So I was reading the October issue of Company Magazine on the train home from London, and became enraged by the beauty pages.
Pages 90-91 told me that “hollow faces are so on-trend right now,” which I think is disgusting. The photos of the models did nothing to lift my mood – all had sunken faces and hollow eyes and basically looked like intensive care patients. So here’s the e-mail I sent to Company Headquarters (which by the way is impossible to contact unless you have a Twitter account – I hate Twitter). So I addressed it to the editor, Victoria White, and if she actually replies I may just eat my hat.
Here it is:
Amy Bonifas a.bonifas3@gmail.com
1:47 PM (6 minutes ago)
to company.mail
Dear Victoria White,
My name is Amy Bonifas, I’m a recent MA graduate and editorial assistant at a local magazine.
I usually choose Company from the countless glossy magazines lining the shelves of my newsagent because I love the fashion coverage and often applaud the cover choice. I was even more drawn to the magazine following it’s fresher and quirkier re-style. However, I am writing today to express my disappointment with the October issue. Pages 90-91 in the issue tell me, and many other readers, that “hollow faces are so on-trend right now.” I was gutted after reading the tagline, and became even more so as my eyes moved down to images of models wearing contouring make-up, looking as though they’d stumbled out of a hospital ward and onto the catwalk.
I completely understand the trend of face contouring, but I worry that your readers may take this suggestion too literally. I think the pages encourage unhealthy behaviour – namely eating disorders and extreme dieting, and do nothing to promote the beauty of real women. I would have preferred to see healthy full faces perhaps even sporting a winter glow, not sunken eyes and gaunt cheeks.
I will not be reading Company again, but I do hope that your next issue will promote a healthier attitude.
Regards,
Amy Bonifas
