CoverFX is a Grown-Up MAC.

By Laura Medina

Victor Casale was Chief Chemist and Managing Director at MAC Cosmetics, Ltd., where he gained a reputation as a world-renowned product innovator.

Then, he met Lee Graff and discovered her CosMedic Clinic, where medical grade cosmetics to help heal and protect patients' skin while camouflaging flaws and blemishes as the foundation treats the flaws and blemishes.

That's where and when CoverFX was born, when MAC chemists switched over to make cosmetics that benefit the skin, as well as making it appear good.  Going skin deep.

Cover FX products are oil, paraben and fragrance free, contain UVA & UVB SPF, are water resistant and stay on all day.  Our foundations are a new generation of coverage that look and feel like second skin, provide buildable cover, are available in over 30 global shades and are affordable. They are the solution for all minor to major skin problems from dark undereye circles to sun damage to skin redness.

They have developed several unique technologies such as:

• Derma Fix – A blend of ingredients that enable our foundation to bind to the skin and to itself, hence permitting buildable coverage
• Derma Veil – This technology provides a breathable veil for the skin, blurring fine lines and pores while creating a smooth-as-glass surface, ideal for foundation application
• Line Fill – Tiny dehydrated hyaluronic spheres that swell when in contact with water within skin tissues; water is time released back into skin for continual hydration

Believing in Healthy Skin and Healthy Makeup.  Their products continue to be tested on people with extremely sensitive skin, such as rosacea patients.  People who need this the most.

In this rare, one-day only moment in time, CoverFX did a pop-up cosmetic workshop lab in the old Frederic Fekkai salon in Melrose Place, the real Melrose Place of secluded boutiques and cafes.

The first lab station was the customized makeup primer, heavy on skincare for various skincare concerns.

First, you have your base.

For this scribe's sensitive skin, the cosmetic chemists add chamomile which is the anti-inflammatory serum.  Then, they add drop of anti-inflammatory serum to calm down the skin.  They vials of Vitamin C to help the scarring.  Vitamin E for healing.  Another set of vials of anti-aging serum.

For anti-aging primer, add Vitamin E and Anti-Aging Serum to the base.

Walk upstairs to the loft, that's where Victor Casale held a "mix your customized" foundation.  It was like paint class for adults.

No wonder art students and art school grads make the best makeup artists.

Obviously, the guest students started heaping on the yellow pigment.

This is when Victor started educating them.

Interesting note, the red pigment is sandstone.  The same sandstone that makes Las Vegas' Redrock red.  The same mineral.

Of course, the white pigment brightens.  The red sandstone pigment...and the black warms up the yellow pigment into something more flesh-tone, more human.

This pop-up workshop lab was a rare opportunity for CoverFX to be open and honest while being crafty and creative.  The best way to learn.

Their Perfect Light Highlighting Powders are talc-free.  Talc emphasize wrinkles.  Instead, again minerals, they use mica, infused with amino acids, in their powders.  The formula is enriched with Vitamin C, E, antioxidants, green tea extract which helps with neutralizing free radical damage and Vitamin F, which is known for having hydrating benefits.

The icing on the cake is their Custom Enhancer Drops station, used alone as highlighters or as a subtle bronzer/blush or to add warmth or sparkle to foundations.  They're made from real pearls.

CoverFX goes beyond the surface.  They're beneficial makeup that aids on easing skin ailments while covering the flaws as they boost people's confidence and self-esteem.

Intelligent cosmetics with skincare results for adults.

From Thermal Spring Water in La Roche-Posay, France to La Roche-Posay Summer Skincare & Sunscreen.

By Laura Medina

http://www.laroche-posay.us/about-us

From an underground thermal spring, rich in biodiversity of good microbes and Selenium, to building a therapeutic hospital on to of those thermal waters, to reaching the globe with skincare mixed in with those thermal waters, La Roche-Posay has expanded it's offering to UV patches monitoring your Melanoma to finally, stuff real people use daily-cosmetics.  

For skin-sufferers, going on a "medical vacation" is ostensibly costly.  But for the La Roche-Posay Thermal Spring Hospital, keeping those precious microbes alive in shipment is extremely expensive.  So, they figure it's much easier to manufacture skincare made with this thermal water then bring it to the masses.

For decades the focus in skin research has been on the physical barrier. New research now unveils a diverse community of micro-organisms that live on the skin barrier – the MICROBIOME. After 5 years of research and 13 clinical studies by La Roche-Posay, new research has demonstrated that for healthy skin, it is not enough to maintain the moisture barrier alone. In fact, a healthy microbiome is critical for optimal skin health. Bringing their expertise in groundbreaking innovations to a new level, the brand launches the first-to-market prebiotic skincare collection that acts on both the moisture barrier and the microbiome for double repair.

Prebiotics can feed and promote a healthy microbiome. Thanks to its unique mineral and microbial diversity, the La Roche-Posay Thermal Spring Water has a prebiotic action on the microbiome that is scientifically proven to help repair even the most sensitive and atopic skin!

Formulated with the highest concentration of Prebiotic Thermal Spring Water, Ceramide-3, an essential ceramide naturally found in skin, Niacinamide, a form of vitamin B3 with soothing properties and Glycerin, a moisturizing agent that naturally attracts water to skin. The Toleriane collection is complete with four new products that repair skin’s two barriers, resulting in healthier, more radiant looking skin.

·         La Roche-Posay Toleriane Purifying Foaming Cleanser ($14.99, 400ml - 13.5 fl.oz):  For normal to oily skin. Effectively cleanses and removes excess oil.

·         La Roche-Posay Toleriane Hydrating Gentle Cleanser ($14.99, 400ml – 13.5 fl.oz):  For normal to dry skin.Gently cleanses while retaining essential moisture.

·         La Roche-Posay Toleriane Double Repair Moisturizer ($19.99, 75ml – 2.5 fl.oz): Provides up to 48hr hydration.

·         La Roche-Posay Toleriane Double Repair Moisturizer UV – Broad Spectrum SPF30 ($19.99, 75ml – 2.5 fl.oz): Helps protect and provides all day

hydration.

LA ROCHE-POSAY EFFACLAR MICELLAR WATER ULTRA FOR OILY SKIN ($19.99, laroche-posay.us): Cleanser and make-up remover for oily skin that respects its physiological balance. A gentle cleanser formulated with Zinc and Glycerin to purify and hydrate the skin.

LA ROCHE-POSAY MICELLAR WATER ULTRA ($19.99, laroche-posay.us): Removes dirt, oil, makeup and even pollution particles from face, lips, and even eyes. Respects the skin’s physiological balance. Cleanses and soothes sensitive skin.

During last week's "beauty brunch," La Roche-Posay debut their first foray into cosmetics...

La Roche-Posay Toleriane Teint Mousse ($30): Mattifying foundation for sensitive skin that minimizes the appearance of pores and covers blemishes. Helps control shine for long-lasting, matte skin. Available in 5 different shades.

La Roche-Posay Toleriane Teint Correcting Pen ($25): Corrects pigment imperfections for all skin types. Available in three tones:

·         Yellow concealer: helps to highlight and brighten to visibly cover bluish imperfections, such as dark under eye circles, to help skin look more even.

·         Dark beige concealer: helps visibly cover mild to moderate skin imperfections on darker skin, such as blemishes, visible redness or visible dark spots for a more even skin tone.

·         Light beige concealer: helps visibly cover skin imperfections on fair skin such as blemishes, visible redness or visible dark spots for a more even skin tone.

La Roche-Posay is more focused on skincare, that they're advancing sun protection technology.

Taking inspiration from the smoker's patch...

LA ROCHE-POSAY MY UV PATCH: Water and sweat-resistant transparent adhesive can be used up to three days during all outdoor activities. Designed with photosensitive dyes that factor in the user’s unique skin tone. Once exposed to UV rays, the patch will begin to change colors, indicating the various levels of sun exposure. The La Roche-Posay My UV Patch mobile app (available on iOS and Android) tracks results and provides a personalized report on the UV exposure received once the image of the patch is uploaded. It analyzes the varying shades of the photosensitive dye and determines the amount of exposure the individual has received since the moment it was put on. This analysis takes into consideration not only the information registered by the patch, but also skin type, if sunscreen was applied or not, and the UV index in the user’s location.

La Roche-Posay Anthelios 60 Dermo-Kids ($19.99, Drugstores nationwide): Did you know that just 5 sunburns before the age of 20 can increase the risk of melanoma by a startling +80%? These sunburns may cause irreversible sun damage that could make the skin more fragile over the long-term, which in turn leads to accelerated skin aging and increased risk of skin cancer. It’s time to protect our kids from the dangers of the sun. Introducing the first kid’s sunscreen in the US from La Roche-Posay! A safe and gentle (dermatologist, pediatrician, and allergy tested) broad spectrum sunscreen that is lightweight, with a comforting texture, free of fragrance, parabens, oxybenzone and Retinyl Palmitate. Non comedogenic.

See, La Roche-Posay is trying to sneak some of their healthy miracle water in each and every one of their products, so you don't have to think twice about maintaining skincare.

Evan Ross & Ashley Simpson with Olivia Culpo Get Early, Fresh Pickings from Lucky Brand Denim's Fall/Winter 2017 Collection.

By Laura Medina

As soon as the sun sets on Dior's Victorian/Pioneer Western collection, it immediately pops up in Lucky Brand Denim's latest Fall/Winter 2017 collection.  Not surprising, since Lucky Brand Denim is all about mining Americana and the West for ideas.

Evan Ross and Ashley Simpson with Olivia Culpo, obviously, got and wore the fresh pickings from the Fall/Winter  2017 collection before it retails for the public.

This scribe was impressed by Olivia Culpo's tan suede, collar-less, moto jacket.

There's also an Eighties throwback with personalized monogramming for jean trucker jackets, vests, and tote bags, such as the headlining DJ couple, Minh and Amy Phan.

The biggest thing about Lucky Brand Denim's Fall/Winter 2017 collection is that they're expanding into lifestyle with a bedding collection to match the clothes.

Think of Lucky Brand Denim's Fall/Winter 2017 collection as affordable and more accessible version of Dior's Western Resort 2017 collection, signaling a Pioneer/Victorian spirit in contemporary fabrics, like this floral smocked blouse in sheer chiffon.

This pussy-bow blouse under black overall with embroidered motorcycle jacket is a fresh pairing.

Eyelet lace is back in off-shoulder shirt and coat shirt or a coat dress in Swiss Dot Lace.

Trends don't solely exist in clothes.  They also exist in food and beverages.

The Americana trend continues with Jack Daniel's BBQ Meats.  Thank god, they're prepared and sold in supermarkets for your own party.

Pulled pork and chicken, soaking in Jack Daniel's BBQ sauce, were in sliders and tacos. Easy and accessible.

Lucky Brand Denim's Fall/Winter 2017 debut party was a second-chance Coachella for those who can't make it or won't drive to the desert.

They really up the ante when Korey Dane hit the stage.

They got the Urban Cowgirl grooving.

Isn't that the point in the upcoming Fall/Winter 2017, Urban Cowgirl.

The material is sheer and the tailoring Victorian enough to carry over into next year's "Bobo"/Hippy Coachella.

So, Lucky Brand Denim's Fall/Winter 2017 is an investment.

Nick Jonas chairs Beyond Type 1 with fellow diabetic, Bravo's Top Chef, Sam Talbot, while partying with Ashley Tisdale and Damon Dash.

By Laura Medina

At his fundraising cocktail party at the fresh and haute Avenue Nightclub in revitalized corner of Cahuenga Boulevard and Selma Avenue, Nick Jonas described the first time he discovered he was Type 1 Diabetic.  He was on a date.

That awkward moment didn't stop him from succeeding nor having a life.

Honestly...Nick Jonas, "I just came here for some food and drinks."

With fellow Type 1 diabetic and Bravo's Top Chef, Sam Talbot, they founded Beyond Type 1 https://beyondtype1.org/, a philanthropy.  Together with Juliet de Baubigny and Sarah Lucas  leveraging the power of social media and technology, changing what it means to live with Type 1 diabetes. By educating the global community about this chronic, autoimmune disease, as well as providing resources and support for those living with Type 1, Beyond Type 1 bridges the gap from diagnosis to cure, empowering people to both live well today and to fund a better tomorrow. 100% of every dollar raised directly supports the most promising global efforts and programs working to educate, advocate and cure Type 1 diabetes, https://beyondtype1.org/about-beyond-type-1/

Using Hollywood might and power, a scattering of haute and hot diabetics and Young Hollywood, this is literally an injection of fresh blood in the fight against diabetes and finding a cure for it while absolutely what diabetes is and what diabetes is not.

This literally goes "beyond" one type of diabetes.  They list and describe various forms of diabetes.  Nick, Sam, and you...y'all aren't alone.

What Type 1 Diabetes is not:

A lifestyle disease

Something you outgrow

Caused by sugar

Preventable

Cureable...yet

Type 1 Diabetes is:

Type 1 diabetes is a chronic, autoimmune condition that occurs when the body’s own immune system attacks the insulin-producing beta cells of the pancreas. This attack leaves the pancreas with little or no ability to produce insulin, a hormone that regulates blood sugar. Without insulin, sugar stays in the blood and can cause serious damage to organ systems, causing people to experience Diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA).

Insulin dependency for life.

Diagnosed at any age

Threatens devasting complications

Meticulous planning to avoid life-threatening situations.

Throwing his $10 Million hat in for autoimmune type 1 diabetes race to the cure, Napster founder, file-sharing pioneer, and Facebook's "sugar daddy," Sean Parker was among the A-List guests showing their support to people with diabetes and other autoimmune diseases.

Those diabetic celebrities used their power of influence to attract A-Listers to the cause....

Ashley Tisdale

Roc-A-Fella Records and Rocawear founder, Damon Dash showed his support behind the cause.

Even the legendary brand and design, Gela Nash-Taylor of Juicy Couture and "Pam and Gela," added more "glam slam."

Since Nick came here for the food and Sam is a chef, this glam slam, over the top, crème de la cream cocktail party offers plenty of diabetic-friendly snacks and hors d'oeuvre.

Portion-control chicken meatballs, white pizza, filet mignon slices on toast, sashimi, and Prosciutto-wrapped asparagus, guzzled with fun, fizzy Hint Fizz Water and still Hint Water and Kim Crawford Wines.

Yes, diabetics have lives.

Spring Spritzer Cocktail= Hint Peach Fizz + Kim Crawford Rose

They also eat fancy, fun, fluffy desserts, peanut butter mousse and chocolate mousse.

In a similar vein, here's Sam Talbot's Frozen Honey Mousse With Lime And Sea Salt, http://www.bravotv.com/blogs/top-chef-sam-talbot-frozen-honey-mousse-recipe-cookbook

Frozen Honey Mousse With Lime And Sea Salt
Hands-on: 30 minutes Total: 2 hours, 30 minutes Serves 8  
This summer dessert is as pretty to present as it is delicious. The acidity of the lime smooths out the honey—and honey, we know, cures everything.

• 3 large pasteurized eggs, separated
• 3/4 cup blossom honey
• 1 (13.66-ounce) can coconut milk, chilled at least 4 hours
• 1 cup heavy cream, chilled
• 1 teaspoon organic vanilla extract
• Lime zest
• Flaked sea salt (such as Maldon)

1. Whisk together the egg yolks and honey in a medium-size heavy-duty saucepan. Cook over low, whisking constantly, until thickened, 12 to 15 minutes.
2. Beat the egg whites in a medium bowl with an electric mixer fitted with whisk attachment on high until stiff peaks form, 2 to 3 minutes. Set aside.
3. Without shaking or tilting can, carefully open coconut milk. Remove solidified coconut cream from top, and place in a 2-cup measuring cup. Add liquid from can to equal 1 1/2 cups, and transfer to a medium bowl. Add heavy cream and vanilla, and beat on medium-high speed until soft peaks form, 2 to 3 minutes. Gently fold the egg whites and honey mixture into the cream mixture; spread in single layer in a 13- x 9-inch glass baking dish. Freeze 2 hours.
4. Spoon into parfait glasses; top with lime zest and sea salt.

Thanks to Nick Jonas' and Sam Talbot's Beyond Type 1 foundation, they prove that diabetes is not a lifestyle disease; they're cute and resourceful; and successfully cute.

Nightclub Meets Cooking Show, How to be a Martha & Snoop's Potluck Dinner Party Audience Member.

By Laura Medina

http://on-camera-audiences.com/shows/Martha__Snoops_Potluck_Dinner_Party

It's fitting that Martha Stewart and Snoops Dogg's cooking/talk show is currently taping its second season during Los Angeles Food Bowl Month of May.

Just a mere happy coincidence.

Being an audience member, especially in your favorite show, is entering then winning a lottery.  With talk/game shows trying to keep it fresh and lively, you only have that window of time, that one time shot of getting there and being there, watching magic happen.

This salivating scribe saw On Camera Audience.com by chance then saw they gather and collection audience for Martha & Snoop's Potluck Dinner Party. 

This was back in January.

On a wing and a prayer, anyone can pick their favorite show then enter to win.

Five months later, Martha & Snoop's Potluck Dinner Party begun filming and needed an audience.

When you win the "lottery," you have an one-time chance to pick one day and one time slot.  No "double-dipping."

Martha & Snoop's Potluck Dinner Party tapes only on Thursdays and Fridays twice, during the afternoon and at night....How's that for a date?

Once you pick the date and time, you have to print out the ticket or else, security have the right to kick out.  The show is taped in a real live network studio.

Being an audience member is like being in adult kindergarten because staff and security don't want "studio crashers" hunting for producing deals.

Yep, this is a long one and an half hour wait to fill out release forms, only two bathroom breaks, phones turned off, then TV show staff gathering and marching "guests" into one of the nicest and most comfortable cooking shows.

How cool?

Martha & Snoop's Potluck Dinner Party shares...just a tidbit...whatever dish Martha, Snoop, and guests cook then feast on.  The production assistants give each audience member, only one mocktail to dainty sip through three hours taping.

It's really polite as it's cool in how audiences are treated.

Instead of cramming in people like sardines, there are café tables and chairs spread through-out the studio.  The more comfortable, the more "party" the audience.

Marching into the studio, this scribe overheard the day before, Martha and Snoop did two shows on French cuisine and Americana Diner fare.  People were snacking on escargot and burger sliders.

Again, no selfies!

On this day taping, it's Happy Chinese New Year with Max Chow, Mr. Chow's son, slicing crispy Peking Duck, presented by Martha.

Snoop Dogg presented his favorite "City Wok (Orange) Chicken; or what he calls "Orange is the New Black" Chicken, down the street from the studio, aptly-named Studio City.

They also invited a Chinese noodle master to make noodles from scratch on the show.

Margaret Cho was their celebrity and she's Korean-American...

Snoop cracks a joke a minute.  He's also wipe the counter clean and very considerate in-between takes.

Martha hates country music but proud to say her distant ancestor is Genghis Khan and was one of the first American to travel to China in the seventies.

But people were drooling like Pavlov's dogs, watching orange chicken being tossed and shellacked.  Lo Mein Noodles being pound and stretch.  Max Chow explaining you need to blow air into the Peking Duck for crunchy skin.

Once Martha and Snoop sit down to feast, that's the same time production assistants/waiters deliver audience member, dainty hors d'oeuvre serving of whatever Martha and Snoop are feasting.

Two Orange chicken tenders, a little noodle there and two Peking Duck slices on rice.

The staff is kind enough to say, if you don't like that food being cooked that day, you don't have to eat it. Simple

But, it's not so stiff.

Audience has every right to laugh and dance...on cue.

But, eating the same food that they cook at a bistro setting with a drink.

Can't beat that!

5 Do Overs for 5 Nights Straight, L.A. Food Bowl's Night Market is the Ultimate Food Truck Feast.

By Laura Medina

https://lafoodbowl.com/

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/la-times-food-bowl-night-market-tickets-33124995754

As a form of hometown pride and finally getting around that California is the world's fruit and vegetable basket, the city's eminent food critics gather around to dedicate the whole month of May as Los Angeles Food Bowl, where the city's best chefs and restaurant throw events to demonstrate that the City of Angels is grows the best produce, that they cook into the best meals, with the most creativity.

Dispelling that good food is snotty fine dining reserved for Hollywood stars publicized by tabloid paparazzi, L.A. Times' Night Market showcases real Los Angeles cuisine, taste, and restaurants; and locals have some darn good taste.

Yes, it reinforces that L.A. dining currently is food truck-dependent but it's fine dining that comes to the people.  It's also a great way for young chefs to show what they got.

This recent Night Market that run from Wednesday night through Sunday night finale, from 5pm to 10pm, was approachable as it was fun and the noshing innovative, with darn good ingredients.

During Night Market, you'll run into then chow on meals from restaurants featured on Food Network, such as Bludso's BBQ.  That only thing that bites is you biting into candied barbeque and mouth-watering seafood and juicy frozen treats; well, because it's Summer around the corner.

http://lobsterdamus.com/

With an amazing array of cuisines and innovations, it is best that you come each and every night of the five nights festival to be fair and square to sample everything on the three blocks Grand Park.  Look on the bright, for those who are cooking challenged, let this trained army of chefs, do all the work.  Plus, at $5 general admission ticket and the most expensive items are capped at $10, you can fine dine cheaper than valet parking.

"Everyone wants lobster," a dismayed foodie cried when they found on Sunday's finale that Lobsterdamus run out of half and whole grilled lobster and try to make do with Lobster Nachos,  Lobster Truffle Fries, and Lobster Garlic Noodles.

With Lobsterdamus, they make sure you'll get your bang for your buck, http://lobsterdamus.com/

 

http://www.gelatomessina.com/us/

http://www.gelatomessina.com/au/

L.A. Food Bowl's Night Market is a great opportunity to experience the "wow" and the unexpected.

Who would had known that Australia kicks butt in gelato-making, pushing it beyond boundaries, such as Deep Fried Gelato and Caramel Popcorn encrusted Gelato.

Gelato Messina has been doing so awesome in the gelato game, they expanded to a Las Vegas out-post.  Their only American post.

http://www.stickhousegelato.com/the-sticks/

Yes, this scrumptious scribe has gelato on the brain.  Lo and behold, Santa Monica's Stickhouse, gelato popsicles, beckons as fancy, fun refreshers between the savory meals.  Again going beyond expectations, they dip sorbets into chocolate then dust crush nuts on the sorbet and gelato popsicles.

Stickhouse takes it further, making it tough to choose, which one...hhhmmm....droooool...

Cupido is a gelato popsicle covered in sorbet.

A gelato cake on a stick, a gelato popsicle covered in sponge cake on a stick, can't beat that with a stick.  Yes, pun intended.

You can get hook and follow their Italian popsicle truck or go straight to 223 Broadway between 2nd and 3rd Streets in beautiful Santa Monica, California. They're open at 7:30am, 7 days a week, so please drop in and say, Ciao.

Knowing this is L.A., it ain't a party unless there are DJs.

L.A. Food Bowl's Night Market is when all sorts of Angelenos come out for both family fun and date night.

This scribe got her feet wet into being a foodie when she grew up with the extinct Taste of Charleston back in the Seventies and Eighties.  Now, future foodies are being exposed to a wide variety of cuisine and innovations that this scribe couldn't imagine a few weeks ago.

Lucky kids, big and small.