Another magazine called Henna? Yep, You may remember I reviewed a newly launched magazine called Henna back in June (see here to refresh your memory) and then yesterday in WH Smith I came across another magazine called Henna, with the tagline "asian and beyond".
If the two mags weren't so different it could get very confusing! Here's my review of the other Henna magazine.
Front Cover
Henna went for a big name on the front cover of their "supermodel issue", none other than Yasmin Le Bon. The cover makes a bold statement with white text on a dark background, and instead of sticking an advert on the back they've designed the back cover too and opted for a striking black and white shot:
Articles
The team behind this issue of the magazine include former Asiana editor Poorna Shetty, model/actress/journalist Veronica Webb and Gerry DeVeaux (the judge from Britain's Next Top Model).
The magazine splits it's articles into separate sections - People, Culture, Bollywood, Fashion, Mens, Beauty, Food and Travel. You might think these are all pretty standard things to find in an asian magazine, but something about this magazine makes it truly stand out compared to all the other alternatives out there.
There are no "filler" articles which are just put in for the sake of it, no stupid quizzes, no problem pages. I have a feeling this magazine won't appeal to everyone, mainly because the ratio of words to pictures is a lot higher than most other asian mags! In fact I haven't even had a chance to read through every article yet - I like a good quarterly magazine that I can put down and pick up a again a week later and still have something new to read.
Fashion and Beauty
Well, as always this blog isn't here just to review magazines, it's here to review fashion! There's definitely a fashion focus in this issue, "the supermodel issue". There's an interview with the front cover star Yasmin Le Bon, and a piece on back cover star Masood "Moose" Ali Khan.
When it comes to the fashion editorials, there's not one single item in here that I could afford! Everything is designer with a captial D! but the images are beautiful probably thanks to the styling/production by Gerry DeVeaux. There's also some western designerwear mixed in with the HSY, Libas, Azara, Tarun Tahiliana and Manish Malhotra pieces.
Another thing I like about the fashion editorials is that the majority of them feature a range of different designers. With the likes of Asiana etc. you'll see 6 pages in a row of outfits by one designer or boutique, mix it up sometimes!
Overall
I really like this mag, and with a cover price of £4.50 it's the same price as most of the other quarterly asian magazines out there. As I said before, I don't think it will appeal to everyone though - do you like to read thought provoking articles? or do you like your magazines to be more of a shopping catalogue full of asian outfits in an array of colours and styles?
Personally I like both...which may explain why I always end up buying both types of magazine!
Anyways, back to Henna, you can see highlights of the magazine online at the Henna Magazine website, or can purchase a copy from WH Smiths and Borders.
