A Month Full of Beauty Pop-Ups

 By Laura Medina

When it rains during LA’s rainy season, it pours. It’s been raining with charity pop-ups and product launch pop-ups with accompanying gifts and little carnival fair games and drinks to hydrate.

Got to start off with skincare, Youth to the People’s Tenth Anniversary sharing full sized cleanser and additional samples and pastries.

FitFabFun held their Spring pop-up at OSEA’s boutique, giving away full-sized items from their Spring edition box with hydrating electrolytes drinks.

Speaking of hydration, NYX Cosmetics launch their new coconut water-based lip gloss stain at an hydration house where guests can swatch and sample every lip gloss stain then receive a tube of their favorite gloss shade. Of course, there’s a mocktail bar in to-go pouches to keep on hydrating.

Abbot Kinney is pop-up central but it wasn’t the only one.

The Grove works dedicated and professionally to attracting and managing pop-ups where Urban Decay launch their new Nude Eyeliners, softer but just as smoldering as the traditional black kohl eyeliner.

One of the most anticipated pop-up was clean makeup Kosas celebrating their first Vogue centerfold ad, by giving away what’s featured in their Vogue ad, thousand of tinted sunscreens, gloss, and blush.

So far, this month of pop-ups (the pop-up just continues forever, wherever, whenever) has wrapped up with something deeper and inward, Chrissy Teigen’s Conscious Club where beauty radiates from the inside. This means mental and emotional wellness where your vibes get realigned. This returns to self-care, oneself, OM. 

Kylie Cosmetics’ Cosmic 2.0 One Day Pop-Up Misses Out on Established Audiences.

 By Laura Medina

Selena Gomez’s Rare Beauty Charity weekend pop-up shop was an hit.

Hailey Bieber’s Rhode Beauty Charity five days charity pop-up shop was an hit. Enough to give people five chances to get in and enjoy her products in real life, gaining and keeping fans. 

They lasted long enough for multiple generations to enjoy and share.  They’re growing their fan bases.

Kylie Jenner’s Cosmic 2.0 perfume one afternoon launch’s popularity was so intense, that the majority never got around to actually setting foot inside the pop-up. Much less, getting any treats, drinks, and goody gifts. Forget the perfume. Even more were disappointed they didn’t arrive way, way early, in the morning, to be the first 300 to get free full-sized Cosmic 2.0 perfume with promotional swag bags.

This launch pop-up only lasted for five hours on one afternoon, between 12 noon until 5pm. A perfect commercial mirage.

Among busy single parents and more established demographics, unfortunately they all arrive too late and were too further down the line, they’re bummed out for not getting in. A true Fear of Missing Out. The last 500 to 1000 were bummed out, they’ll experience what the younger, fitter fans ahead of them, actually normally all the time with pop-ups. 

Other pop-ups insist on RSVPs for crowd control, despite eager fans showing up extremely early, three to two hours ahead of the opening hour.

Who What Wear’s holiday party did a great civilized organization and logistics in rsvping and confirming anyone and everyone to assigned times and dates. Everyone of all demographics were not disappointed and were treated equally well. Yes, Baby Boomer ladies love it. Gen-Xer and Millennial women honor and respect Who What Wear. It wasn’t a kerfuffle of disappointed chaos and physical exhausted frustration.

To actually physically experience a glam slammed pop-up is real physical endurance and stamina of standing, very patiently, up for a good two to three hours, just to get inside the immersive pop-up shop.  Thank god, these experienced Gen-Zers give refreshments and treats to queuing fellow Zers and Gen-Alphas waiting and standing, very patiently in long, snaking, twisting lines. This is when patience is a virtue that’s greatly rewarded. 

Since these pop-ups are fueled by popularity, only the fittest of the fit Gen-Xers and Millennials and the increasingly rare Baby Boomers can queuing patiently to be rewarded. Doing pop-ups is an endurance sport unto itself, absolute stamina.

There are hip and fashionable Baby Boomers whining, crying, and complaining about the first-come free for all queuing. Most avoid. Most quit due to physical exhaustion and failing health, leaving with a disappointed, bitter opinion and attitude towards to these brands, naively clueless about consideration and thoughtfulness regarding cross-generational audience who are interested and are unexpected fans, due to them actually buying and using the products yet are left unrewarded by Gen-Z produced pop-ups.

Even the staff hired to keep those extremely long lines under control by providing snacks, beverages, and umbrellas with jokes, say those pop-up lines get wild. During Rhode Beauty’s 5 days pop-up shop, they had to cut off at the 300th person, which was this scribe who arrived at 9am in the morning, because the pop-up shop was already running out of that day’s merchandise.

Those who can’t get in, have to return first thing the next morning.

Only the strong survive.

Experienced, established people like Who What Wear’s experienced logistics. They span many generations all at once. Now that’s a real pop-up party.

Lancôme’s Génifique Ultimate is This Year’s Oscar Skin

 By Laura Medina 

This year’s Oscar Awards are fast-approaching this Sunday afternoon, March 2nd.

These style and gifting lounges and suites may be feel like reflating pampering. But underneath it all, it is last-minute intensive treatments to people red carpet-ready when media stick microphones up your noses and cameras into your pores. Even, manicures walk the red carpet.

This is why Lancôme is doing a mini Génifique pop-up spa with a spirulina and coconut water smoothie for internal hydration.

Lymphatic massages to apply Génifique lotion to the face, neck, and chest.

Finally, a beauty pop-up for Millennials, Gen-Xers, and Baby Boomers.

Aaahhhhh, Lancôme’s Génifique pop-up spa feels so good.

For those not in LA to personally get a Genifique facial or missing it this weekend, you can get Lancôme’s Génifique facial massage at any Lancôme counter at Macy’s. 

Wink, wink, hint, hint for anyone, anywhere for any function or just any other therapy during retail therapy.

Ilila Beauty’s Eye Stylus Brunch Cafe Takeover is Synergy.

 By Laura Medina

Continuing the trend for effortless, multipurpose, one and done, quality ingredients makeup with the Oscars fast-approaching, Ilila Beauty teamed up with Cafe Telegrama to do a beauty brunch this past weekend.

What a perfect synergy, cosmetics with your coffee and croissants, helping each others out. After the LA fires, cooperation is the new trend.

Ilila Beauty’s new Eye Stylus is the eye makeup version of Rhode Beauty’s Lip Shape.

Instead of lip liner meets lipstick, Eye Stylus is eyeliner meets stick eyeshadow.

You can put Rhode Beauty Lip Shape with Ilila Beauty’s Eye Stylus in your red carpet clutch for speedy, discrete touch-ups.

Youth To The People’s 10th Anniversary, Shares Alike.

 By Laura Medina

The love continues a week after Valentine’s Day.

The vegan-green skincare brand, Youth To The People, share their 10th anniversary with the people by doing a skincare carnival with prizes, goodies swag, and free skincare analysis, matching customized skincare dialysis with their vegetable-based skincare products that tackle complexion problems.

Share, share alike.

Actually, just a week before the Oscars, when everyone needs to r zoom in tight close up-ready.

Pores on the red carpet.

It was Family Affair when Snoop Dogg’s Daughter, Cori Broadus Use Valentine to Launch Her CHOC Factory Lip Care Brand.

By Laura Medina

Asked what her dad, Snoop Dogg, gave to his daughter, Cori Broadus, as career advice.

First, he honestly told her, she can’t sing.

Then, he suggests focus on what you’re passionate about then pursue it.

This is how she developed her highly edited lip care brand, https://www.chocfactory.com/

Actually, Cori says she’s not really a makeup girl. But, she does sees and uses makeup as a self-esteem and mood booster. She makes that as her mission statement.

“Choc” is Snoop Dogg’s nickname for his daughter, since she’s sweet and deep like chocolate.

To further that, Cori puts matching flavors to each of her simple chic collection of lip glosses and lip liners.

Why this scribe loves makeup launch parties, first hand pampering experiences.

Cori’s CHOC Factory lip care brand is pretty basic.

The first two steps are universally for everyone: first, sugar exfoliator to scrub away dead lip skin while moisturizing the new lip skin. This is the first preparation.

Second, then you further moisturize with the universal lip balm. Anyone can do these first two steps as your bedtime routine to rest and rejuvenate your lips overnight.

The third and fourth steps are fun and creative.

The third step is the lip liner. They outline my lips in Hot Cocoa lip liner.

The fourth and final step is glazing the lip liner with Girly Lip Gloss.

The surprising result that dark brown Hot Cocoa lip liner gave depth while light pink Girly lip gloss adds dimension of fullness, an old Hollywood trick that Marylin Monroe did all the time. Cori Broadus’ CHOC Factory is a 21st-century reinterpretation of this Old Hollywood movie magic trick.

Cori’s dad, Snoop Dogg, of course offered emotional support for his daughter’s business launch.

While everyone sampled his daughter’s lip makeovers, grandpa Snoop Dogg danced with his grandchildren.

The Broadus Family used CHOC Factory’s Galentine-Valentine as a family affair, another form of love.

Selena Gomez’s Rare Beauty & Hailey Bieber’s Rhode Skincare Used Their Valentines Pop-Up Shops to Raise LA Fires Victims Funds, Giving Back.

 By Laura Medina

These ladies, Selena Gomez and Hailey Bieber, use Galentine-Valentine to show love, compassion, sympathy, empathy, and kindness to give true love to Los Angeles Fire victims, by using the holiday and their fans to raise funds to pay it forward to rebuild Palisades and Altadena communities.

Yes, it was a best of both worlds. Their fans get their favorite celebrities’ makeup then those proceeds goes directly to feeding, clothing, and perhaps, some self-esteem boosting makeup and refreshing hygiene-skincare for the fire victims, giving hands up.

If Taylor Swift’s Swiftie fans exchange hand-braided, knotted Friendship bracelets, Selena Gomez’s Rare Beauty fans exchange handcrafted rose-gold rings, twisted to spell “Rare” honoring Selena and her beauty line. To further more kindness, go to Karla Moreno’s @littleworldofkindness, handcrafting rings and other types of jewelry out of love and kindness, @littlekindness and @littleworldofkindness. 

Yes, these ladies, Selena Gomez and Hailey Bieber, use this opportunity to debut new products to whet the appetite to try new stuff first, experiencing them in real life, touching, feeling, and seeing these items products’ texture then raise funds.

Selena’s fans experience the launch of her latest, Soft Pinch Illuminating Blush, multi-dimensional butterfly prism wing shimmering rainbow of a blush and eyeshadow. 

Selena Gomez’s develop Rare Beauty for what real Latinas and Latinx want to wear in real life: easy to use, soft-natural makeup that’s quality as it is reasonably priced, counteracting the stereotypical dark, graphic, and harsh makeup that most perceive as Hispanic makeup, yet something majority of olive-toned Latins don’t want.

Yes, Rare Beauty raised money for Palisades and Altadena fire victims.

Rare Beauty has always been about kindness towards self and others.

Hailey Bieber says, just like the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Los Angeles is her home.

Since her mere Tinted Lip Balm Photo Booth pop-ups have proven to be one-day hits, attracting thousands of beauty-itas first thing in the morning, her fun house of a beauty charity pop-up shop took that popularity then used it to raise funds for Los Angeles’ fire victims who need a hand up to rebuild.

This went beyond tinted lip balms. This charity pop-up shop offers the entire range of her multiple purpose portable pocket blushes, the whole tinted lip balms collection, every skincare item, and finally debuting her lip liner-lipstick combo, the whole lip shape collection, in all their flesh-friendly shades of the rainbow.

What attracted hundreds of thousands was this was the only opportunity to swatch and sample these makeup and skincare in real life. The chance to simply touch, feel, and see these items in action. What a better way to raise funds? 

Again, these smart-savvy ladies use desire and valentine feminine to fuel kindness.

Real boyfriends accompany their ladies to these charity pop-up shops to further that romance then bought what their ladies want, while being good guys toward charity.

This is a real valentine.