fixing typos, etc… when commenting on blog posts (or really, in my emails either). He seemed to think I should try harder. I think since I’m not actually writing mass-read blogs that it’s ok my stuff is a little messy. :p

        Your typos are never glaring, Muse! Everything is always well written and I love the personality that flows through the screen when reading your posts. It’s as if we’re all having a conversation instead of posts being chucked out like ads (I’ve noticed several bloggers just seem to post a photo of a product in its packing without a review, swatch, or really anything beyond the photo and where to buy…shameful really to still call it a blog at that point). 🙂

        • the Muse

          hey sara sorry totes delayed reply girl! apologies. Same here…I’m a total lazy speller ;-D! HA everyone says the same ’bout me..I really should so the site is more professional but hey those little mistakes make me the Muse hehe ;-D! aw shucks you’re way kind girl!!!!!!!!!! ;-D I’m glad you feel that way as that was how I wanted it when I started this blog, like having a chat between friends!!!!!!!!!!!! that’s a real shame, stock images are awesome but photos are more personal!

          Love ya lots hun!

  • Deb

    I still read magazines AND am also an online media whore.

    I am so old school in that I like the glossy pages and even like to look at the ads (which I HATE on the internet). I especially like mags around the fall and holidays. And of course, I keep them in my bathroom. However, as far as beauty articles go– I just always feel as if the mag editors are just promoting advertisers. It’s hard to believe them. Its almost comical to read what makeup the cover model is “‘supposedly” wearing (usually Cover Girl, a main advertiser– puleze!).

    I way more rely on my Muse.

    Love ya!

    • the Muse

      aw shucks thanks deb and agreed always so disappointing when they have some super amazing look on a celeb and proceed to say she’s wearing L’Oreal or Covergirl! LOL! mixed in with mac and guerlain ya think? ;D!

  • MandyB

    Haha! Oh my goodness….was it YM? Me and my friends used to read that back in the day and the embarrassing stories were totally made up and just that rediculous! I don’t really read mags anymore, but came across an issue of nylon last month and enjoyed it so I ordered myself a subscription.

    • the Muse

      mandy I used to read nylon alot ;-D great mag. I ended my subscription and just read it online now…kinda miss flipping through it though.

      And YES! totally made up ;-D some of the stories were borderline absurd!

  • dina

    LOVE magazines, for as long as i can remember too. we i was younger i even took them out of the library to supplement my many @ home *blushing* & i believe you are referring to ye old YM magazine 😉 {Young & Modern i believe}

    • dina

      p.s. seriously we must ‘ve passed each other some day in the past
      😛 perusing the bonne bell @ cvs maybe

  • Dana

    You’re thinking of YM magazine. I knew what you were talking about when I read this post earlier and when I came back it just hit me. I read that too. My older sister had all those teen magazines, and thats how I got into make up.

  • Nicky

    I read this one magazine called Coup de Pouce, which is french canadian
    and is mostly about housewife stuff, lots of great recipes and house tips. I read over 15 beauty blogs and spend my days off on google reader and youtube where my favourite bloggers post awesome vids.

  • Nalini

    I remember that magazine! The embarrassing moments were sooo made up! I remember one where the opened her front door with her pants down, thinking it was her sister but it was her crush. Who does that???? 🙂

  • Lorraine ER

    I think that was YM- it stood for Young & Modern, lol. I used to read it too. I am a magazine junkie and I love the beauty sections! Allure, Nylon, Glamour, Vanity Fair, and sometimes Marie Claire although MC-their articles rub me the wrong way sometimes.
    I also love Rolling Stone, Spin, Gothic Beauty, and Bound by Ink. I pick up Details and random tattoo or music mags sometimes as well. I love flipping through a magazine while listening to music, and I love getting inspiration from the styling and makeup- I cut things out and save them!

    • the Muse

      lorraine ;-D that’s inspirational ;-D! Love that you save clips!

  • Fembot

    YM (Young & Modern) Magazine??? I used to love that one! I’d always steal it from my older sister and dream about growing up. That was so long ago.

    • the Muse

      ha fembot me and my sis used to read it together and piss over the crazy stories :D!

  • Allie

    Are you thinking of YM? I used to read that all the time! At the moment, I mostly just read magazines about crafts and beading–but occasionally I will check out a Cosmo when I’m in the mood for some questionable advice.

  • Melissa

    was it YM magazine young modern? that rings a bell. Anyways. I do like lucky magazine, new beauty magazine and a few art/hobby mags. I also like gossip rags like tabloids. I typically only get magazines when I’m gonna be waiting a while somewhere or travelling. I do subscribe to a couple because they were cheaper than buying the news stand.

  • Phyrra

    I’m definitely an online media whore 😛 I don’t really read magazines anymore.

  • Jessica

    I miss YM. I miss Cosmogorl even though I’m way over their age demographic.
    I subscribe to a few different magazines only because I get them dirt cheap through my work.
    I did an internship for a teen magazine ages ago, and those stories are somewhat true. People would send them in, and they’d be embellished to be more outrageous.
    We were all convinced the already outrageous ones were either made up, or embellished to be outrageous so it would get printed.

  • Elle

    Still love magazines but im interested in print and design hence it’s natural.

    But I will say, when I get on board with buying an ipad I think paper magazines will be history for me (e-copy please – save trees!)

  • Tigress

    I wouldn’t buy gossip mags or read gossip websites if it wasn’t for my undying love for Angelina Joile (huge fan since 1995). I remember when hardly anyone knew who she was then, around 2000 it was like Bam! and then she was everywhere. I’ll pretty much buy any mag she graces the cover of like Vogue, Vanity Fair, etc and only gossip mags if there are lots of photos of her. The stories mean nothing to me.

    I recently subscribed to Allure again after many years. It’s my favorite because it’s an actual beauty mag, there’s no sex quizzes or crap like that.

    I will also buy anything that Green Day or Rise Against are on the cover of, my two all time favorite bands. I have every single Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel magazine except for just a few issues (hello, eBay!). I have too many flippin magazines in my life!

  • Christine

    I love Japanese fashion mags too, they come with the best freebies. Got the cutest betsey johnson makeup bag from Sweet last year, and a little floral tote I’m using for my lunch bag more recently. Truthfully, I wait for the good freebies to buy them. 🙂

    • the Muse

      AGREED Christine ;-D I love for the totes, postcards, and makeup bags hahaha!

  • katrosado

    Yes I read mags still as well as follow a list of blogs. At home we get Vogue, Mature, Lucky and one other I can’t remember (I have 2 teen girls still at home). The blogs I read aren’t only makeup but include fashion and books…etc.

  • Nunuiviet

    I used to read so many magazines in my teens years, wanted to keep updating about latest beauty news , fashion or celebs gossip! Now I rarely touch those only when I’m in a book shop or a waiting room in a clinic or whatever… Plus with new technology such as Internet, there’s no need to buy anymore, so it’s good to save money, there’s e -magazine to download at such a cheap prices and so many free webs about celebrities gossip and beauty blogs now!

  • JoElla

    I read YM and Seventeen when I was a girl, and I used to sneek my Mom’s Cosmo back in the day! That was very interesting reading for a 14 year old! LOL

    I read some online, but I still subscribe to a lot of magazines. I have been able to score some of my favorites dirt cheap, and take advantage of the ‘get 2 years for the price of one’ sales. Amazon has really great sales sometimes.

    I love to read, and life is so crazy busy right now, I have a hard time picking up a book. Magazines lets you ‘read’ and finish a story or an article in little clusters of time you may find.

    Plus I can donate my older issues to my local library, which they sell for a quarter to others who want to read them. Or I bring a few to my YMCA for others to read.

    Now for the embarrassing moments.. are you guys getting some of them confused with Redbook? I don’t remember YM being so racy! But then again I am a dinasor around here.. and most of the beauty ideas were squishing berries for blush and rubbing dirt on our eyelids for color 😉

    • the Muse

      no way Jo! YM was so def racy ;-D they had some stupid stuff in those embarrassing sections :D!

  • sara

    I read every fashion/beauty/womens interest magazine on the shelf! Always old school, no E mags for me 🙂

  • KristyQ

    Oh, God…YM. LOL @ your tampon story example! I’d totally forgotten about that mag! I used to read it religiously, but it always annoyed me to no end. The embarrassing story and “Ask YM” sections were the worst – “So……my best friend is like, always hitting on my boyfriend. I asked her to stop, but she says she’s just flirting – what do I do??”

    • the Muse

      LMAO Kristy! OMG the ask YM section was equally bad ;-D totallyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy lame-ass! ;-D but you know that tampon story totally appeared in that magazine somewhere LOL

      • the Muse

        ps or ones like “I sneezed and let loose a fart while my date was holding my hand”

  • Jessica

    As a former intern I can say you’re all correct.
    Young Miss was shortened to YM
    Then to modernize it, YM then stood for Young & Modern
    In it’s later years (Early 2000’s) it was again changed and stood for Your Magazine.
    In retrospect, I’m sad it folded because I felt like it filled a void the other teen magazines didn’t fill. Sort of like Sassy. Sassy filled the void for the girls who weren’t interested in cheerleading and baking cookies.

  • Erin

    Guilty as charged for reading magazines. I subscribe to Vogue, In Style, Lucky, Cosmo, Allure, and Glamour. I read all types of blogs right along with them on a daily basis. I look to both sources for beauty news and products and for inspiration and products to weite about in my own blog. Often, I wish I was a beauty editor and had access to their beauty closets.

  • Liz

    I can’t give up either the mags or the blogs. I just wish there was more time in the day! I cut back my subscriptions this year, now it’s just Allure, Marie Claire, Cosmo, Wired, and Sunset. No more celebrity rags, lol! The blogs are more niche and have betterr practical info like swatches. Also, where else am I going to see Asian skin care reviews? Vogue? No chance!

    • the Muse

      ha liz ;-D true story, you def won’t get Asian skincare in Vogue :D!

  • ISABELLA

    have loved magazines since I was a kid then it was comcs, now Allure, vogue, Instyle, People Style WAtch,
    Used to read the cooking and decorating ones but not so much anymore, Just read Elle on my iPad and that was really fun, loving the ability to zoom in on the page which as I get older is much appreciated; although the pricing isnt

  • Heather

    YM (Young Miss) was the best…there was another that dealt in music (forget the name) but I drove my mom crazy with the pinups of christian slater / tom cruise/ kevin costner / and hair bands like nelson twins – poison – cinderella …all over my walls 🙂 of course this is back in the days when they were all still “young” and cute lol guess my age is showing….
    Instyle / cosmo/ glamour / Allure are my currents…