Meghan's "Holiday" special aired at 8 am British time today ...

[meghansturkey]

Here's a summary for you - it's full of British traditions like cracker pulling which she explains 🙄 , how to decorate a tree with lights and wearing matching pyjamas with her friends. Harry appears for the last 5 mins.

https://www.express.co.uk/news/royal/2141430/meghan-markle-netflix-holiday-special-latest?int_source=amp_continue_reading&int_medium=amp&int_campaign=continue_reading_button#amp-readmore-target

Meghan's face is the kind that can wear different looks, so she makes an excellent model.

I don't get where you're seeing this. She always has the same make up look. It's not like you see her experimenting with a smouldering smokey eye or dramatic red lip. She always has the same understated make up look. Which is fine but not evidence of a chameleon like face. Linda Evangelista she is not.

In any case, if beauty houses thought she was a great model for their products, I'd reckon someone would have snapped her up by now. At 44, she's not getting any younger.

There's certainly no Rhianna style star quality about Meghan.

On the other hand Harry, despite everything, does still stand out as being special simply because he's a Prince. So maybe he could become the face for a male fragrance.

Could call it:-

Petulance for Men
Or
L'Air du Tantrum

Prince Harry cologne? They advertise the cologne as having the scent of geranium. Turns out it's a lie...

I did say beauty is in the eye of the beholder, my opinion etc.

Personally I think she has the sort of good looks that come from having an unremarkable face and I don't mean that in a horrible way, she has no one feature really stands out, no cute lopsided smile, or huge innocent eyes. But she has symmetry, good lines, good proportions etc. which means she is very conventionally attractive.

She chooses to use the same style that she likes, but with good basics and nothing that clearly stands out she could be painted to try out different looks. It is only my opinion. Stick her in the bold red lips of old Hollywood or a 90s London grunge style and she may look a mess. But with the basic structure of her face I would have thought you could do a lot.

But I am now making myself uncomfortable commenting so much on her looks.

Her actions are fair game, her looks less so, even if I am trying to be complimentary, she is very attractive.

Personally I think she has the sort of good looks that come from having an unremarkable face and I don't mean that in a horrible way, she has no one feature really stands out, no cute lopsided smile, or huge innocent eyes. But she has symmetry, good lines, good proportions etc. which means she is very conventionally attractive.

I don't think anyone disputes that Meghan is very attractive.

But so are millions of women.

In order to be able to be the 'face' of a cosmetics brand, she needs a lot more than mere good looks, which are commonplace. I think if beauty firms considered her a good bet, they'd have snapped her by now. 5 years ago she was at peak fame and popularity. Now, not so much.

Meghan is definitely pretty but in a more “girl next door” pretty than high fashion striking. Her skin is gorgeous and glowy, and her freckles are adorable. But that kind of beauty only really sells in commercial modelling (thank you Tyra Banks/ANTM 🤣).

To work with the major fashion houses, you generally need an almost ethereal, otherworldly look and the kind of classic beauty that suits a luxury brand’s aesthetic — think Natalie Portman, Julia Roberts, Lupita Nyong’o. Meghan’s look is much more cookie cutter; very marketable, but in an accessible everyday beauty brand (think Maybelline or L’Oréal) kind of way. And I don’t think that’s the lane she wants to go down.

I’ve never understood the whole “Duchess Dior” narrative either. Her personal style and Dior’s brand identity couldn’t be more opposite. Dior is all about elegance, structure, timeless femininity. Meghan’s aesthetic leans oversized, trend driven, and very “new money” luxe. It’s just wasn’t a natural fit. She’d align much better with Ralph Lauren, or maybe YSL if she wanted something more fashion forward, but even then, I don’t think she quite has that je ne sais quoi that couture houses look for in a global ambassador.

Meanwhile, I could absolutely see Catherine fronting a couture house if she ever wanted to go that route. She’s classically beautiful, with a willowy, model like physique, and she can wear almost anything effortlessly. I always found it funny when the Duchess Dior rumours were circulating that they ended up championing Meg Bellamy, who played Catherine in The Crown 🤣

Personally I think it's overwrought and I dislike all the AI imagery. But I'm old and definitely not the target market. I much prefer the 'original' ad with Charlize Theron.

Agree that Rihanna is gorgeous and has genuine star quality. Fenty is an example of an expertly managed celebrity brand. There are all sorts of reasons why Meghan could never emulate that level of success.

The Harper’s Bazaar spread was pretty much panned, it was dreadful, so not sure if she will ever be able to carry off anything high fashion, and I think if it’s make up or skincare, it will be lower end. She certainly brings publicity, but because of her image as inauthentic and fake, I don’t think she will have much longevity with any brand, and I doubt she would want to be associated with lower tier brands anyway.

Her current foray into the food and lifestyle arena has not been successful and celebrity owned brands is an oversaturated market now, so I would be surprised if she can find anything to make a success of.

Brands hire celebrities to sell products. There are plenty of pretty faces in Hollywood to push all sorts of products from food to fashion. Even worse, AI is continually improving and is changing the entire industry.

AI talent, doesn't change size, doesn't age, doesn't speak out on divisive topics, doesn't cost salary or benefits. For fashion/makeup shoots there are no expenses for make-up, hair etc.

As for the influencer game, meet Aitana Lopez created by Spanish design company "The Clueless". And her fellow AI creations Mia Zelu (digitally inserted into Wimbledon center court) and Tilly Norwood (an "actor" unveiled at a film festival).

It is a brave new world, folks!

AI influencers are now boasting personalities, backstories and even making ill-advised decisions

Love that photo on the left! Look at me I've got a massive right foot and a tiny left one and I'm not even real! Why would anyone give a shit? Can we have an awful and totally unnecessary 'has Meghan even got any children though' discussion? 🤣

I LOVE those Charlize Theron ads! I had a woman crush on Charlize Theron for ages. But those ads are iconic now, she even had a short 'how the videos were made' segment because people loved them so much.

Back to topic (sort of) :

I don't quite understand what went wrong with Meghan, because whilst I definitely agree she's not model level beautiful like Charlize, she was and is still, commercial magazine cover material. She should have been able to float something like perfume easily. But then again, maybe perfume does require a person of substance behind the sell, because you are buying not just the scent, but the themes the perfume represents, which are intangible things like allure, success, desire, influence, independence, strength, love...which is why perfume ads are notoriously subliminal and suggestive.

Maybe Meghan now no longer cuts it in that sense. If I was her PR agent, I would tell her that her major problem is that she doesn't appear to stand for anything either prosocial or antisocial. There's no personality. It's all very predictable. Ironically, she wants to be liked too much by a certain set of people to take real risk. Even this As Ever thing. Compare it to Goop. I remember Gwen coming out with some genuinely wacky controversial ideas regarding health and fitness gadgets and trends - vaginal steaming, things like that that are more mainstream now but seemed crazy at the time. I just had a quick look and she's selling a vulva vibrator on the website. Gwen cut out the gluten and the dairy as a dietary choice long before it was mainstream. It grabbed attention, but it was HER. Whether you agreed with what she was pushing or not it was authentic. And Gwen is still a bit of a pretentious darling. But she believes in it, so it works.

Meghan attempting to be like a feminist tradwife doesn't quite chime.

There are online personalities doing what she is doing much better and more authentically, your Ballerina Farms, Nara Smith et al.

I honestly think that the Duchess of Sussex title is holding her back. Which is very ironic, as she is constantly thinking through what a Duchess should be like (I know it appears crazy to us British people because us most definitely not behaving like a Duchess to us) but she is genuinely straitjacketed by the title in America. She cannot be the least bit controversial and take risks. She likes to be announced and be seen as 'classy'

Bloody hell

I was watching some history thing and thought it a bit much when they made old portraits "move", but I really didn't know they could do this

Stop the world someone, I want to get off ...

@TightlyLacedCorset I think what went wrong was a combination of terrible timing because of Covid lockdowns combined with overestimating their (H&M) appeal and skill set.

For the first two years they were still very much in the ‘setting up a US Royal court’ mode.

Letting things start small and organically, probably seemed beneath her.

They’d also promised the first big interview to Oprah so she couldn’t have done any of the big magazines at the point they would have been clamoring for her.

Gwyneth’s Goop started off as a scrappy little weekly newsletter for months if not years. It got barely any press attention and seemed to be something she was just doing to fill in a bit of time. It grew slowly and steadily into the full website and then TV stuff.

I think you also need a bit of mystique to make it big in the beauty world ... Kate Moss Naomi Campbell for instance. MM is too visible and all over the place and at the same time doesn't know where she belongs.

Oh I didn't know Goop started as a newsletter. It makes sense because did seem to develop in quite an organic way.

@My2cents1975 I find this depressing. I don't know which aspect is depressing me more, the erasure and discarding of real women, the unapologetic pushing of completely unattainable beauty standards, or that people seem to actually be treating these AI generated images as real people and giving them a following. Though I note the images have a few issues if you look closely at them

But yes a brave new world, with brave new problems...

I didn't know Goop started as a newsletter. It makes sense because did seem to develop in quite an organic way.

GooP started when Gwyneth Paltrow lived in London (married to Chris Martin). My neighbour's eldest kid went to the same infant school as the Martin kids, and my neighbour - a very stylish but somewhat eccentric doctor - was an early devotee.

Eau d'Ear

The twerking and crotch-pointing didn't help the "mystique" factor. Can anyone envision Catherine doing that?

"Eau de RingCam"

Yes - I just did a search in my emails because I never delete anything (!) and the first one I subscribed to was in November 2008! So it started over 15 years ago. It was a weekly newsletter which had one of four themes rotated - MAKE, BE, GET, GO. The first make one was the recipes for a full Thanksgiving Dinner with options for whether you are catering for a big crown to just two people. Looking at it now it's way more relatable than you'd imagine from Gwyneth and much more than the As Ever offerings.

Thanksgiving for a Crowd...
Greens with Goat Cheese, Walnuts and Dried Cranberries
Whole Roasted Turkey
Thanksgiving Gravy
Cranberry Chutney
Classic Bread Stuffing
Caramelized Brussels Sprouts
Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Maple Syrup, Orange and Spices
Pumpkin Ice Cream Pie with Maple Whipped Cream

Thanksgiving for a Small Crowd...
Roasted Turkey Breast with Molasses
Same side dishes as “Thanksgiving for a Crowd” (just cut the recipes in half)
Pumpkin Ice Cream Pie with Maple Whipped Cream

Thanksgiving for Two...
Stuffed Turkey Burgers
Cranberry Ketchup
Pumpkin Ice Cream

Well I just went down a bit of a rabbit hole re reading the old Goop emails from 2009 and they are really interesting and full of relatable content. I can see now why I subscribed. It's weird because in my head I have a more recent 'silly celebrity' image of GP - fueled by all the vagina candles and woo woo stuff she's done recently.

Hindsight and all, but if Meghan had done a low-key email through the first 18 months of Covid insanity - and if she could have parked any ego and been a bit self-deprecating and told fun, tiny anecdotes, by the time she came to launch AS Ever she'd have been in a much stronger position.

Eau N’eau

😂I wish they'd bring back the laughing reaction.

Yes - I end up 'love'ing some posts where I would have 'laugh'ed

wordler

Dinner with options for whether you are catering for a big crown to just two people.

Bet Meghan wishes she was catering for a big crown (v. fortuitous typo 😊)