Monday, April 8, 2024

Watch Lea Seydoux Time Leap in “The Beast,” a Bio-Electric Feedback of a Movie.

 By Laura Medina



Lea Seydoux proves she got range, playing three different characters in three different time periods while being stuck in a bio-electric feedback loop of never-ending yearning of an unrequited romantic relationship.

Leaping from Belle Epoque to 2014 to 2044, it’s about one woman’s romantic life being reincarnated three times over by the same guy, played by George MacKay.

It’s romance being defined by three different decades and eras, from longing to Incel anger to techno-stalking. This makes it bio-electric feedback loop.


Josh O’ Connor is “La Chimera.”

 By Laura Medina 



After “The Durrell of Corfu” then “The Crown,” actor Josh O’ Connor is “La Chimera.”

In “La Chimera,” his lost character is Arthur Harrison, an archaeologist who slipped into the black market antiquities that form the foundation for museums’ hot antiquities market.

A Chimera is often referred to as a mythical creature with magical powers and skills that normal people don’t have but wish they have. It’s an Italian unicorn.

Since Arthur Harrison has uncanny knack for discovering ancient artifacts and Roman marble statues, his talents and knowledge fuels the hot, black market that does get him in trouble and being taken advantage of, by the local rural rednecks and farmers who actually make money in the black market.

Basically, poor Arthur Harrison is “La Chimera,” a lost English ex-pat who made home as an English transplant in rural Italy. 


Friday, April 5, 2024

Winnie Harlow’s Island Glow Smoothie, Sydney Sweeney’s Laneige Firm & Bouncy Face Mask Then Taylor Tomlinson’s @AfterMidnight.

 By Laura Medina




It was a “Girl Glam Slam” week, a triple threat of female empowerment in a trio week of: supermodel, Winnie Harlow, actress/producer/Laneige Ambassador, Sydney Sweeney, and @Aftermidnight’s Taylor Tomlinson on CBS. Taylor is the only female late night host in a field overcrowded with stereotypical white males, interchangeable as the next one. It’s time to be a sore thumb sticking out. 

Winnie Harlow ignited the week, on a Saturday, by debuting her Island Glow Smoothie at Erewhon, next door to a Sephora selling her sunscreens, conveniently. 

She asked this scribe, what her smoothie tastes like? This scribe answered, “pineapple.”

Then on the following Monday, hundred fans lined up then curled around the corner, at Laneige’s The Grove pop-up, for rising star, Sydney Sweeney.  She’s Laneige’s brand ambassador.  Sydney promoted their latest Bouncy & Firm Face Mask by handing it out to the first fifty fans. As an actress/producer who likes to develop then produce books, she likes reading, Sydney is becoming a triple threat on her own feet and hands, in her early twenties.

The next day, Tuesday, the third and final was Taylor Tomlinson, the lone female late-night talk/game show host in a field over-populated by cookie-cutter white male hosts, interchangeable from the next.

Not only does Taylor sticks due to her gender. @AfterMidnight sticks as the only game show airing at 12:30 am, not your canned talk show. The contestants are comedians. With the people and the time slot, it can be a light blue, raunchy, and risqué with a nightclub party atmosphere.

Blue hearts support for Taylor. 




Thursday, March 14, 2024

John Galliano’s High & Low” Documentary, the Crash & Burn then Galliano’s Phoenix Rising.

                            By Laura Medina

Before Dior then Maison Marigela, Creative Director John Galliano crashed when in an exhausted burnout or nervous breakdown, a drunk Galliano spewed antisemitic and racist anti- Asian slurs, slurred as his speak. When he realized the average French Parisian don’t give a damn about his high-level, high-pressured haute designer status, they burst his designer bubble, sending him and his career crashing onto Earth.

Coming back from the ground up, John Galliano is coming back as Maison Marigela, sprinkling his theatrical magic dust onto the runway.

His self-destructive documentary, “John Galliano, High and Low,” traces his antisemitic Catholic roots while his extreme low of alcoholism followed by his extreme highs in working out, to detox the drugs and alcohol.

It also shows you, what it means to be a designer of today.

What apprising designers really want to be, is be a Creative Designer.

What most folks call a design house, is really brands.

As Dior’s Creative Director, John isn’t afraid to say, he was in charge of two design houses with their own four lines of haute couture, contemporary ready to wear street/urban wear, accessories, makeup and skincare. Times two, John was designing 8 lines every year, non-stop.

There were no vacations, just research trips to create fresh fashion trends.

In-between, he had to do party and press, media blitzes.

No rest for the weary, no personal life, all that dedication and hard work accumulated into episodes of drugged and drunken nervous breakdowns.

Even his right-man committed suicide due to the responsibilities and demands.

When you hit rock bottom, your true friends come to your rescue.

Ironically, it was the predominantly Jewish fashion that came to John’s rescue. They owed up to saying the fashion industry that they’re part of and own and run, is reason why John had that infamous nervous breakdown.

After leaving Paris and resetting on a farm, John Galliano recovered enough to make a comeback as Maison Maricela’s Creative Director. 

Of course, he’s now a different person. No longer hogging the spotlight as celebrity designer, he still sprinkle his theatrical magic dust on another genre-busting runway show but this exhausted bad boy hid behind the curtains.

In a “Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris,” 1950’s period fashion piece, a young smart fashion executive said why don’t Dior expand into accessories of purses, shoes, and makeup, lipstick and powdered foundation mirror compact for the average woman to have touches of haute couture?

That idea have proven to be any fashion brand’s bloodline, the foundation holding the lofty ceiling of haute couture.

John Galliano was the real life, flesh and blood of that, burning out on non-stop treadmill of designing 8 lines of clothes, accessories and the beauty lines.

Those demands killed Alexander McQueen but John Galliano survived it.

Renewed and wiser.

Tuesday, March 12, 2024

Oscar Beauty, 2 Days of Makeup & 3 Months of Skincare.

                                 By Laura Medina


After 23 years learning and living then the next 16 years reporting and covering, this scribe discover and cherish time-honored Hollywood tradition, such as Oscar Week! Awards Season, Hollywood dream come true!

A locals-only, the Miss Dior pop-up beauty cafe. Now, the cat is out of the bag! 

Last year, it was a real cafe with lattes and savory snacks and fancy desserts, worthy of “Emily in Paris,” with Dior makeup makeovers and J’Adore Dior rose perfumes.

This recent one for this year’s Oscar weekend, Miss Dior pop-up was a fancy ice cream parlor with a rose floral shop with the mandatory makeover stations and the J’Adore perfume bar. Don’t worry, they still had a latte cafe. You need makeovers fueled by rose-tinted, strawberry-flavored caffeine to get you through the rounds of nonstop pre-Oscar parties and soirées leading up to the Oscars.



Oscar Week or Oscar Weekend is the ideal time to launch beauty and fashion products when nervous, anxious nominees and their way more nervous dates, need stuff now, that work immediately.

Ilia Beauty launched their brand, new skincare-based Skin Rewind Complexion Stick on Saturday, day before Oscar Sunday.  Their promotional pop-up was a treat trying out the new Complexion Sticks as foundation, concealer, and contour. They had their tinted sunscreen with their tinted lip balms. 

This is two days of makeovers.


Remember, this and any Awards Season starts in January with  Golden Globes launching it, during Winter.

Oscars complexion starts in January, during Winter.

Sweet July by Ayesha Curry’s Castaway Cream’s shea butter, castor oil, and meadowfoam seed oil moisturizes with antioxidants while niacinamide keeps the greasiness at bay.


For stressed, nervous adult skin, it can’t be too oily to pop up stress pimples and pimple scars, yet it can’t it be so drying that wrinkles and crow’s feet show up,.. for all the world to see.

This is where Ayesha Curry’s Sweet July Irie Power Face Oil comes in handy. 

This clarifying oil has the olive oil and neem seed oil to moisturize during the harsh winter while salicylic acid and turmeric clarifies the skin away from clogging pores and debris from pimples. Prepping skin while preventing blemishes, for those close-ups on those big nights, when everyone is watching tv, picking flaws for sport.

Yeah, Oscar beauty and Awards Season skincare is all about saving face closed up, on a global stage. But yeah, it sets you up for years of good skincare habits.




Thursday, February 22, 2024

“Demise,” A Latina Take on “Fatal Attraction,” A Guilty Sex Thriller Treat.

                                        By Laura Medina 


Nothing deep, nothing meaningful yet a guilty treat of an emotional rollercoaster of sexual thriller, according to a real triple threat of “Demise” movie director, producer, and screenwriter, Yara Estrada-Lowe.  Growing up, she’s always a fan of Eigthies and Ninties erotic thrillers.  But it’s 2024, with exploding Hispanic market, she thought it would it be nice to have a Latin spin on a love triangle and desire.  She did it with “Demise.”


Good looks and sensuality runs in the Mendez family. Eva Mendez’ half-brother, Carlo Mendez is an actor in his own right and long, established career.  Yes, he plays the cliche hot Latin lover, but in today’s “Demise,” he’s portrayed as a player who’s served with karma, both good and bad.  His character, Caleb, undergoes a real character journey riding life’s rollercoaster.


“Demise” is a contemporary erotic thriller set in present day with real, current, and common problems that majority of people deal with everyday, infertility affecting infidelity, revenge while rebounding, and desire versus jealousy.  Liz Fenning’s “Celine” is the woman done dirty by life, that this scribe does feel empathy for. 


In today’s life, every woman needs an objective gay buddy who sees it for what it is, to tell her what it is. This is where a strong supporting character comes, “Miguel” played by Morris Jude Martinez.  Being supporting to be supportive, never means being minor. 

Come February 27th, you can devour this sexy, erotic eye candy, “Demise” on Apple TV, so you can have something naughty while munching on your chocolate bonbons, French macarons, candy truffles, and toffees.  “Demise” is naughty, sexy treat.





Monday, February 19, 2024

Fun Market Research is Burger King’s Carnival Pop-up.

                                 

                             By Laura Medina


In quest for the next fast food hit, in addition to mass question to the mass public in an advertising campaign asking people in creating the next, great Whooper, lucky Los Angelenos were treated to a Burger King pop-up carnival on the massive Santa Monica Pier.

Amongst the fun and games, with swag, Burger King will discover the next, new Whooper.

In order to get their free Whooper, there are three menus, Santa Monica Whooper, Impossible Burger, and Customized Whooper. The Customized Whooper was the secret sauce. Anyone can put anything in their Customized Whooper. Whatever and whichever combination is the most popular, will be the next Whooper.

While munching, folks gulped down oceans of Orange Fanta and Coke and Coke Zero Ice Cream 🍨 floats while getting limited edition swag and designing their dream Whooper on t-shirts.

It was a Whooper Weekend all afternoon.

Got your mouth watering?