Allure Magazine 1999-2000

As Allure Magazine entered the new millennium, the covers became increasingly celebrity oriented. In March 1999 Angelina Jolie graced the “Special Issue Allure Goes Hollywood” followed by Heather Graham on the May 2000 issue that was titled “Special Nude Issue.” Over the course of a year, the magazine changed dramatically. On the Angelina cover “Oscar Hoopla: Dressing Gwyneth, Winona, Meg, Cameron,” “8 New Actresses Hit the Big Time,” “In Love With Audrey Hepburn: Rare Photos” and “Holy Moly It’s Angelina Jolie” are the major headlines. On May 2000 cover “Dare to Bare! 10 Pages on Looking Better Naked Plus: Some Celebrities Show Some Skin,” “Self-Tanner 101 A No-Sun, No-Streak Tan. No Kidding,” and “Before-and-After Lipo Pictures and Other Surgery Shockers” display just how far a beauty magazine has to go to maintain its relevance.

The March 1999 cover obviously relies on celebrity, both on the cover and on the information it promises inside. Not only is the magazine mentioning and featuring the cover celebrity but also references four other Hollywood celebrities. Additionally, the magazine addresses the fact that it has access to 8 new actresses who are becoming ‘big.’ Looking at the magazine in a modern historical context, this was also around the time when gossip magazines began to rampantly crop up. It seems as though beginning in the last year of the decade Allure found a way to sell their beauty angel through celebrity. Now its not about appearing as beautiful as you can be, but to appear as beautiful as celebrities, through Allure’s trademark tips, tricks, and secrets. Allure also draws on old Hollywood glamour, as referenced by Audrey Hepburn on the cover. However, there is no mention to beauty of any kind, but the magazine makes sure to highlight the idea of ‘rare photos’ to rival other magazines that have exclusive access to Hollywood.

From a visual standpoint, this is one of the first Allure covers to display an unambiguous background. It is clear that Angelina Jolie is standing on a beach. The introduction of an exotic locale is most likely a result of the pressure to compete with other leading magazines that always shoot in exotic location. In 2000, without a celebrity and a desirable backdrop, Allure’s niche in beauty reporting would be obsolete.

For the May 2000 “Nude Issue,” the entire cover is based on many facets of nudity and how it is related to beauty. First, Allure makes sure the reader knows that she does not naturally look good naked, but there is hope because there are 10 pages devoted to teaching her how to look better. Also, the magazine promises to throw in some celebrities showing skin because as mentioned before Allure’s new tactic is to make readers not only want to be more beautiful but to emulate celebrities as well. In terms of self-tanning, the magazine asserts that one must be educated (self-tanner 101) before applying it. Moreover, the magazine also tells the reader that what they have been doing prior to reading the new issue is wrong. By 2000, Allure recognized the hazards of artificially tanning, so to be both streaky from the wrong lotion and tanned from tanning beds are mistakes that an uneducated person would make. The magazine also references plastic surgery and uses the term “shockers” when describing the ‘before and after.’ Allure cleverly does not distinguish what will be shocking. It could be the amazing, dramatic results, or it could be photos of life-threatening complications. The reader must purchase the magazine to find out. Also, the mere fact that liposuction or ‘lipo’ is mentioned on the cover speaks the idea that procedures that were once exclusively available to the rich and famous are now available to the public, and can be taken lightly as noted by the cutesy abbreviation, ‘lipo.’