Linda Wells to join Air Mail as beauty and wellness columnist

By

Jennifer Braun

Published
Nov 19, 2021

Linda Wells is continuing to pursue her work in journalism with a new title as beauty and wellness columnist, at Air Mail. 

In her newly appointed role, announced on Thursday, Wells will provide commentary, reporting, news on trends, and product selections on all matters of health and beauty at the digital weekly founded by Graydon Carter, the former editor of Vanity Fair, and co-edited with Alessandra Stanley, a former foreign correspondent and critic for The New York Times. 

Wells has had an impressive career in both journalism and business. In 1991, Wells founded Allure magazine, where she served as editor-in-chief until 2015. She began her career at Vogue, where she wrote and edited stories about beauty, health, nutrition, and fitness. In 1985, she joined The New York Times and went on to become the paper’s beauty and food editor of The New York Times Magazine. 

Most recently, in 2017, Wells entered the business side of beauty and became chief creative officer of Revlon, where she launched the beauty brand Flesh in 2018. She also co-wrote the book, Confessions of a Beauty Editor, and was named one of the most powerful fashion-magazine editors in the business, by Forbes, in 2009. 

“I don’t know of any writer or reporter who knows their beat the way Linda knows hers. And she wears it all lightly. Also, Linda’s really funny, writes like a dream, and we’ve been friends forever. I really could not be more excited to be working alongside her again,” said Carter. 
 
Wells added: “I’ve long admired Graydon as a journalist, an innovator, and a cultural sage. He has the best sense of what captivates readers; he also has exceptional hair. Air Mail has mastered a truly global, bespoke approach to the news, and I’m excited to be part of such an incredible vision and team.”

Air Mail launched with a staff of 10 and has since expanded to a team of over 50 people, a number of whom previously worked at The New York Times, the Financial Times, Spy, Time, and Condé Nast titles such as Vanity Fair, GQ, Vogue, and more. The publication covers news, arts, politics, culture, literature, film and television, society, fashion, crime, and the environment.