Media Studies Portfolio: And the research continues...

Hello again! I'm back with more research for my magazine, this time analyzing the beauty genre! Right now I'm still leaning towards making a travel magazine, but I'm still keeping my options open in case my team members recommend me something or I find something that I really like!
Hope you enjoy my research for beauty magazines:

1. Genre:

a. Beauty Magazines

2. Genre Conventions–Content

a. Most beauty magazines are combined with fashion, like popular magazines Elle and Vogue.

b. Beauty magazines provide information for women to look their best and suggestions for their overall well-being.

c. The articles contained can give suggestions on what is “in style” that season, what products celebrities are wearing or using, and possible relationship advice.

d. Additional topics covered in beauty magazines are recommended make-up products and make-up tutorials.

e. Advertisements in beauty magazines are on almost every other page and are all related to beauty products such as perfume and make-up.

f. The longest article in the magazine is generally about the person on the front cover of this publication and is usually located near the end of the magazine. This feature usually starts with a short biography about the person, usually a famous celebrity, and continues with an interview of the person.

g. The pictures utilized in the magazine are normally close-up shots or extreme close up shots in order to give a detailed view of the model and the product she/he is wearing. In the case of the close-ups used for the interviewed celebrity, the pictures are used to establish a closer intimacy and vulnerability, so building a connection to the audience.

3. Genre conventions – production techniques

a. The backgrounds of the layouts are frequently white in order to make the products and pictures displayed stand out.

b. The layouts are either a large picture or a collage of the product or model with text in between.

c. The arrangements of the pages frequently include swatches of make-up products alongside the name of the product in order to show the reader the pigmentation or texture of a specific make-up merchandise.

d. Most of the fonts are either bold, large serif fonts for the titles and body. In addition, many of the fonts used are curvy and cursive to give off a feminine feel, since this is the target demographic: women.

e. The most used colors in the front covers are pink, red, and white.

f. The body text is usually displayed in columns, leaving gaps to be filled with pictures and swatches.

g. The target audience of beauty magazines are usually women ages 16 to 35 since this is usually when women start to become interested in beauty products and when they are most in need of them.

h. Swatches and pictures are usually accompanied by a caption including the name and price of the product being advertised/recommended.

i. Magazines are mostly distributed not by purchase in a store, but by mailing subscriptions, mailing them to the readers’ houses.

4. Film/magazine sample #1 – include analysis of how this magazine embodies your genre

The magazine Allure magazine embodies the beauty magazine genre because based on the front cover, it provides recommendations for make-up products which I found was one of the most common beauty contents in a beauty magazine. In addition, another text on the cover includes, "Behind the Scenes with a Skin Doctor: And Her 15 New Rules", showing another piece of content that is regularly displayed in beauty magazines: recommendations for women's wellbeing and ways for women to look and feel their best.

Like I found in my research, this beauty magazine uses feminine colors such as pink and white, depicting another reason why this magazine is a great embodiment of the beauty magazine genre.

The picture shown on the cover is a mid-shot of celebrity Jessica Alba, attracting readers who are in the targeted audience: women in their mid-30s.

5.Film/magazine sample #2 – include analysis of how this magazine embodies your genre

The magazine Modern Hair+Beauty is a superb example of the beauty magazine genre. This publication is filled with content such as hair and make-up tips, claiming to be "Your Ultimate Hair and Makeup Manual". This is the most common content of beauty magazines, according to my research.

Furthermore, the picture on the front cover is a close-up of the model wearing a makeup and hair look that is "in style", another content criteria in the beauty magazines genre.

Using pastel colors such as light orange and baby pink, the magazine attracts a female audience between the late teens and mid-30s.

Overall, this magazine focuses purely on beauty recommendations for the target audience of women, making it a clear example of the beauty magazine genre.

6. List of 5-7 other film/magazine examples within the genre (with links or images of these examples)