Print is reawakening with a new vigor. For luxury beauty brands, print can be a uniquely engaging marketing tool, and for style and thought leaders, it is a powerful platform to showcase their artistry. Amid this renaissance, Notes on Beauty, an offshoot of the fashion biannual magazine Document Journal, positions itself as a “deliberate and thoughtful counterpoint in an era dominated by fast-moving digital content and standardized beauty ideals.” With its name inspired by Susan Sontag’s “Notes on Camp” and “On Photography” essays, the publication elevates beauty as a tool of self-expression that can also create space for deep introspection and transformation.
Nick Vogelson, Editor-in-Chief and Creative Director of Document Journal, founded Notes on Beauty and launched it with fashion editor Ronald Burton III as Style Director, hair stylist Jawara as Senior Beauty Editor, and makeup artist Yadim as Beauty Director.
The publication premiered during Paris Fashion Week Fall/Winter 2025/2026. Its 400-page debut issue came in three different covers: Julianne Moore, photographed with rose petals dropping from her mouth, by Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin; an artwork by Francesco Vezzoli in collaboration with Prada Beauty Global Creative Makeup Artist Lynsey Alexander featuring a close-up of porcelain skin and scarlet red lips, photographed by Gazza Marco; and a yet-to-be unveiled cover featuring Anok Yai by Carlijn Jacobs and Yadim.
Inside, one finds an essay by Head of Contemporary Programmes at the Musée du Louvre Donatien Grau on beauty and individual conceptuality, another by writer Natasha Stagg on resisting anti-aging treatments, and a profile on Augustinus Bader. Further contributors include authors Ottessa Moshfegh and Ocean Vuong, visual artist Martine Gutierrez, and fashion critic Lynn Yaeger.
Notes on Beauty has secured notable advertisers, including Valentino Beauty, Loewe Perfumes, and Louis Vuitton Fragrance, for its first two issues. According to its media kit, the publication has a readership of 132,000 and a circulation of 44,000. Its audience is distributed between the US and Europe/UK at 45% each between the US and Europe/UK.
BeautyMatter sat down with Vogelson, Burton III, and Jawara to discuss the power of print and sparking a new dialogue in beauty grounded in individualism.
What made the timing right to launch a philosophical publication on beauty?
Nick Vogelson: We launched Notes on Beauty at a moment when beauty—especially as shaped by social media—feels like it’s reaching a fever pitch. There’s an overwhelming push toward a singular, standardized ideal, and we felt it was important to pause and ask deeper questions. Not just what beauty looks like but what it means. Our aim isn’t to dictate new definitions but to open up space for inquiry—to present ideas, share perspectives, and invite readers to form their own understanding. Beauty is personal, cultural, emotional, even political—and we wanted to create a space where all of that could be explored thoughtfully.
Ronald Burton III: Beauty is always in motion, shaped by context, culture, and emotion. We see our role as facilitators of that exploration—connecting ideas, references, and feelings that might otherwise live in separate worlds.
Jawara: For me, beauty is a form of self-expression that runs deep—it’s personal, it’s ancestral, it’s political. Hair, style, ritual … these things carry meaning. That’s why it’s so important to share a wide range of perspectives. Notes on Beauty gives space to the stories and traditions that often get overlooked. It’s about honoring where beauty comes from and how it continues to evolve.
Why was it important to create a print publication in an increasingly digital world?
NV: There’s something inherently powerful about print—it demands presence. In a digital world where we’re constantly scrolling, swiping, and skimming, print slows us down, inviting contemplation. We wanted Notes on Beauty to feel like an object worth spending time with, something tactile and intimate that mirrors the thoughtfulness we’re putting into the content.
Beauty, in our view, isn’t fleeting or disposable—it’s layered, nuanced, and sometimes even contradictory. Print gives us the space to honor that complexity. It’s not just a medium for us—it’s part of the message.
RBIII: When I first joined Document Journal over 12 years ago, there was already a lot of uncertainty about the future of print. And yet, the publication not only survived—it thrived. That alone proves there’s still a real audience for depth, curiosity, and work that asks something of you. With Notes on Beauty, we’re leaning into that—offering something that isn’t meant to be consumed and forgotten but returned to. We want our content to feel timeless, not disposable.
J: I think it’s important to keep making physical books that serve as keepsakes—something you can hold onto, revisit, and learn from over time. Print can be a kind of archive, a point of reference that carries memory and meaning. There’s a different kind of intimacy when you’re turning pages and really sitting with the images and words. That matters.
What do you hope readers will take away from Notes on Beauty?
RBIII: I hope readers walk away with a more introspective view of beauty—one that stirs something deeper than just aesthetics. We want to evoke emotion, to create a sense of pause and reflection. Notes on Beauty is an invitation to think differently, to challenge what you’ve been taught to value, and to consider perspectives you may not have encountered before. If it sparks new dialogue or even just a quiet shift in how someone sees themselves or the world around them, then we’ve done our job.
J:. Beauty isn’t one-size-fits-all, and it’s not always about perfection. It’s about identity, heritage, creativity, and freedom. The more we talk about that, the more room we make for everyone to feel seen.
NV: At its core, Notes on Beauty is about reimagining what beauty can be—intellectually, emotionally, and culturally. We want readers to feel expanded, not instructed. If the publication becomes a place where people come to feel inspired, challenged, and more connected to themselves and others, then we’ve built something meaningful.
How will you be structuring each issue going forward, will there be certain themes or is it going to be a curated assortment of imagery and texts?
NV: Each issue will start with a thematic prompt that serves as a foundation for the exploration. These prompts will be more akin to an academic or symposium series, where the focus is less about a traditional magazine "theme" and more about sparking intellectual engagement. It’s about creating space for diverse interpretations and varied approaches to beauty, allowing the theme to be explored from multiple angles.
RBIII: This approach is especially exciting when selecting contributors for each issue. The possibilities that emerge from a well-defined prompt are endless, and it’s fascinating to see how different voices and perspectives interpret that starting point. While not every contributor shares the same point of view, I’d like to think there’s an underlying pattern of thought—a shared curiosity—that ties everything together. Each issue will be a patchwork of these diverse perspectives, forming a cohesive narrative that challenges and expands how we think about beauty.
What role does beauty as a means of transformation and self-identity hold for 2025 and beyond?
NV: In one of the opening essays of Notes on Beauty, Grau suggests that beauty is less about conforming to external standards and more about the process of fully transforming into oneself—to become a role model, not by mirroring societal ideals, but by embodying your most authentic self. This idea is central to how we’re framing beauty moving forward. By stepping away from cultural impositions, we’re looking at beauty as a deeply personal form of expression and evolution. It’s about the freedom to redefine beauty on your own terms, and in 2025 and beyond, this will be an even more important aspect of self-identity—where beauty is less about fitting in and more about standing out as your truest form.
