SEMI-GLOSS
Magazines, Motherhood And Misadventures In Having It All
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4.3 • 39 Ratings
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- $12.99
Publisher Description
'A witty, intelligent and razor-sharp ride through life that is a true delight to read, by one of Australia's most beloved writers.' Zoe Foster Blake
This is not a self-help book or a memoir. It's definitely not the Australian Devil Wears Prada.
In her collection of autobiographical essays, fashion magazine editor Justine Cullen takes us on a hilariously candid exploration of her life so far - and all the mistakes she's made along the way.
Semi-Gloss is an intimate, sharp and witty look at growing up and growing older from the kind of woman who seems like she has it all together - the glamorous job, the perfect family, the killer wardrobe. But, chipping away at that shiny, sparkly surface, Justine reveals the beautiful mess that lies beneath.
A wildly entertaining and sometimes bumpy ride through a life well-lived, by one of Australia's most respected female voices.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Former beauty and fashion editor Cullen pulls back the curtain on the "glossy façade" of the magazine world in these entertaining essays. More den mom than The Devil Wears Prada's Miranda Priestly, Cullen traces her life and lengthy career in the beauty industry, from her days as a 16-year-old in 1990s Sydney longing to appear on a magazine masthead ("I knew all the different mastheads individually and thought of them as my friends," she writes in "Editor's Letters") to landing at the very top as Elle Australia's editor-in-chief in 2013—a glamorous role that proved so grueling she left five years later. As she breezes through exotic locales and extravagant media lunches where "PRs try to outdo each other with money-can't-buy experiences," she brings to dazzling life the excessiveness of print media as it was being chipped away by digital competitors. While readers will relish her recollections of sipping cocktails in Christian Dior's family home and attending Paris Fashion Week, equally intriguing is her candid chronicling of the slow "extinction" of beauty editors, a casualty of advertising's pivot to social media that, she writes, led beauty industry investments to dry up "faster than you could say ‘smoky eye tutorial.' " By turns frank and funny, this provides an intimate look at the grit beneath the glamour of a fast-evolving industry.
Customer Reviews
Justine is Fantastic!
Wow, what a life Justine Cullen has lived. So fun I did not know about her life, career, relationships and more. This is more of a life bio/journey read than a juicy behind the scenes in magazines gossip book.
Can a book be your best friend
I adored Justine Cullen’s book. I appreciated and loved her honesty about her relationships and pregnancies, and many times I felt positively SEEN. This has single handedly dragged me through my first trimester, and has been a companion and spot of actual fun all through my morning sickness, which has been depressing as. Loved it and can’t wait to read it again.
Amazing read
I’ve been a fan of Justine for years - loved reading her editors letter in many magazines. This was a beautifully written book, light-hearted for the most part but then with a depth that you feel in your soul.