So, for the past month or so i have been interning once a week at Hair magazine. I really enjoyed my time there, as well as learning so much about the industry, which i would have never of learnt from lecture. The team at Hair is fairly small, around 8 persons, with both the editorial and art team. Which is quite unusual as most magazine titles have double (or even triple) the amount working for them; however working with a smaller team really meant i got a better understanding of each of their roles within the title.
On my first day when i arrived, i was pretty, bloody nervous to be honest. IPC publishing company is situated in Southwark, in the biggest, sleekest glass building. Each floor housed titled such as LOOK, Marie Claire, Instyle, Wall Paper, Nuts, Woman & Home, so i was like woah! I did get lost a fair few times, i had quite a few sneak peaks in the fashion closets ;). Anyway, back at Hair i did basic admin tasks for the ladies, which consisted of keeping the closet in order - i have never seen so much shampoo and conditioner in my life. I was also constantly on the phone to a whole list of lovely PR companies ordering products, such as GHD, Bumble and Bumble and Aveda. I also picture researched, looking for images to place in the magazine, whether this be looking at the lasted paparazzi shots of any a-list celeb to runway photos, just as they were being clicked in fashion week - crazy stuff!
Another task was called vox boxes, which is practically means taking Street Style photos. This was tricky, nobody in Covent Garden or Oxford St wants to stop and listen, let alone have their photo taken. But luckily some of my lovely uni friends let me take their photo, and they are now published in the magazine :)
(Thanks Abby, Sophie and Hannah - i really do owe you a pint!)
I was also given some products to trial and test for the team! I was given two pairs of hair straighteners and lots and lots of hair spray! I decided not to post my reviews of the products until the magazine was published, to see how they came out in print. However, one of the straighteners i tried were awful but in the published review they were looked upon quite highly - food for thought there. Unfortunately, my time at Hair was cut short because the editor really needed some one to intern 4 days a week for three months. Which for me, is impossible considering uni schedule.
My time at Hair was a real insight, a real opportunity that gave me a new found confidence too. I have come to the decision that i most definitely want to pursue a career in beauty/cosmetic journalism.
Next in the pipeline: i promised myself this year i would intern like crazy, so after my time at Hair; i'm at The Times fashion department (eee!) for a week in May, lads mag Loaded in July and Stylist in August. So far this year, i feel like I'm really to go out there and hit industry, unfortunately i have a large drawback, that goes by the name of a dissertation ;) i guess i should graduate first!
Thanks for reading my little, rambling life update, i hope it wasn't too boring!
I will post my straightener reviews in the next week or so, totally changed my life..
