What free gifts with magazines do you remember fondly?

[Takenoprisoner]

I loved the gifts that came with magazines. Some were of course crap, like no name mascaras and nail sets that had the magazine branding on them, utter rubbish.

Others were brilliant, I remember fondly:

Lipstick case with sugar magazine

A clear plastic tote with Elle, which I still miss

A small denim bag, again, Elle, which i still have

Various clutch bags with glamour magazine

Roomy beach bags with Red magazine

T shirts with Instyle magazine

Silk scarves, High st mascaras, bikinis

I really miss those little freebies. It's better for the environment that they don't do those any more of course.

Also, I really miss magazines from the late 90s, which is when I started reading them, they were great and many are defunct now.

I loved Elle magazine, 90s era
Real magazine
Company
More
Look
Glamour.

What magazines or magazine freebies do you remember?

@FlemCandango

My favourite/ most memorable freebie was from an early edition of Oink comic (a sort of junior Viz magazine that ran from 1986-89). A flexidisc with the 'Oink rap' on it ... iirc the lyrics included "don't eat meat cos it's made of ham, eat the nasty butcher man"

“Poo poo, tinkle tinkle, parp parp, oink” Remember that little gem on the other side?

Years ago I bought a magazine which came with free Nora Robert’s book! I can’t remember what magazine it was, but I couldn’t put the book down and that was the start of my collection of books by her! I now have approx 130 which take pride of place in my book case!

As a child I remember deciding which comic to buy depending on the the free gift. There were so many comics back then that my disloyalty to any one title meant I had a free gift almost every week! None have stood the test of time.
I started to by Prima when it first came out as they had a free dressmaking pattern in every one. I still have them all somewhere, but never made a single one! I hade several spatulas from one magazine or another, the last one only being consigned to the great cake bowl in the sky, quite recently. The worst gift ever was a bright red lipstick from Woman or Woman's Own in the early 90's. My then 18 month old DC got hold of it and spent a happy 15 minutes or so grinding it into my beautiful dove grey carpet. Cost several hundred pounds to replace it as the stain could not be removed.

I still have the rectangular Silver Keyring from Elle. I bought the magazine for it. I was too young for the magazine. I have a pink clutch that came with some magazine like Now that I have had for years. Various Spatulas from Good Food magazine

@purplecorkheart

Yep, that's the silver keyring I had, was a heavy, gorgeous, chunky thing.

I also remember the sarongs from glamour magazine, I had a mint green one that i wore round my neck.

I've been feeling nostalgic reading your posts and remembering the treasure trove of free gifts I collected that I otherwise wouldn't have access to. What I remember most fondly though is a "stylofax" from Looks magazine, probably about 1990. It was a small book with advice on putting outfits together and colours. They also gave away hair style templates that you could put your own passport photo behind, seemed amazing at the time in the pre-digital age.

[quote MercyBooth]@AdaThorne Was it a Black Lace one called The Devil and the Deep Blue Sea by any chance? I remember getting this free with New Woman back in the 90s. Started buying NW regularly in the early 2000s. NW used to do free gifts every month. Books CDs make up bags. Loved them all.
Free full size No 7 gifts from Eve magazine. Free umbrellas a couple of times also from Eve. Free scarves from Eve.
Scarlet magazine (erotic mag for women) gave away free BL books a couple of times too.[/quote]
Yes @MercyBooth it was! That’s a blast from the past. There was a scene involving the protagonist being tied to a tree with ivy that I remember being pretty impactful at the time (although I now realise completely unbelievable in horticultural terms!

It did kick start a Black Lace love that lasted a long time!

Loved Scarlet and Minx magazine too.

@AdaThorne That was the first issue of NW i ever bought. I remember an interview with a woman in there who had had an eating disorder and had decided to stay at 17 stone because it was better for her emotionally and mentally.

It also kicked off a love of BL books for me I found that our local (now defunct) John Menzies had them tucked away in a corner on a high shelf. So bought loads from there. Having read loads of these came in handy when i started a job in a sex chatline office back in 2001. Another young woman who worked there read them too. And brought some in so we had a shelf full of them in the back room of the office. Came in handy for ideas.

Loving remembering these! I still have a few things like the Anya Hindmarsh purse. Also a little blue shiny Allegra Hicks make up bag (still used to keep tampons and paracetamol inside a beach bag), various sunglasses and a tiny black mesh zip bag (came as part of a set from Elle magazine) which I still keep my headphones in.
20 years ago you could get so much good stuff in the tiniest, dingiest newsagents, especially in the summer holidays when all the magazines seemed to be competing for having the best free gift.
I think the most memorable gifts for me from the 90s were a Just Seventeen chunky rectangular red key ring, which had a mirror one side and space to put a photo on the other. Also a postcard sized sheet of acetate with different hairstyles printed on it that you could put over your passport photo to see which would suit you.

@purplecorkheart I used to buy Now in the late "90s when it was new. Back then it was similar to how Grazia was when that was started. Now went all trashy later on but it was okay then. For their Christmas/Millenium issue at the end of 1999 they gave away an earring and necklace set. I couldnt get the necklace on at the time And i didnt have pierced ears. I gave this set to my friends daughter who still has it.

Not free but I have very fond memories of this t-shirt sold by Just 17 in the 1980s. I think it cost me £2.99 and I wore it to death!

I love this thread, and remember so many of the the gifts and magazines mentioned. I fell in love with magazines when I was little and used to get Twinkle every week, and I think I've read just about all of them over the years. The 90s and Noughts were definitely the heyday for women's mags.

If any of you happen to still have a copy of Twinkle with the aforementioned bracelet, it's apparently worth 40 quid! 30thcenturycomics.co.uk/british-update-free-gift-farrago-with-twinkle-1968-1971-73/

Right, off to wallow in the 90s magazine instagram

@noodlezoodle sadly not, also mine would have come from an 80s edition, maybe they had a load left over?!

Also remember buying multiple copies of Marie Claire for an Elemis primer and getting a very useful little whisk (Nigella-related?) with a food magazine (Sainsbury’s probably)

Good thread idea OP!

I hadn't even realised that they don't do these any more

Books with various magazines especially in summer
Branded nail polish (nails inc) and make up (benefit)

Can't think of anything else but I'm sure there were loads

Elle magazine did the most lovely bikini as a free gift in around 2005. I bought about six copies of the magazine just to get them.

The Just Seventeen kissing kit was a highlight . Just a strawberry lip balm but the build up was great !

@EishetChayil

Did you collect different designs of bikini sets with the Elle magazines?

I remember company magazine doing black bikinis.

Company was one i never bought. Found one on e bay called. B. which passed me by as well but it looks like a not as good version of New Woman which i loved.

I used to hoard all my magazines. Had stacks of them and my mum made me get rid of them when we moved house 😩

I remember the bikinis!

I got loccitane have creams with a magazine and I bought a few of those

Bags and make up bags. In style had a hanging cosmetic organiser that I still have but put my cables and stuff in it. My favourite thing was a strawberry smelling lip and cheek gloss but cannot remember the mag. I got a hairband from somewhere or other but cannot remember if it was free or had to pay. Hope not as it cut my ears!

Have had sunglasses, eye liner, mascara and nail polish plus skin care.

Some good content in today's Sunday times magazine, comes with the Times newspaper. Global warming and modern slavery. Lengthy articles. If anyone's interested.

eye liner, mascara

Rodial ones free with Red in the last few years.

@choppolata

I had a comb from an early issue of Mizz magazine, which lasted 20+ years!

I remember head-pinching sunglasses, beach mats and flip-flops that never fitted. Lipstick in unflattering colours and lots of makeup bags.

I've still got a turquoise detangling comb from Mizz!!

@queenjaneappro

A blue wide tooth comb from Just 17 that I still use. Must be over 25 years old!

I still have mine too!