Beauty really was in the eye of the beholder, starting with the cover itself. The packaging-a mirrored mylar case featuring a limited-edition Visionaire lipstick, mascara, and lipgloss, made especially for the issue by our sponsor, Prescriptives-was a topic of endless debate. Everyone had a different point of view. Some on our editorial team thought that by putting makeup on the cover, we would be sending the wrong message: ''To be beautiful, you need this.'' Others argued that cosmetics symbolized contemporary beauty and loved the idea of walking into a bookstore and seeing actual products floating on the cover of a book. Still others reasoned that seeing your reflection on the mirrored mylar cover, the message was simply: ''This is beauty staring you in the face!'' Oddly enough, the commercial implications of putting our sponsor's product right on the cover never came up in our discussions. In fact, contrary to what one might think, it was our idea to feature their products prominently on the cover, not theirs. More visions of beauty were played out in the pages of the issue: Contributors included makeup artists and hairstylists, such as Serge Lutens, Kevyn Aucoin, Francois Nars, Dick Page, Topolino, Danilo, and our very own James Kaliardos, who transformed Cecilia Dean into three different races.

Limited Edition of 2500 numbered copies.