Friday, October 22, 2010

furoku

In America, rarely do you get anything free in a magazine, well except those subscription forms that fall out whenever you turn the pages.

Oh, and maybe a little whiff of a new perfume.

Furoku are supplements (aka freebies) that come with magazines in Japan.

It is all the rage now. I think that more and more publishers are using these freebies to sell their magazines.

It's how I got my Laduree oil cloth bag.

Recently, a fashion magazine, "With", had a cute furoku...a Hello Kitty Liberty of London card case.

It is perfect for my train pass.

Do magazines where you live come with something free inside?

16 comments:

Jude said...

So true, Stateside magazines don't give up many freebies! (I think the UK is better too). These are awesome ones you got, I love the 2nd. P.S. Hope things are better on the MIL burn front.

Anita said...

I'm from the US and they dont do it there but I am living in the UK and there are always freebies in magazines here. In fact thats how I buy most lol I got 3 nail polishes and a L'Occitane hand cream recently.

Kathy YL Chan said...

Hi Kat!
Funny you mention this - I just stopped by the Japanese book store we have here in NYC (Kinokuniya Bookstore) to pick up the new Yves Saint Laurent makeup catalog. But the only reason I got the catalog was to get the free YSL tote bag that came with the catalog, heheh ^_^

K and S said...

Thanks Jude, MIL seems to be doing better.

That is so cool Anita :)

my friend got that bag too Kathy :)

Take care everyone.
Kat

Admin said...

It's very rare unless it is sponsored by a brand. Usually a sachet of facial wash or a moisturizer from Pond's.

K and S said...

facial wash is nice too Mikuru :)

Take care.
Kat

Rowena said...

The fashion/home & garden mags will occasionally have something free tucked into the wrapping, but they always look like really cheap stuff that I wouldn't even pass on to a thrift shop. Come to think of it, we rarely purchase magazines anymore because they are just so chockful of ads!

Deb in Hawaii said...

Sometimes I buy the UK food or home magazines and they have little things with them. I wish the ones here did it. I love both your bags. ;-)

K and S said...

Thanks Rowena, most magazines I buy these days have to do with food more than fashion :p

Debinhawaii, Maybe the US magazines are worried people will take them out from the magazines when they are on the racks?? In Japan, they have each magazine in plastic :p

Take care you two.
Kat

K said...

Love Hello Kitty + Liberty, what a cute card case!

Beauty Box said...

I'm an absolutely sucker for furoku. I have so many eco bags and cosmetic cases. I just spied more Paul & Joe and Kitson furoku in CanCan and Sweet on the newsstands and I had to control myself lol! Still thinking about them though...

K and S said...

I checked out those two magazines Astrorainfall, and they are cute furoku :)

Take care.
Kat

risa said...

Hello, I'm a student in Japan. Now I'm blogging about deferent cultures between Japan and the UK in the class. So your blog is some help for me. I'm looking forward to see your postings. Thank you:D

K and S said...

Thanks for stopping by Risa :)

Take care.
Kat

jalna said...

Heeeey, I wish we had such a thing here. That's neat!

K and S said...

It is too bad they don't have this in the US Jalna :)

Take care.
Kat