Fri, Jan 09, 2009

Accent

Lucky beauty editor's book is a fun, light summer read

By Becky Sher
Knight Ridder Newspapers
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 05.27.2006
Full disclosure: I have subscribed to Lucky magazine since it launched. And I love lip gloss.
These two facts undoubtedly mean I was predisposed to enjoy "Free Gift With Purchase," the new book by Lucky beauty editor Jean Godfrey-June (Harmony Books, $21). And I did enjoy it, mostly. After all, it's a book about makeup and, more important, magazines, to which I am hopelessly addicted.
First, let me say that I believe that far too many books are billing themselves as "memoirs" these days. And because this book is also billing itself as such, I have a bit of a problem with it from the get-go. What would I call it instead? Don't know. But, to its credit, "Free Gift With Purchase" is like having lunch with a favorite girlfriend. A girlfriend who has a cool job and gets more free cosmetics in the span of a day than you could afford to buy in a year.
Godfrey-June is a pretty good writer — she tells the story of how she went from a slightly awkward childhood to a career as a trendsetter for magazines like Elle and, now, Lucky. And she throws in makeup tips along the way, which are kind of fun. Mostly, she talks about how her job is unbelievably great, except when it's not, which doesn't seem to be very often.
But I couldn't help feeling, as I read, that she could have said the same thing in about a quarter of the space, which would, of course, have made it less of a book and more of a pamphlet.
So would I call "Free Gift with Purchase" the next piece of insightful American literature? Well, no. Would I throw it in my beach bag with my sunglasses and iPod? Absolutely.
"Free Gift With Purchase" is available at bookstores and online booksellers, as well as Bath & Body Works stores, C.O. Bigelow Apothecaries and www.bathandbodyworks.com online.