A Good Read By RachelReviews on Sep 30, 2009 - Updated Oct 15, 2011

This mag doesn't disappoint the beauty-loving fashionista-wannabe in me. Instead of other magazines I read like Shape or Latina, this one's primary focus is on fashion and beauty with other interesting odds-and-ends thrown in. The other magazines I read tend to have fashion and beauty as extras instead of the main course.

There were a ton of fashion spreads and editiorial pieces in here! Some of my favorites include: Postcards from Venice (In Gallery, Picture 6), Renaissance Woman (Model: Emina Cunmulaj) and Scene Stealer (Actress: Camille Belle; In Gallery, Picture 2). I'd say that more than half of the magazine concentrated on fashion.

There were less beauty articles in the magazine when compared to fashion. There was one photo story, in particular, that I didn't like. It was called, "The Green Movement." The same eyeshadow was used on 4 models of different skintones to show that it's possible that anyone can pull off the green-lidded look. I think that's a cool idea, but I found some of the photographs repulsive to be honest. The articles I liked were "Foreign Beauty Report: Paris," which showed the reader the French outlook on beauty (In Gallery, Picture 3); "Beauty Snoop: Insider Edition," showed the contents of beauty experts' bags (In Gallery, Picture 4); and "Behind the Scenes: Model Behavior," had beauty tips from the models of Project Runway.

Of course, like many magazines, Marie Claire doesn't want to just be about outer beauty and such things. In fact, there is a little quote at the top of the cover that says, "More than a pretty face." So to further that point, they have regular articles, as well. There were 2 that I found especially interesting: "My friend became a mail-order bride," and "Forced to be fat" (In Gallery, Picture 5) As you can see, the articles in the magazine are still geared toward women's issues, but more on a cultural level. "Forced to be fat" was especially fascinating to me. It was about the culture in Mauritania.