Wednesday, October 31, 2018

The Style of Scare! with American Horror Story: Apocalypse

By Laura Medina

The Style of Scare! Costume Designers Lou Eyrich and Paula Bradley are joined by actresses Leslie Grossman and Adina Porter to take us behind the screams of their hit television series American Horror Story: Apocalypse. Moderated by Variety’s Danielle Turchiano.

  • Lou Eyrich: Costume Designer, American Horror Story: Apocalypse
  • Paula Bradley: Costume Designer, American Horror Story: Apocalypse
  • Leslie Grossman: Coco St. Pierre Vanderbilt on American Horror Story: Apocalypse
  • Adina Porter: Dinah Stevens on American Horror Story: Apocalypse

Two weeks before actual shooting for each new season, Lou and Paula finally get the costume ideas from Ryan Murphy.

For this current American Horror Story, the color palette is gray and purple. Why?  The shade should be the color of bruises, showing the trauma and endurance of the characters.


Purple is the color of royalty...witch and warlock aristocrats, idea from Harry Potter...


The aristocratic style is, also, in the fabric, the trimmings, and the type of clothes the characters are wearing, Robe a  L'Anglaise and Robe a la Francais.

Coco St. Pierre Vanderbilt's lilac Robe a la Francais is more easy-going but just as luxurious but more indulgent then the more formal, stiffer, literally uptight, darker purple voodoo princess' Robe a  L'Anglaise.

American Horror Story is ripe with historical clothing, that transcend eras...


What does Satan looks like? A Tom Ford Rock Star.  The tied scarf is blood red but the rest is black in luxurious fabric to signify mystery.


American Horror Story can prove Halloween can be haute couture that you may want to wear these pieces in mainstream real life.

Haute Halloween.


Monday, October 29, 2018

Go Ahead & Have Fun, Have an Healthy Halloween.

By Laura Medina
Whole Foods, Bristol Farms


Investing in healthy makeup is a wise choice.

With help from Mineral Fusion, you can get cute and chic Halloween looks from your makeup case or vanity tray or bathroom cabinet.

eos Crystal Lip Balm - $5.49

Prep your lips for your spooky lip art with the ultimate lipstick base, eos’ Crystal Lip Balm. Available in three flavors (Melon Blossom, Hibiscus Peach, and Vanilla Orchid), the lip balm features weightless hydration, is a vegan and cruelty-free product, and it’s formulated with five nourishing oils including Shea, coconut, avocado, sunflower seed, and castor seed oil. 
Long fun and deliciously nourishing, long after the holidays.

Nudestix Rock N Roller

The cat eye goes way beyond Halloween and can be easy to carry and be healthy.

Ariana Grande’s makeup artist, gives credit to Nudestix Rock N’ Roller for her signature cat eye look. Rock N' Roller Easy Eyeliner Ink is perfect for drawing graphic, straight, or curved lines, which makes creating a super unique Halloween look extra easy. The formula is high-pigmented, sweat-proof, smudge-proof, and waterproof so it will last all night long.

What about the treats, after the tricks?

Again, it's an Healthy Halloween...


How about candy that's good for your teeth?

Eighth grader Alina Morse invented a candy that cleans your teeth.

She is the #1 tooth-friendly candy in the USA and quickly expanded internationally, after launching in 2015 at age nine. Days ahead of entering the eighth grade, her image on the cover of Entrepreneur shined a bright light on the next generation of entrepreneurs that are already building thriving, innovative businesses.

Alina asked, "why can't we make a candy that's delicious and good for your teeth?" And, Zolli Candy was born. Earlier this year, she announced live on CNN from the New York Stock Exchange floor her intention to give away 1 Million of her products in 2018 as part of her efforts to support oral health education in schools.

Family Business: Alina hired away her dad in Jan. 2018 to work for her full-time. Her mom and her younger sister Lola also help with the business


Alina's candy are a natural, gluten-free, dairy-free, vegan and non-GMO candy, containing xylitol and erythritol (healthy sugar alternatives), and certified sugar-free by Sugarwise. By helping raise the pH (a scale used to measure acidic or base qualities) in the mouth, Zolli Candy neutralize acid and help reduce the risk of tooth decay, dental caries and future development of cavities. Zolli's are sugar-free, gluten-free, vegan, dairy free, kosher and made with natural color and flavors in the USA.

Alina made history in February 2018, becoming presumably the youngest vendor for the world's #1 retailer, Walmart, as she hit the oral health section alongside the toothbrushes in all 4,600 of their storesDays before Halloween (2017), Alina's candies became the #1 sugar-free hard candy sold on Amazon. In May (2017), she launched her third product, Zaffi Taffy (in Dylan's Candy Bar), with the same teeth-cleaning and guilt-free ingredients of her signature product, Zollipops (launched in 2015 on Good Morning America), and her second line Zolli Drops (launched May 2016), with a splash at Dylan's Candy Bar, with Walmart, America's #1 grocer KROGER, Whole Foods, Dylan's Candy Bar, and on Amazon.

Alina is changing minds and candy eating patters. She's also on a mission to reduce tooth decay, the SINGLE most chronic condition facing kids in America today according to the US Surgeon General. She donates 10% of profits to fund an increase in oral health education in schools, as well as contributes her suckers to institutions and dentists who promote oral health education in addition to her partnership with Special Olympics. Alina's Zolli Candy is on the forefront of a category providing growth for retailers, and healthier options for consumers.


And while xylitol lollipops have been around for a while, they had issues, they melted, had short shelf life, limited distribution (mostly to dentists only) and did not taste like their sugary counterpart. Zolli Candy did not settle for this, they kept innovating, developed proprietary processes, incorporated better premium cleaner ingredients, removed all primary allergens and established their smile-friendly creation as the healthy functional candy leader. 

Go ahead and celebrate like no other, it's an healthy Halloween.

No more raisins.  Unless it's caramel, no more apples.  Don't be a party pooper.



Friday, October 26, 2018

Bust a Move for Breast Cancer, W Hollywood + GloveWorx Host Fundraising Boxing Class for Breast Cancer.

By Laura Medina

Once you experienced then survive any type of cancer, you become a health freak.  An health freak who gonna kick cancer in the butt...

In honor of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, celebrity trainer and co-founder of state of the art boxing studio GloveWorx, Leyon Azubuike partnered with the iconic W Hollywood to host a charity fundraising boxing class. On Saturday, October 27 from 2pm - 3pm at W Hollywood’s breathtaking rooftop, guests will have the rare opportunity to work out with Leyon while soaking in 360-degree views of LA and supporting a good cause.  
For $25 (almost half of what one group session costs at Gloveworx), attendees will receive a pair of pink boxing gloves or wraps to keep and entry to this exclusive class, which will incorporate boxing and strength and conditioning training. Additionally, a portion of the proceeds will be donated to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation, and attendees are encouraged to wear pink (Leyon and the coaches will).
Tickets can be purchased here,https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-knockout-tickets-51613779203 . Attendees should plan to arrive on property at 1:30pm to ensure they’re ready to start working out at 2pm. 

Ready to kick cancer's ass while helping others, for a good cause ?

Wednesday, October 24, 2018

Giuliana Rancic's Fountain of Truth, Luxuriously Healthy Yet Attainable But Goes Beyond Face Value.

By Laura Medina

After being diagnosed with breast cancer, E! News anchor, Giuliana Rancic was busting her brain, why and how she got breast cancer?

She exercises and watches what she eats for health and camera presence, so it can't be that.

She concluded it must be the mainstream, conventional beauty products she had been using for a long time, a slow and long build-up of toxic chemicals affecting her hormones.

Giuliana started from scratch, throwing away her old conventional skincare then starting from scratch with argan oil and coconut oil.  However, her existing, emerging wrinkles are still there,..with the accompanying discoloration from the medical treatments.  Cancer medicine does a whammy on your skin.

She knew there must be a better way.

Giuliana hooked with clean beauty industry stalwart, Hains Celestials, in developing an effective but luxurious clean skincare that's reasonably priced, unlike the majority of clean beauty on the market.

"After two years of development with the team at Hain Celestial, I'm so proud to share these truly efficacious formulas that utilize advanced skin care technology and botanicals from across the globe. This has been such a personal journey for me. I’m so excited to launch Fountain of Truth™, a clean beauty line both you and I can trust."

Based on an existing extraction technology that is very similar to another high-end skincare line, Fountain of Truth uses Bio-Ferment technology.
Efficacy and potency of ingredients may be increased when they're fermented because they can be "broken down" into smaller molecules to help improved the appearance of skin's surface.
They ferment molecules of Wakame Seaweed, Iron, Magnesium, Copper, Silicon, and Zinc, shrinking down their molecules to make them more potent and easier to absorb.


The simplest, ok, the most affordable item shows the effectiveness of the collection.
Youth in Hand Cream's TRIPLE EMULSION FORMULA has an emollient-rich blend of shea butter, coconut and macadamia oils, honey and jojoba; and breakthrough age-defying ingredients CoQ10, niacinamide, glucosamine and vegetable derived squalane, along with potent tremella fuciformis sporocarp, one of the most moisturizing plant derived ingredients, and our Super Bio-Ferment Complex™ provides skin with a more youthful appearance, leaving hands nourished, hydrated and soft. that still moisturizes the skin, after you're done washing your hand.

Not bad for an hand cream.
This transformational cleansing balm changes from a balm to milk when activated with water. Developed with our highly effective botanical blend of ultra-hydrating Organic Argan Oil, calming Turmeric Extract and Vitamin E, this formula gently cleanses, tones, exfoliates and soothes, while helping to remove waterproof makeup. Our woven muslin cloth used with the cleansing balm helps to open pores, cleanse, exfoliate and improve skin tone.
Great on a skin trip.
Beyond soothing and plumping wrinkles, Fountain of Truth's Honey Glow Mask
Certified Organic Honey, restorative Propolis Extract, and amino acid-rich Royal Jelly Extract are good at fading discoloration and healing burn scars from curling irons.
Honey Glow Mask enhances and hydrates skin for a dewy, youthful appearance. Its creamy, soft texture face mask warms when massaged and will nourish and revitalize, for a glowing, smoother and softer appearance.
It's easier to store as a beautifying first-aid salve than a whole jar of honey and easier to sleep in, at night, and underneath makeup and/or sunscreen, healing your boo-boos during the day.

Going beyond face value, Fountain of Truth Dream Cream's overnight transformative sleep cream with Sodium Hyaluronate and botanical extract blend containing several naturally occurring alpha hydroxy acids to help wake up your skin, making it appear smoother and brighter with a dreamy glow, replenishes moisture and the appearance of fuller looking skin for the neglected and sun-damaged neck, chest, cleavage, and shoulders.
The TRUTH Insta-Face Lift Elixir is a lightweight treatment that can truly help your skin fight the visible signs of aging without a visit to a medi-spa. Our botanically-charged elixir is developed to reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles with powerful Spilanthes Acmella Flower Extract which helps to create smoother and tighter looking skin. Black Cumin Seed Oil, rich with essential fatty acids, vitamins and amino acids, helps to create a look of plumpness and volume. With continued use, your skin’s appearance will improve and take on more bounce and radiance.

Great for those with oily complexion or sensitive skin or a combination of both, tackling wrinkles without clogging pores or erupting pimples then dealing with zit pit scars.
Our Good Day Soufflé is a lightweight, luxurious moisturizer for all skin types, proven to help minimize the visible signs of aging.
Their renewing botanical blend that includes Organic Argan Oil, along with Hibiscus Flower, Maca Root and Fig Fruit Extracts, contains exfoliating natural alpha hydroxy acids (AHAs) and amino acids, helping the skin look more supple and hydrated.
Makeup or not, everyone on the color spectrum, have to wear sunscreen during the day.
Giuliana Rancic has always been about pairing and mixing your highs with your lows, pairing a haute couture outfit with T.J. Maxx find.
She's pairing all-natural, high performance ingredients at accessible prices for her Fountain of Truth Skincare, surprising multi-usages.




  • Wakame Seaweed has powerful
    antioxidant benefits.
  • Iron, Magnesium, Copper and Silicon get fermented and play important roles in helping skin look and feel healthy.
  • Zinc is an important antioxidant for the skin.


  • Wakame Seaweed has powerful antioxidant benefits.
  • Iron, Magnesium, Copper and Silicon get fermented and play important roles in helping skin look and feel healthy.
  • Zinc is an important antioxidant for the skin.

Smaller molecules can allow for more skin penetration, hydration, and soothing. And that's not all, fermentation can also help the nutrient density and concentration of skin-loving ingredients. All this makes for a gentle, yet effective formula to help to improve texture, tone, dryness, and the appearance of fine lines.




Monday, October 22, 2018

Then On 35 years of G-Shock

By Laura Medina



Blends throw a party for G-Shock's DW-5600 watch with Blends in mind, just in time for G-Shock's 35th birthday.


Muted all black DW-5600 features a black IP buckle, black face cage, reverse LCD display and subtle branding on the back of the watch’s strap keeper. The watch comes packaged in a sleek, vacuum sealed opaque, bag. 

The actual DW-5600 Watch wasn't on display nor were there any editorial samples to test and review but,..

There are "movies" showing DW-5600 Watch in action, as casual wear for anyone, as long they're young Millennials or Gen-Zers…




Having today's current, real-life Californians just wearing DW-5600 Watch.



G-Shock and Blends hired young, up and coming artists to perform, DaniLeigh http://www.iamdanileigh.com/promptly turned the dance party into a music video.




Arin Ray got the party started, http://www.arinraymusic.com/

With their 35th Birthday, G-Shock proves it's for everyone.