Allure Magazine

Linda Wells takes beauty seriously. It's the key to Allure magazine, which Wells has led as editor in chief since the magazine launched 15 years ago. Until then, beauty was barely covered in glossy magazines and when it was, it was to guide women to the best lipstick shade to complement that season's top fashion color.

Linda Wells takes beauty seriously. It's the key to Allure magazine, which Wells has led as editor in chief since the magazine launched 15 years ago. Until then, beauty was barely covered in glossy magazines and when it was, it was to guide women to the best lipstick shade to complement that season's top fashion color.

If we were talking girlfriend to girlfriend about Linda Wells, there might be some downright dirty dishing going on. She's smart, funny, pretty, petite, seven months pregnant and still looks fabulous. She isn't swollen or bloated. Nor does she have any of those nasty side effects of pregnancy, nor thank God, does she want to talk about them. Plus, she's the editor of 3-year-old Allure magazine, which has become a smashing success.

If we were talking girlfriend to girlfriend about Linda Wells, there might be some downright dirty dishing going on. She's smart, funny, pretty, petite, seven months pregnant and still looks fabulous. She isn't swollen or bloated. Nor does she have any of those nasty side effects of pregnancy, nor thank God, does she want to talk about them. Plus, she's the editor of 3-year-old Allure magazine, which has become a smashing success.

Linda Wells has the icy paleness of a Hitchcock heroine. Her hair is blunt-cut blond, her features are waspy blond and her Chanel-ish suit is baby doll pink. She doesn't appear to wear any makeup which is surprising since she is the editor of Allure, a beauty magazine. "It is either a testament to the application, or a total waste of time, because I do wear a ton of makeup," Wells said during a recent stop in Los Angeles.

Hey, Ashley Tisdale: Starring in "Scary Movie V" looks good on you. And those skimpy clothes look good halfway off you, in your May cover spread for Maxim. The most recent incarnation of the "Scary Movie" franchise offers Tisdale a chance for fans to see her differently than she appeared in the "High School Musical" series of Disney Channel films, playing Sharpay Evans, popular teen drama queen. For "SMV," Tisdale, 27, found herself around the likes of Lindsay Lohan and Charlie Sheen.

Naya Rivera, Jennifer Morrison, Clare Bowen and Christa Miller are taking it all off for Allure's annual nudes issue. The TV stars were photographed by Patrick Demarchelier, strategically covering their breasts and nether regions in the name of art and passion. Last year, Maria Menounos, Debra Messing, Leslie Bibb, Taraji B. Henson and Morena Baccarin posed for Demarchelier. The inspiration for this year's shoot came from Marilyn Monroe's final film, "Something's Got to Give," and the actresses were photographed poolside in Beverly Hills with wet or tousled hair.

Thanks a lot, Gwyneth Paltrow. It's been more than 10 years since the actress and style icon showed up at the "Shakespeare in Love" premiere with long, stick-straight extensions. And suddenly, boom ? "Blow-out salons [popped up] across the landscape. It also was when hairstylists started Japanese straightening treatments and then Brazilian," says Kristin Perrotta, executive editor at Allure magazine. No matter, she adds, that not everyone could pull off the look. But although we might not have always tried to achieve stick-straight hair, many curly-haired women have been fighting the good fight for generations.

When it comes to beauty products, sometimes ignorance is bliss. Snake venom, bird droppings, snail serum, cow dung and whale vomit are but a few of the industry's extreme and off-putting ingredients that one might be shocked to know can be slathered about your body. Hair products are no exception to this somewhat creepy phenomenon. Consumers hoping for a hair miracle are willing to pay extra for deep conditioners and conditioning "treatments" that promise an enviable crowning glory -- even when they contain rather odd-seeming ingredients such as placenta, caviar and hemp.

Travel & Leisure Publisher Named: Richard Barthelmes, who has been publisher of Conde Nast's Gourmet magazine for the last six years, was named publisher of Travel & Leisure and became group publishing director at parent American Express Publishing. Barthelmes, 54, takes the publisher's job vacated in May when Alexandra Golinkin, 37, left Travel & Leisure unexpectedly to take the same job at Conde Nast's Allure magazine.

Linda Wells has the icy paleness of a Hitchcock heroine. Her hair is blunt-cut blond, her features are waspy blond and her Chanel-ish suit is baby doll pink. She doesn't appear to wear any makeup which is surprising since she is the editor of Allure, a beauty magazine. "It is either a testament to the application, or a total waste of time, because I do wear a ton of makeup," Wells said during a recent stop in Los Angeles.

Ronald Galotti is out as publisher of Vanity Fair magazine and is being replaced by Kathy Neisloss Leventhal, the founding publisher of 2-year-old Allure magazine, Conde Nast Publications Inc. announced Monday. Galotti's departure after three years as publisher of Vanity Fair was unexpected. He had been viewed in magazine publishing circles as one of Conde Nast's rising stars. Conde Nast President Bernard Leser said Galotti had "resigned . . . to pursue other interests."

Havana, 1961: The United States broke diplomatic relations with Cuba on Jan. 3 and imposed an economic blockade that remains in effect. Havana, 1991: You're a woman and you're in Cuba. What do you do about your hairdo? You could do what the Cubans do. You could dye your hair blonde, which is popular. But since standard peroxides are difficult to come by, Cuban women often use a household bleach. Or, you could always wear a platinum wig. But many Cuban women can't afford wigs.