How to get featured in Fabulous Magazine, Lust List: An editor's PR tips
If you want to get your product featured in Fabulous Magazine’s Lust List, knowing what editors are looking for will give your pitch a big advantage.
Catherine Bennion-Pedley, long-standing Lifestyle Editor at Fabulous from The Sun, joined PR Dispatch for a masterclass on how to pitch the title, sharing how Lust List themes are chosen, when to pitch around key retail moments like Mother’s Day and Christmas, what makes a product stand out and why photography can make or break your chances of coverage.
She also shared how print features move online, why timing matters and what to include in your pitch email.
If you’re looking for Lust List product placement, or simply want to understand how a national lifestyle title decides what makes the page, here are the key takeaways.
How does the Fabulous Lust List work?
The Lust List isn’t built around one fixed formula.
Catherine explained that it brings together key retail dates, brand launches, seasonal trends and products that simply work visually alongside everything else being featured that week.
Gift-led moments including Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day and advent calendars are incorporated into the Lust List rather than always appearing as standalone gift guides.
And from September onwards, the list becomes noticeably more gift-focused as readers begin thinking about Christmas.
That means there are plenty of opportunities to pitch throughout the year, rather than waiting for November or December.
1. Invest in your cut-out photography
If you only take one thing away from the masterclass, make it this.
Photography can make or break your chances of coverage.
Catherine said this is the single thing she would prioritise if she were running a product business and handling its own PR.
Poor cut-out photography is one of the most common reasons products are passed over, even when the product itself is strong.
Your press imagery should be:
High resolution
Professionally lit
Clean and crisp
On a simple background
Free from packaging and tags
Easy for an editor to use on the page
Avoid cropped lifestyle shots or images where the product is difficult to isolate.
Editors are working quickly, and good cut-out imagery makes it much easier for them to visualise your product in a shopping feature.
For smaller brands in particular, investing in strong photography can make a huge difference.
2. Think beyond Christmas gift guides
Christmas might be the biggest gifting opportunity of the year, but it isn't the only one.
At Fabulous, gifting moments such as Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day and Father’s Day can all feed into the Lust List.
From September onwards, the list also becomes more heavily focused on gifting as Christmas shopping begins earlier.
So if you sell a giftable product, don't build your PR calendar around Christmas alone.
Look at the full year and identify the moments when your product could naturally fit.
That could mean:
Valentine’s Day
Mother’s Day
Father’s Day
Advent calendars
Christmas gifting
Seasonal colour trends
New product launches
Major retail moments
The more closely your pitch aligns with what editors are already planning, the easier it is to make the case for coverage.
3. Timing matters
Knowing when to pitch is just as important as having the right product.
The printed Fabulous Lust List works roughly three weeks ahead, so you need to be thinking about upcoming coverage well before it appears on the page.
The newsletter works differently. It's compiled on a Tuesday for a Friday send, meaning it can accommodate fresher and more last-minute products.
Catherine also explained that if a product misses its ideal slot, she won't simply run it late. She'll look for another opportunity rather than featuring something that feels behind the competition.
So before you pitch, think about the publication’s lead time and the specific moment you're pitching into.
4. Don't pitch once and disappear
Not hearing back from an editor doesn't necessarily mean your product has been rejected.
Catherine explained that her team keeps folders for upcoming features and revisits products and pitches over time.
That means there is value in staying on an editor's radar.
If you have something genuinely new to share, come back with:
A new colourway
A seasonal variation
A new product
A different angle
A trend-led story
A product that fits an upcoming retail moment
The key is to bring something fresh.
Repeatedly sending the same pitch isn't useful. Coming back with something relevant gives the editor a reason to reconsider your brand.
5. Use colour to make your pitch stand out
Colour-led pitches can be particularly effective when they align with what a publication is working on seasonally.
Rather than sending a generic list of products, think about how your products could work together visually.
For example, if a particular colour palette is trending, consider grouping relevant products around that theme in your pitch.
This can make the email more visually engaging and help an editor immediately picture how your products could work within a page.
What should you include when pitching Fabulous?
Keep your pitch short and make it easy for the editor to assess your product quickly.
Catherine recommended including:
An image in the body of the email
Don't make an editor click through to find out what your product looks like. Put a strong image directly into the email.
Price and stockist information
Make the essential details easy to find. Include the price, website or stockist and any relevant purchasing information upfront.
A link to high-resolution imagery
Use Dropbox, Google Drive or another easy-to-access folder for high-resolution cut-outs and lifestyle imagery.
A short product story
If there is an interesting backstory, founder detail or reason the product is particularly relevant, include it. Just don't bury the important information in a long introduction.
One strong product or a small selection
Don't send a catalogue.
Too many products can make it harder for an editor to see what is actually worth considering. Lead with your strongest option or a tightly curated selection.
What price points work for the Lust List?
Price varies depending on the category.
Lifestyle, fashion and home accessories generally sit below £50, while interiors can stretch much higher, particularly for larger-ticket pieces such as sofas.
Catherine described around £150 as the higher end for a typical Fabulous product, although there are exceptions depending on the category and feature.
So don't automatically rule yourself out if your product sits outside the usual price range. Consider the context of the feature and whether the product offers something particularly relevant.
Can discounts help you get featured?
An exclusive discount can be useful to flag in your pitch, particularly for more expensive products.
A discount of around 15–20% can give readers an additional reason to buy.
But it isn't a shortcut to coverage.
Product selection remains editorial-first. An affiliate link or discount can add value once a product has been selected, but it isn't what gets it onto the page.
The product still needs to be relevant, visually strong and right for the feature.
Small brands are welcome
One particularly useful takeaway for independent brands was Catherine's support for smaller businesses and products with a strong story.
Being a small brand doesn't automatically put you at a disadvantage.
But your product still needs to look the part.
With tighter budgets meaning editors have less capacity to commission photography on behalf of brands, having professional, ready-to-use imagery can make a disproportionately big difference for smaller businesses.
Category-specific tips
Different product categories can have different opportunities within Fabulous.
Kids and baby
These products appear occasionally, including around Christmas, nursery features and Mother's Day, rather than being a weekly focus.
Weddings
Wedding content is generally covered by the fashion team around April and May, so pitch well ahead of the season.
Vintage, antiques and one-off pieces
These may be better suited to roundup formats than individual shopping placements, particularly because one-off products can sell out before print.
Sustainability
Products with strong sustainable credentials can be highlighted with a green tick in the magazine. More niche sustainability-led products, such as books, may be better suited to editorial features than shopping pages.
Put these Fabulous PR tips into action
Ready to pitch Fabulous?
Start with your imagery.
Open your press folder and look at your cut-outs objectively. Are they high resolution? Well lit? Clean? Easy for an editor to use?
If not, sort that before sending your next pitch.
Then look at the Fabulous calendar and work backwards from the moments your product could fit.
Think beyond Christmas. Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Valentine’s Day, seasonal trends and new launches can all create opportunities.
Finally, don't disappear after one pitch.
If your product is relevant but the timing isn't right, come back with something genuinely new.
The best PR pitching isn't about sending the same product to every editor and hoping something sticks. It's about understanding what an editor is looking for, making your product easy to use and giving them a reason to come back to you.
The biggest takeaway? Sort your photography first
There are plenty of things that can strengthen a pitch: a compelling story, a relevant trend, a seasonal angle or an exclusive discount.
But according to Catherine, none of them can compensate for poor imagery.
If your product photography doesn't hold up on the page, it can be passed over before the editor gets to the rest of your pitch.
So before you send another email, ask yourself:
Would an editor be able to picture this product on the page immediately?
If the answer is no, start there.
Want to learn more from Catherine?
This blog post only scratches the surface of what Catherine shared during the PR Dispatch masterclass.
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