Whilst browsing another blog the other day (I forget which one now, sorry!), I came across a student-run charity issue magazine called Lipstick Royalty. The magazine is an online enterprise run and written by a group of high school students and this month they have produced a special issue which is available for £1.50. I'm not going to try to sell it to you but I did ask Lipstick Royalty's Fashion Editor, Amy Thompson to answer a few questions and very kindly, she did! So here is the interview!
What is Lipstick Royalty?
Lipstick Royalty Magazine is an online fashion and lifestyle magazine, which publishes as a .PDF document bimonthly, now, as it's run by students who juggle the magazine, school work, part time jobs, blogs, and actual lives. We're all passinate about what we do - and we think that you should definfitly check the magazine out! (We're considerate like that, you see - we wouldn't want you to miss out!)
How did it start?
Once upon a time, a long long time ago (2007), there was a very bored fourteen year old girl at boarding school in Kent. Her name was Rachel Phipps, and she loved fashion. So, she decided to start a fashion magazine online.
Over time, her baby grew and grew - writers and designers came and went, but she always loved it very, very much (well, almost always - it's stressful at times, I tell ya!), and so it came about. In December 2008, it was reborn and Lipstick Royalty Magazine, and that's about that, really.
How did you get involved?
Well, that's another long story... but I'll tell it boringly, I'm afraid. Third person narrative hurts my brain.
Basically, I'd always loved writing, and I used to publish my stories online. On one site I used, I found a link to Rachel and the magazine, then named Inside Out, and I asked for a position. When I signed up, I said I'd do anything but fashion writing... and four months later, I went from Editor's Assistant to Fashion Editor - and honestly, I've never looked back!
How long has it been going?
As Lipstick Royalty, since December 2008 - with breaks here and there, due to the pressures of exams and stuff!
What is special about the October issue?
The October Issue, "Think Pink" 2009, is the first one that we've ever charged for, and all of the profits are going to charity!
It's also special because it's the most stressful issue we've (ok, Rachel's) ever completed, and so we're very very very proud of it!
Why the Laura Crane Trust?
Oh, for about 87 000 reasons!
Firstly, Rachel and I are in a writers' group called Literary Den (www.literaryden.wordpress.com), and we were both published in their charity anthology last year - with the profits going to LCT... secondly... well, cancer is an illness that will affect almost all of us at some point in our lives, and both of us have already been affected in that friends and family have suffered.
But mostly, it's because the Laura Crane Trust is a teenage and youth cancer charity - our readership is mostly within the age group that they help - and for people to be that badly affected at such a young age is tragic, really. It's a drop in the ocean, but we wanted to do something about it.
Why should people buy this month's issue?
In memory of someone they've lost.
Because they want to help.
Because, one day, they may be grateful that people like LCT exist.
Because it costs less than a cup of coffee.
And because we worked our socks off to bring it to them...
Are all issues for sale?
No; all except this one are free. Some back issues are free to download on the website - but please, please, pleaseeeeee don't let that stop you buying this issue!
What articles are there this month?
There's obviously all the usual; "Ask Amy", "In The Spotlight", "How to be a..." (this time it's "How to be a Model"), and "Hot Young Talent" - but we also have an exclusive sweepstake featuring C.TA Glam Couture, Haydria Perfumery, and FashionVictime.Fr, as well as an interview with Nylon Pink, and a special guest blog by Magda Knight, of Mookychick.co.uk.
And, of course, there's a report about Laura Crane Trust, proving to you that your £1.50 was well spent!
I will be purchasing my copy from http://www.lipstickroyalty.com/ later today, I hope as many of you as possible will do the same.
More soon. Love, SG
I will be purchasing my copy from http://www.lipstickroyalty.com/ later today, I hope as many of you as possible will do the same.
More soon. Love, SG