A renowned celebrity skincare specialist's murder-plot case has the intrigue of a blockbuster film. Now, it has become a reality.
A decade back, the messages could have contained dangerous warnings from mysterious senders, or reactions to handouts offering "free" sex that contained her contact details (alongside her and her daughters' faces mashed onto explicit graphics) and disseminated along Santa Monica Boulevard.
However, the messages turned out to be from friends and customers notifying DaLuise of the latest chapter in a life that became reminiscent of a Hollywood thriller: She was being depicted by Elizabeth Banks in a new film.
Premiering today, "Skin Care" narrates the semi-fictional tale of LA esthetician Hope Goodman (Banks), who becomes convinced that competitor salon owner Angel Vergara (Luis Gerardo Méndez) is trying to wreck her. Her tires get slashed, she receives unsettling videos and late-night phone calls, and a man appears at her clinic following a classified ad inviting strangers to act out her workplace rape fantasies.
"My phone became a container for different types of harassment... during my ordeal, so when (these messages) popped up, and the first thing I see is a trailer about my life, it recreated a bit of that trauma," DaLuise told CNN in a video interview before the film's release.
"Reputation is crucial in this business," Goodman observes in the film, and hers takes a hit from an explicit sexual email sent to her entire contact list from her account. Former loyal customers migrate to Vergara's prospering salon, while an increasingly anxious Goodman buys a gun for protection and trails her rival to his residence. A friend's offer of shelter then takes an unexpected turn — as does her suspicion of who is truly behind the harassment.
Art mirrors life
Described in the film's opening credits as being "fictional" but "inspired by true events," the story shares numerous similarities with DaLuise's.
Now 65, the esthetician once served celebrities like Jennifer Aniston and Sarah Michelle Gellar at her Hollywood clinic, Skin Refinery. Popular for "galvanic" facials, which employed small electrical currents to enable beauty products to deeply penetrate the skin, DaLuise—much like the character Goodman—launched a skincare line and gained media fame of her own.
Besides the aforementioned flyers and texts, DaLuise's tires were also slashed. She received countless unwanted calls and multiple Craigslist ads were published in her name claiming she was seeking a man to fulfill her sexual fantasies.
She, too, came to (falsely) believe that an esthetician who opened a clinic next to hers, Gabriel Suarez, was responsible for the unsettling incidents.
"I was stunned and amazed by how accurate everything (was), from the location (to) the mannerisms and the way our salons were both decorated," DaLuise said about the production. "Someone truly did their homework and did it well." (By contrast, Banks revealed to Entertainment Weekly last month that she didn't know the film was based on a true story until "much later into the process." )
However, the film's storyline veers off course from reality in critical areas — particularly regarding the crime that DaLuise was charged with committing.
In March 2014, DaLuise was apprehended and charged with an assassination plot against Suarez. The case revolved around a text she sent to then-friend, Edward Feinstein, stating she had "found someone who is going to take Gabriel out." DaLuise insisted the message had not been sincere (she described it to CNN as "venting" ).
The individual she was accused of approaching about the hit, former NFL player Chris Geile, testified in court that she hardly knew DaLuise and she had never asked him to assassinate Suarez. The jury took less than an hour to absolve her— but not before she spent 10 months in prison awaiting trial, during which time she developed colorectal cancer. (She later sued the LA Sheriff's Department for wrongful imprisonment, among other things, and settled with the county for failing to diagnose her cancer while in custody.)
DaLuise believed she had been framed, and suspicion soon switched to the police's informant, Feinstein. Authorities suspected that he and his friend (and one of DaLuise's clients) Nick Prugo, a member of the infamous "Bling Ring" thieving gang that had targeted high-profile celebrities' homes, were behind the unsavory acts, not Suarez.
In 2016, Los Angeles County Superior Court sentenced Feinstein and Prugo to 350 hours of community service and three years' probation each on stalking misdemeanor charges. The pair were ordered to remain distant from DaLuise and her two daughters, and to cease contact with one another for 10 years.
Feinstein and Prugo were also accused of publishing an online ad soliciting men to visit DaLuise's home to rape her, though the judge dismissed that felony charge, stating that there was insufficient evidence.
The pair's conviction followed a plea deal, and an alleged motive for their crimes was not made public by the court. Offering her explanation in a 2015 episode of "Dr. Phil," DaLuise said of Feinstein: "I just think it's pathological, I think it's sadistic and I think it's psychotic."
Despite praising the production, DaLuise expresses frustration at not being consulted by the writers or director, Austin Peters, or even being invited to a preview screening, although she managed to tag along with other invitees to view the movie twice prior to its release. Considering legal action against IFC Films was an option, the esthetician now adopts a "if you can't beat them, join them" attitude.
"I have no other option but to accept it, as the lawyers I consulted advised me that there isn't a strong legal basis for me to claim any form of harm was inflicted," she explained.
"I feel like a maternal figure wanting to scold the writers for not seeking my guidance, as the movie could have been better if I had been involved," she continued.
IFC Films refrained from commenting on why DaLuise was not included in the project.
DaLuise hopes the renewed interest in her case will aid in selling her documentary to a major network or streaming service, revealing to CNN that she secured a "renowned director" for the project shortly after the "Skincare" trailer was released. (She had previously capitalized on the controversy by relaunching her beauty career with the "Killer Facials" brand name.)
Despite the legal proceedings having concluded, discussions surrounding her case remain ongoing on various social media platforms. Accounts claiming to represent DaLuise have emerged online, claiming to expose the "truth" about her. Feinstein, who at the time allegedly told investigators that DaLuise was fabricating the harassment to discredit Suarez, continues to challenge her version of events, releasing a 2021 YouTube video in which he regrets taking a plea deal and accuses her of fabricating stalking incidents.
DaLuise opted to stay silent in response to Feinstein's allegations, expressing her desire for him to "disappear." However, viewing "Skincare" prompted her to seek to set the record straight again, describing the movie as a "rollercoaster ride" that was "enjoyable," but not factually accurate.
"The movie represented about 20% of my ordeal. The audience has no idea about the follow-up -- the incarceration and other events. So, I'm a bit more comfortable knowing that when my documentary comes out, people won't recognize it from the movie they saw. That's my hope, as it's quite different," she added.
"Skincare" is currently in theaters.
In discussing the film's accuracy, DaLuise mentioned that she was surprised by how precisely the production captured the style and decor of her skincare clinic.
The film's portrayal of the harassment DaLuise faced, including explicit emails sent to her contact list, was a stark reminder of the trauma she had experienced.
