A Book Review, By Request

I never write book reviews, because I don't think I do them well. Consider this an apology in advance. Furthermore -- does this happen to anybody else? -- I always read books a year or more after they come out, so nobody is talking about them any more. This is SUPREMELY disappointing in situations where you really want to talk to other people about what you've read. Examples that come to mind from the past couple of years for me include Freakonomics, The Blind Side, Moneyball, and the book I'm reviewing now, Free Gift With Purchase: My Improbable Career in Magazines and Makeup by Jean Godfrey-June.

Ms. Godfrey-June is the Beauty Editor of Lucky, and past beauty editor of Elle, as well as a veteran freelance writer. The problem with reading her book more than a year after it came out is that it is, in part, a roman à clef. She mentions several of her more outrageous former co-workers but assigns them pseudonyms. This can't be for legal reasons, or for reasons of wanting not to burn bridges; several of the people mentioned were obvious even to me, an outsider. So it's just damned annoying. I did a number of Google searches to try and figure things out, but was not particularly successful.

But my additional research serves as evidence that I really enjoyed the book. I liked her conversational writing style. The book has two distinct elements: first there is the narrative element -- the story of her development as a beauty writer and editor. [This is where I ran into the problem of wanting the author to name names.] It was thoroughly enjoyable, light reading.

The second element, in true Lucky style, is comprised of the sidebars. These are the real gems of the book. You get honest, credible assessments of how to maximize your time and money in the beauty realm. My favorites include pieces about plastic surgery, getting good haircuts, and, best of all, "The Least Amount of Exercise You Can Get Away With." Rocket science it is not, as the author freely admits, but it is useful information nonetheless.

The author mentions a few of her favorite beauty products by name, which is also very useful because you know, in this context, that they weren't mentioned as part of a pay-for-play arrangement. She is also forthcoming about the amount of makeup she actually wears; I wouldn't call her regimen minimalist, but it's not completely unrealistic, either.

By the way, in an interview I found online, Jean Godfrey-June named the one beauty product she actually goes out and buys with her own money, presumably because she goes through it faster than fresh supplies of it arrive in her office. It is Anthelios sunscreen, the UVB-blocking formula previously only available from foreign sources. I mentioned it here last month as it is now available in other brands and through more traditional channels in the U.S.

The book is available in paperback now (one of the advantages of waiting to read it), so I'd say at $10 it is definitely worth the purchase. Read it and pass it along to a girlfriend.