I had the idea that this would be a sarcastic and hilarious tell-all about the fashion/beauty magazine industry. It wasn’t, although the author seemed to jump back and forth from ponting out the ridiculousness of her job and defending it. A couple of the anecdots are funny, but not funny enough to overlook the poor writing (and when I notice and comment on that it’s got to be pretty bad) and lack of plot. I’ve read my share of fashion mags and attended Clinique Bonus Days, but reading Free Gift with Purchase made the whole business look especially shallow.