SCAVULLO ON BEAUTY

Calling this Scavullo on Beauty is a bit misleading: although the Cosmo cover photographer briefly indicates his standards (self-confidence and self-awareness, attention to diet, skin care, hair, and make-up) and says a little about the women he's photographed, primarily he lets them speak for themselves. Their comments, in a question-and-answer format, have the superficiality of a fashion magazine interview; although many favor natural ingredients in food and cosmetics, a shallow, narcissistic tone prevails and one must overlook Marisa Berenson's characterization of her sister (She's the most divine person in the world"") or Dalila di Lazzaro's cavalier attitude toward clothes (when it gets dirty, throw it out). Celebrities include traditional beauties like Dina Merrill, those more recently arrived like Bette Midler, some unexpected personalities (Joan Sutherland, all three Hemingway sisters), and that sadly exploited teenager, Tatum O'Neal. Speaking in many voices, some of them contradictory, this lacks the uniform viewpoint of the Sassoons' bestselling A Year of Beauty and Health, although the emphasis on the pursuit of beauty--always as something more than appearance--has a similar appeal.