Sunday 29 July 2012

In Review: Isis Magazine Issue One

I've got some wonderful news to share; a new magazine called ISIS Magazine was recently released and I'm one of their bloggers too! 

I received Issue One about a week ago, I paid £2.90 for it (which is the price of the magazine). I ordered it through the Isis Magazine website


I was impressed (dare I say very surprised)! The magazine has a glossy cover and pages and it's completely high quality. That is very impressive for a first issue. You can definitely tell that a lot of time and effort was put into the quality of the paper of the magazine.


Advert and acknowledgements page
The first/second page contains the acknowledgments page which was really kind and humble.

At the bottom of the page it says:
 Dedicated To: Every female who's ever struggled with their Afro hair...
Very thoughtful dedication and also shows the magazine was started in good faith and with the aim to make the lives of black women and men (in regards to afro hair etc.) much more easier.


The uber gorgeous editor-in-chief Linda Graham on the left and table of contents on the right.


This page is an opening letter from editor-in-chief Linda Graham. She wrote about this magazine's issue and also referred to the pages where you can find the relevant information (allows for easy navigation; thumbs up!).

The table of contents show that there's a lot to read in this magazine (something I didn't expect because it is a fairly new magazine).





This page shows a diverse range of women of African descent. Different types of Afro textured hair,  featured in different styles. I like the diversity and they didn't leave out the sisters with locs! 


On this page I've learned quite a bit. For example, I never knew that the word Kingly was used to describe afro textured hair. The definition is very positive, I like!
In the 60s, amongst ourselves we described our hair as Kingly because of the tall and proud way stood. When our natural hair has grown to a certain point, it appears circular almost like a crown or halo and therefore appears Kingly.
This description of natural hair is so positive, I may start using it. The definition also explains why a lot of people compare natural hair to a crown.

I'm on the fence about hair type but this page does tell you the importance of knowing hair types. It also quite clearly says that people can have hair types in between.


This page breaks down the hair types and shows examples of the hair types. The text also offers examples of well-known people with the different hair types.



Protective style tips
Why you should protective style.
Great information about different protective styles, why you should protective style and when. There are also tips offered on maintenance of protective styles.


Short to the point but informative reviews. The review is accompanied with a product label picture so there's no confusion.

All about sheabutter!

I've learned new things about shea butter! There's a lot of really good facts about shea butter and a few common questions that I have seen people ask, are answered on this page.

Skin
I personally love this page because I'm terrible when it comes to my own skin care. Skin types are broken down into different categories and explained.
A skin care mask recipe. 
Here's a recipe for an oily skin mask to tighten pores but there wasn't any tips on masks for the other skin types. I assume it will be talked about in future issues. 


Detox... I'm thirsty just looking at this.
I personally love this page. I'm sorta a health freak and the tips on the two pages are really helpful. Dare I say I was inspired to start detoxing?

Tea...
This page is one of my favourites too. I love tea. I am always drinking tea. This page, again, offers great information on different types of tea and how they are beneficial to your health.

Interview with Nerissa Irving
The beautiful model Nerissa shares her secrets on her physique. I liked the interview and I didn't expect this for the 1st issue. She gave gave great eating and exercise tips and says that unhealthy spirits and unhealthy minds lead to an unhealthy body. This is very true indeed.

Interview with Pablo Imani, a Yoga teacher
This interview was particularly interesting because I learned about Afrikan Yoga (I never knew this even existed). The yoga that I know about is Indian Yoga, but Pablo explains that the difference between Indian and African Yoga is in the posture and the language. His journey to revitalise Afrikan Yoga  across Africa is also inspiring. 

What do men really think?
Of course the men here don't represent all men but the ocmments were interesting. The guys seemed to like girls who are natural; no weaves/wigs and minimal to no make up. A good personality is emphasised as well.


ISIS Magazine didn't leave out the boys! I personally enjoyed this part of the magazine. Ola the comedian had a really funny interview (I can see why he's a comedian). Adonis the model appears to be sensitive but I love his way with words. Emile the director wants to make people think through the films he makes.

Interview with Aziza Edwards, owner of Aziza Natural Beauty
Beautiful Aziza creates natural skin and hair products. She also offers information on the benefits of particular oils and remedies for dry hair.

Interview with Fran Bacelar, owner of Stardream Cakes
Fran's story shows that you can turn a hobby into a business! I admire what she does (I'm a cake lover). Her cakes look great too!

Interview with fashion designer Connie Uwineza
 Connie creates unique designs tailored to each individual. I personally like that she does that because we're not all build the same way.

Satin N Silk look on the left. On the right, African inspired cat suit.

On the left; long pleated dress. On the right; a beaded corset.

On the left; marine blue and red mini dress. On the right; African inspired cat suit.
I love the clothes; especially because of how African-inspired they are. Connie is clearly talented and has a great vision.
Natural hair confessions!
Girls in different stages of their natural hair journey share why/how they became natural. The girls either have a short cut, a small afro or locs! Definitely diverse, which I think is important because the natural hair world is diverse.
ISIS: The True Story
ISIS Magazine has taught me some things that I did not know before. I'm impressed by how professional it is. A lot of thought has been put into the quality of the magazine, as well as the pictures and the font etc. What I loved the most is just how colourful and visual the magazine is. There are pictures on almost every single page and the diversity of black people has been shown again and again. 

The content has been quite good. While ISIS Magazine did discuss hair types and product reviews, ISIS Magazine made it quite clear that 1) people can have hair types in between the four different hair types and 2) different things work for different people.

I like how the magazine talks about hair, beauty and healthy living and promotes talented black businesses/talents. The magazine is diverse in the range of topics and can appeal to a lot of different people.

The models featured in the magazine are beautiful and modelled the clothing quite well. The models are also normal sized. Not size zero. There's no airbrushing (if there was any). The magazine presents the people in their realest forms. There's no deception about how someone looks. I don't feel insecure flicking through the magazine. In fact I feel inspired and uplifted to maintain my own natural beauty.

Things this magazine can improve on; Spelling, grammar, punctuation... all that English class stuff. It's not something I had a big problem with because it's the first issue. It's also something that can be easily  improved for the next issue.

This issue is completely on point when it comes to content. The content served has also surprised me, as well as the amount of research that went into the content (which was also referenced and sourced properly (something I find extremely important)).

ISIS Magazine (as far as I know) is the first magazine of its kind. While other magazines may have content about natural hair, they didn't have that content years ago and are just adding that in response to the increased number of people going natural. I can't wait for Issue Two and counting... I wonder what ISIS Magazine will have in store for its readers!

Twitter: @ISISMag
Website: www.isisempire.com
Facebook: ISISMagazine