Pretty: The NYLON Book of Beauty

by Fiorella Valdesolo

Residing at the forefront of cool since its inception, NYLON magazine has introduced a new style into the world of fashion magazines, and changed the tone of fashion, beauty, and culture coverage. Pretty: The NYLON Book of Beauty breaks the mold again, with a stylish edge over existing beauty manuals. The magazine's beauty department, Beauty Queen, is informative, stylistically creative, entertaining, and often titillating-anything but boring. This book expands on the magazine's original brand of coverage, which goes beyond make-up application and dry step-by-steps, to give a portrait of beauty as NYLON sees it. Inspired ideas, whimsical illustrations, and cheeky text will have readers wide eyed and flush cheeked without opening a single product. Signature looks and hairstyles of legendary stars of the stage and screen will be shown, with tips on how to re-create them. There will be a run down of the greatest beauty products and scents of all time-from Chanel to Maybelline and everything in between-and inspiring collages of different modern looks, from stripped down to outrageous, to inspire readers to try something new. Pretty stands out from existing beauty books for its style, offering both information and inspiration about being gorgeous. With stunning visual design and all-new material, Pretty exudes NYLON's cool, natural glow and is an imperative accessory for anyone with style.

Genres: Fashion, Nonfiction, Photography, History

224 pages, Paperback

First published February 13, 2007

Reviews

[Clare · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love this book and it's quite addictive. It's a different kind of beauty book, full of iconic beauty products for real women that I would actually use and profiles iconic and sometimes unlikely women from the 1920s through to the 90s. Women with real and unique style that I would actually look up to like Anna Karina, Winona Ryder, Lillian Gish, Clara Bow, Katharine Hepburn, Natalie Wood, Marianne Faithfull, Faye Dunaway, Stevie Nicks, Michelle Pfeiffer, Shannon Doherty and bizaarely but pleasingly Rayanne from My So-Called Life! It's an inspiring and beautiful book that celebrates the beauty of ALL women of all shapes and sizes and promotes individuality. I'm going to need my own copy!

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

"More than anything else, beauty is evocative."

This book's breathtaking contents are worthy of its pretty title. Part 1 covers "the elements (counter culture and high notes)," providing a history of the most iconic beauty products of all time (think Maybelline Great Lash, Chanel No. 5, and Max Factor Pan-Cake Makeup).

Part 2 covers "the inspiration (private icons)," or famous figures from the 1920s-1990s, pairing them with makeup products and fascinating biographical summaries smattered with incredible full-color photos (think Carole Lombard, Elizabeth Taylor, Vivian Leigh, Edie Sedgwick, Gwen Stefani, and tons more).

Part 3 covers "the looks (making faces and the mane attractions)," where makeup artists draw cosmetics onto illustrated faces and iconic hairstyles are chronicled through the ages (think Audrey Hepburn's ponytail and Mia Farrow's pixie). This book is as beautiful as it is fun and educational!

[Katya · Rating 3 out of 5]

This isn't even literature, it's like reading a very fat, nicely illustrated magazine without the celebrity gossip. Oh, wait, no, there was gossip. But it's a great 'read' if you're into fashion and beauty. Instead of how-to tips and the latest trend in makeup, this book goes over the best, classic products and perfumes, and does a chronological history on the most beauty-influential celebrities from the 20's. Like I said, it's fun if you're into beauty.

[Jenna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not only is this book a fresh view on beauty à la Nylon Magazine, but also a great condensed biography on many past beauty icons. Ranging from the 1920's to the 1990's, beauty icons such as Dolores Del Rio, Anna Karina and David Bowie. An interesting, yet simple look into the best beauty products over time and the looks that inspire the pages of Nylon today. An easy read with lovely visuals, both photographs and illustrations.

[Kathleen · Rating 5 out of 5]

215 pages of eye candy. My favorite part is the "Private Icons" section, where they pick celebrities from the 1920's on, describe their look, and give suggestions on how to copy it. I like the stars from the 40s'and 50s that they feature, like Katherine Hepburn, Lana Turner, and Natalie Wood. The size (9" x 6.5") and hefty stock of the paper make this a very ergonomically-pleasing book.

[Angelia Fransisca Rusli · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reading this was like reading the beauty section of a magazine with much more pages. This is recommended for make-up lovers. This book tells us a lot about iconic beauty products alongside with its history. But as I'm not really into make-up, I found this book quite so-so. Maybe if I were one, I will enjoy this.

[Spencer · Rating 5 out of 5]

this book is put together perfectly for those who have neither the desire or the capacity to follow a thought for more than a couple of minutes. I loved it. Smart and ultra-hip 1 or 2 paragraph bits on various looks and perfumes and icons.

[Mutiara · Rating 4 out of 5]

good review for your fashion.....

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

Covering key beauty trends and the history of iconic products,
this book was informative and fast paced and has been read time and time again.

[Drifloon]

need to find

[Sandy · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of a kind photographs. Good, useful information. Not easy to find, and very expensive but worth it. Very pretty. 5/5 stars.

[Ka · Rating 1 out of 5]

Mostly a product-placement book, with brief paragraphs of style icons from the 1920s to the 1990s. There are many, many better books about beauty out there.

[Pandora · Rating 4 out of 5]

Glorified ad brochure but it's beautifully photographed and has great images of old school movie beauties.

[Lysha Why (blairwaldork) · Rating 4 out of 5]

There's a feature on Molly Ringwald, Winona Ryder as Lelaina Pierce and Alicia Silverstone. Enough said.