I worked at my college's archives a couple summers ago, which has a women's history collection, and there I enjoyed my ability to read through Helen Gurley Brown's papers as I photocopied them for researchers. It seems as if nearly half a century ago Helen Gurley Brown single-handedly made Cosmo into what it is today. She was a weird type of feminist of the time; back then, many people (read: the media) regarded feminists as lesbians, women who don't care about their appearance, and she advocated that women could both enjoy makeup and being feminine in a traditional sense, but ALSO sleep with their (married) bosses and still be empowered. As long as they worked their way to the top of their careers, that was all that mattered, according to her. Obviously, that's changed quite a bit. They definitely wouldn't endorse anything as ridiculous as sleeping with one's boss to get ahead. But it does seem that the Helen Gurley Brown made it into the (sex) lifestyle mag it is today.

One particularly interesting paper I remember photocopying for a researcher who was doing a biography on HGB described the type of woman Cosmo writers would keep in mind while writing: "She is 23-26, not in a good job, unsure about what she wants to do with the rest of her life, lacks confidence, is overweight, isn't beautiful... but maybe a little" etc.

I stopped reading Real Simple when they wrote about shopping cart etiquette; talk about jumping the shark. The only women's magazine that I read regularly is Allure because I'm a product junkie and it's mostly about products with just a little bit about fashion. 
 www.glossedover.com/glossed_over/  excerpts a tip from Helen Gurley Brown's 1964 book "Sex and the Office" every Wednesday. It's incredibly funny and truly disturbing all at the same time. Helen Gurley Brown was one smart cookie, which makes me wonder if everything she ever said or wrote was tongue-in-cheek and the current editors of Cosmo just haven't figured it out yet.

Come on! Am I the only one who reads Cosmo BECAUSE I like the sexy articles? I can get beauty and fashion info anywhere!  Please don't tell me everyone is a prude like Lefty.

I was sorting through old magazines and realized that the last 1/2 dozen covers of Allure are virtually identical. Two were so similar that I thought I had two copies of the same issue. I also realized that I hadn't given any of them more than a cursory glance so I should probably just stop buying it.  I've never thought much of their reviews but I wasn't aware of any lawsuit. What's up with that?
I confess that Cosmo is the first thing I pick up in line at the grocery store and at the hair salon and the first thing I read is the sexy stuff but it's usually the same old stuff being rehashed. The really entertaining stuff is in Men's Health. It gives you a whole new perspective; like spying on the enemy.
 

I will freely admit I do not like any magazines. Beauty or otherwise. I prefer to read books. I do get Allure, however. Not because I really want to, but because mom had me order some lotions from HSN for her and they came with a year's subscription. I usually flip through them, find nothing worth reading, and toss them in a corner. I'll probably take them to work for the others to read in the breakroom.
However, I did read a beauty book a few years back I enjoyed, even though since it was published in the 70s a lot of info was out of date. It was called The Master's Way To Beauty. I also purchased on eBay another 70s beauty book, Looking Terrific. Soon as I get through with my To Be Read pile I'll read it. (The others are all library books. Three Hamish MacBeth mysteries and Multiple Bles8ings which I'm reading now. I just finished Watchmen last night.) But I flipped through it and find that I agree with a lot of what she says to do. Like for fatties like me, don't wear bold patterns!

You might not find them because they were published in the 1970s. I happed on Master's Way To Beauty in the Salvation Army. (Masters, BTW, is George Masters. A very famous makeup artist - he's the one who did Dustin Hoffman's makeup in Tootsie. I believe that the Warren Betty movie Shampoo was inspired by him as well.) The other I bought on eBay.
Still, you might try. If they can't find them, ask them if they can possibly get them on an  Inter-Library Loan. Some libraries in the US (I'm just assuming you live here, but if you don't maybe where you live have a similiar program) will make special loans to libraries outside their system. I've gotten books from New York and Utah. (I'm in California.) It can get costly however as some libraries do charge for the loan. Especially if it's a Last Copy - only copy left in their system.

Jami, you should check out Peculiar Beauty: peculiarbeautyblog.blogspot.com

Shampoo is an awesome movie!

Ha! Great minds think alike!