French illustrator Driss Chaoui (Kalakal) recently collaborated with Queer Brewing, the UK’s first queer- and trans-owned brewery, to celebrate Queer History Month. The project, celebrating Alan Hart and Wendy Carlos, received a Silver Award from Creativepool and was named a runner-up by Creative Quarterly this month.
The project celebrates the impact of trans icons Hart and Carlos, whose work had a lasting impact on medical radiology and electronic music, respectively. Hart devoted much of his career to the treatment of tuberculosis, while Carlos helped bring synthesizers to mainstream audiences. Each packaging illustration includes a portrait of both innovators, as well as one original illustration.
Kalakal is a Toulouse-based, self-described “color enthusiast,” working across editorial, publishing, packaging, and commercial projects. Their work combines bold compositions and conceptual storytelling.
According to Kalakal, “The brief was very last minute. I immediately knew I wanted to represent Wendy and Alan in a very dignified way, but adding a fun touch to it. What do X-rays evoke to me? Well, apparently a 1960s weirdo with a beehive, somewhere between Mars Attacks and Juno Birch, but definitely campy as hell.”
Kalakal’s portfolio of art and other projects is available to browse online at kalakalillustration.com
Finnish alt-pop artist, producer, and songwriter Cecil Opia announces new album GHOSTS AND PHONE CALLS, a deeply personal album about digital loneliness, disconnection, desire, and isolation, set to be released on September 25, 2026.
Opia describes GHOSTS AND PHONE CALLS as “a roadside motel room… Inside are unanswered phone calls, texts left on read, breakups happening through screens, restless nights, body dysphoria, insecurity, and thoughts that never quite become complete sentences.”
Opia wrote the album while relocating from Helsinki to Berlin, finding herself alone and far from the people and places she knew; displacement became inseparable from the music. The album also emerged after a nearly eight-year relationship ended abruptly through a single phone call in that same room.
“It came from this feeling of never quite belonging anywhere. As a queer trans woman, I’ve often felt like I’m standing just outside the room, even when I’m inside it. I could be in Helsinki and feel disconnected, then move to Berlin and realise the feeling had followed me. The album became a way of documenting that distance. All the things you don’t know how to say when you’re alone with your phone at three in the morning.”
GHOSTS AND PHONE CALLS also marks a distinct musical evolution in Opia’s sound. Drawing from alternative pop, late-’90s trip-hop, shoegaze, and early-2000s aesthetics, the album moves between intimacy and fragility, euphoria and visceral energy. Its lyrics are more direct, vulnerable, and explicitly queer.
The lead single “This Body” confronts gender dysphoria and the complicated relationship between identity and the physical self. Focus track “Text Messages” captures the obsessive spiral of wanting someone who has stopped answering. “Fluorescent”, meanwhile, explores queer joy and sexual liberation through the intimacy of self-pleasure, turning solitude into something sensual, euphoric, and entirely your own.
Disconnection also appears in the album’s guest features. Finnish-French artist yaya (Sony Music) appears in French, while ÄmbÖ (Fountain Records) contributes a feature in Japanese.
“I wanted the features to be in languages I don’t speak. It creates this feeling that even when you’re hearing another person, you can’t completely understand them. That felt very true to what the album is about.”
A large portion of the album was written collaboratively with yaya and “Fluorescent” was co-written with Mendi Moon (Ranka Entertainment).
Despite its collaborative writing process, the album remains entirely Opia’s own production world: every song on GHOSTS AND PHONE CALLS was produced and mixed by Cecil Opia. The album was mastered by Tommi Vainikainen and Stefan Brown at Abbey Road Studios.
GHOSTS AND PHONE CALLS will be available to stream on September 25, 2026.
Whether you’re an avid makeup connoisseur or a major Ariana Grande fan, R.E.M Beauty is an excellent makeup brand for anyone seeking high-quality, reasonably priced beauty products. As a long-time “Ariantor” myself, I decided it was long overdue to look into Grande’s beauty line. I’m pleased to report that I was thoroughly impressed by several products and am eager to share my top 5 favorites!
On Your Collar Classic Lipstick
This is a particularly smooth, lightweight, and easy-to-apply lipstick with a hydrating formula, creamy texture, and vivid color. The lipstick is also uniquely designed with a long, thin shape that ensures easy and precise application. The pigment is saturated and long-lasting, perfect for everyday or more formal makeup.
At the Borderline Eyeliner Marker
This waterproof liner, named after one of my favorite Grande songs, has a precise felt tip, making the application effortless and sharp. And it dries incredibly fast so you won’t need to worry about smudging. The marker comes in various colors and is perfect for creating a clean, bold wing that will last you all day.
Full Night’s Sleep Cooling Undereye Balm
While primarily a makeup brand, R.E.M Beauty also features skincare products, such as this cooling undereye balm. This product soothes and moisturizes the skin on contact for instantly brighter, well-rested appearance. Its ingredients feature antioxidants, caffeine, and mushroom extract that helps blur imperfections, reduce puffiness, and clear dark circles. It can be worn alone or used as a primer for eye makeup.
Flourishing Lengthening Mascara
This mascara is impressively weightless and buildable, gripping and elongating your lashes for natural definition without clumping or fallout. Uniquely formulated with a nourishing blend of naturally derived bamboo powder and Tahitian microalgae, this mascara is free of microplastics, parabens, silicone, and mineral oil. The molded brush is designed with equal distribution of bristles to paint and separate every lash, with a tapered tip to help reach the inner corner. I love how buildable it is as well as how quickly it dries. It provides the perfect tint and lengthening effect.
Eclipse Blush and Lipstick
Now I was most excited to try this product as I have been obsessed with liquid and cream blushes, and the Eclipse Blush and Lipstick did not disappoint. This 2-in-1 stick has quickly become my favorite new beauty discovery of 2026. It’s a versatile product that provides a creamy, buildable color with a long-lasting finish. With impressive ingredients like ultra-hydrating jojoba seed oil and antioxidant-rich grapefruit extracts, this blush glides right onto the skin for both a natural and a striking look, depending on your desired look. I have used it every day for work, going out, and formal occasions.
With the sleek, space-themed packaging, high quality products, and easy application, R.E.M Beauty is a worthwhile investment for your beauty bag. These top 5 selections are perfect for all occasions and formulated with impressive ingredients. Several of these products have become staples in my day-to-day routines, and I hope they will for you as well.
Comedian and trans icon Tuesday Thomas, often referred to as the “Punk Rock Dolly Parton,” is performing at the Hudson Theatres in Los Angeles on July 25. According to Thomas, “People can expect an unhinged wild ride through the lens of a character you will swear is real!”
Thomas is the subject of the award-winning documentary The Trash Goes Out On Tuesday, currently streaming on Tubi, and her comedy special Tuesday’s Trash is available on Amazon Prime. She recently wrapped a series of shows at the Hollywood Fringe Festival and hosts a monthly live comedy show, Altered Reality.
Also known as the “Tik Tok Tranma,” Thomas uses her experiences as an out trans woman to inspire others. She has been featured on VH1, MTV, E!, and BBC, and can be seen regularly at legendary venues like The Comedy Store and The Laugh Factory.
You can see her holdover show, Confessions of a Groupie or How I F’ed Jim Morrison The Night He Died but I Didn’t Kill Him on Sat, Jul 25 at 7:00 PM.
The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles celebrated the career of Marilyn Monroe with an exhibition in her honor: “Marilyn Monroe: Hollywood Icon,” featuring screenings of her films as well as original photographs, scripts, letters, costumes, and rare personal items on display for the first time ever.
On Thursday, June 2, the museum screened a 4K restoration of Some Like It Hot, with Drag Laureate of West Hollywood, Pickle, presenting the film.
Wearing a recreation of one of Monroe’s many iconic costumes from Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, Pickle inspired the audience with her discussion of the icon and her history with Some Like It Hot, calling the film “quintessentially Marilyn.”
After she praised Monroe’s performance, Pickle compared the control Monroe exerted over her image and presentation to that of a drag queen, stating:
“In drag, we conceal aspects of ourselves with big hair and makeup, or padding or costuming, but the irony is that in doing so we reveal a deeper truth about who we are. I like to say that in acting, you’re always in service of a bigger story being told, but in drag, you are the story. Marilyn embodied that, both in her work and her public life, and was very intentional about the story of Marilyn.”
Billy Wilder’s Some Like It Hot is a classic comedy from 1959 known for its queer undertones. The film stars Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon as two down-on-their-luck jazz musicians who disguise themselves as women after witnessing a mob murder, hiding out in an all-female band.
Curtis and Lemmon spend the majority of their screentime in drag and often find themselves in overtly queer scenarios like when Lemmon is courted by a wealthy retiree and seems to genuinely express excitement over his marriage proposal.
A drag performer named Barbette, a popular female impersonater from Paris in the 1920s/30s, was even hired on set to teach Curtis and Lemmon how to impersonate women.
This queer material was very bold for the 1950s. All Hollywood movies at the time were expected to receive a seal of approval from the Motion Pictures Producers and Distributors of America but Some Like it Hot was considered too inappropriate. However, despite the disapproval of the Hays office, the studio released the film anyways and it ended up performing extremely well, which helped loosen censorship in Hollywood down the line.
For those who missed this screening and any others in the Monroe series, the exhibition will remain open through February 2026, and the screenings will return in the fall. Specific dates are yet to be announced.
In the weeks leading up to its theatrical release, RuPaul’s upcoming comedy Stop! That! Train! has been under immense scrutiny for its alleged use of AI-generated special effects.
Much of the controversy started when Gloria Cook, a VFX artist and experimental filmmaker, attended the film’s premiere in New York on May 28 and posted a review on Letterboxd shortly after, writing, “It’s one of the most conspicuous uses of AI I’ve seen in a film, with a lot of VFX looking like gen AI… Confirmed in the end credits that Acme AI was the top-billed VFX company on the film.”
After similar allegations rapidly spread across the internet, Shankman addressed the controversy on June 3, posting an official statement on Instagram, stressing that the movie was “made by human hands.” However, he notably did not address the undeniable collaboration with AI VFX companies.
Cook, now clapping back at Shankman’s vehement denial, released a video pointing out several discrepancies in the movie, visible even in the film’s trailer.
The train, for example, appears with a different number of windows in various shots, a suspicious detail since human VFX artists would have reused the same CG model for different shots. There would be no purpose in recreating and intentionally changing the amount and placement of windows.
Additionally, there is a shot of the train crossing a bridge with one of its support legs completely missing, another highly suspicious detail.
The IMDb credits list 26 compositing artists but not a single 3D or CG artist. No one is credited with creating the train assets, only with combining assets. While there is a chance that the IMDb credits are incomplete, Cook notes that “it feels like an odd omission, especially when these VFX shots could only be done with CGI… or AI. And AI requires no animators, only compositors to clean up shots and combine elements together.”
Cook adds that proving these effects were not AI-generated would be fairly easy. “All [Shankman] has to do is post wireframes of these scenes to show off the 3D models.”
But instead, he released a very carefully worded statement, dancing around the issue:
Claiming that the movie doesn’t contain any “fully generative AI shots” (emphasis on “fully”) and that not a single shot was “conceived by AI” does not dispute the accusation that AI was used to generate special effects that would have otherwise been created by a human.
Generative AI is extremely harmful to the environment, with data centers increasing carbon dioxide emissions and pressure on the electric grid, straining municipal water supplies, and disrupting local ecosystems. On top of that, it takes jobs away from actual people. But of course, it is faster and cheaper for a company to use generative AI than to pay a human being. So the only thing we can do to stop it is to make our anger known. Filmmakers must be held accountable for using generative AI; otherwise, its use in the film industry will only grow and become normalized.
Openly queer and non-binary singer Blair Davie released the single So What on May 13th, featuring not only the title song but an additional track, “When You Fall In Love,” which was initially released as its own single on March 11th.
Known for songs like “Lovely,” “Butterflies,” and “Wouldn’t Be Right,” Davie frequently showcases passionate, raw vocals and heartfelt lyrics. Romance is a recurring motif in their music, and this latest release is no exception.
“So What?” is a passionate declaration of love, with Davie singing, “I think we’re set for life,” transitioning into the chorus, which expresses finding happiness through love, after years of “hell,” and essentially asking their partner if they feel the same, ending the song with:
"And I got my eyes on you And I bet my life on you Spent all of my time on you So what are you gonna do?"
The lyrics are sugary sweet with an upbeat, perky melody to match. It’s a lovely feel-good expression of love and finding someone you want to spend the rest of your life with.
“When You Fall In Love,” on the other hand, has a much more somber, soulful sound, but an equally romantic message. With beautiful acoustic instrumentation accompanied by Davie’s soft hums, the lyrics read almost like a letter to Davie’s past self, feeling isolated and broken, urging them to hang in there because good things are on the horizon.
"Good things just need the right time And you don’t know yet But it’s coming Someone’s out there, yeah Makes it worth it"
Through love, Davie has found stability and a sense of belonging, soulfully declaring quite frankly, “When you fall in love/ It’ll save you.”
The song is melancholic yet hopeful, with Davie sending love to their past self, who was hurting and alone, now feeling healed and in a healthy, loving relationship.
These two songs showcase Davie’s versatility and mark an exciting start to 2026. The singer is currently on tour through July 21, and their next EP, “You Like Ugly, Don’t You Babe?” is coming out on September 9th, 2026.
From the James Bond franchise to the Met Gala, it seems there is nothing Jeff Bezos cannot buy, though not without public backlash.
The Met Gala is an annual fundraiser for the Costume Institute of The Metropolitan Museum, relying on donations from attendees and sponsors to preserve fashion and art history. While billionaires and conservatives have sponsored the Met Gala before (e.g., Stephen Schwarzman in 2018), this year not only featured Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and his wife, Lauren Sánchez Bezos, as the official sponsors, but as honorary chairs of the gala itself.
While Schwarzman’s contributions were primarily behind the scenes, and thus easier to ignore, it was impossible to miss Bezos’s involvement, with Sánchez Bezos standing right next to Anna Wintour herself at the opening ceremony, fully centered in this space meant to represent creativity and artistic expression, not corporate greed.
Sánchez Bezos photographed beside Anna Wintour at the 2026 Met Gala
As a result of their prominent role in this year’s gala, calls for a boycott of the event spread online while several New York protesters took it upon themselves to make their voices heard. One group reportedly smuggled hundreds of bottles of fake urine into the museum before the event, in reference to longstanding allegations that Amazon warehouse workers were denied adequate bathroom breaks and forced to relieve themselves in bottles. A group of activists, known as Everyone Hates Elon, put up posters throughout the city and projected interviews with Amazon workers and various critical statements on the Bezoses’ penthouse building.
While the gala itself proceeded as usual with strong attendance, a handful of celebrities and public figures were absent.
Zendaya, who has attended the event seven times and even co-chaired it in 2024, notably declined her invitation to the gala, potentially a quiet statement in itself, though she has made no official statement on the matter.
In a New York Times interview with Cynthia Nixon, she applauded Zohran Mamdani’s absence from the gala, stating: “My hat is off to the mayor for not attending… The Met Gala is now giving Bezos exactly the kind of reputation laundering and cultural rocket fuel he needs to keep destroying America.”
Actress and comedian, Lisa Ann Walter, joined the Labor Is Art protest against the Gala, asking: “How did an event that’s supposed to celebrate creativity, artistry, and fabulousness, in all genders, end up revolving around this Temu Lex Luthor? Who profits off of pushing working people to their very brink.”
According to insiders, all of this backlash reportedly came as a surprise to Anna Wintour. One source claimed that “Anna is genuinely shocked by how hostile this has become… [She] quickly enlisted the help of her top advisers from Vogue and her inner circle for what was described as a ‘crisis-level’ strategy session.”
But the backlash should not have been surprising. The Met Gala is marketed as a celebration of fashion, artistry, and cultural preservation. By placing one of the world’s most controversial billionaires at the center of that celebration, the event exposed a larger issue: cultural institutions should not have to sacrifice their credibility in exchange for financial support. This year’s negative reception reflects that the public is becoming less willing to accept this compromise of values. Hopefully, the backlash will serve as a necessary wake-up call for the events’ organizers and similar institutions that public trust can vanish just as quickly as their donor list grows.
Last year, I wrote a top 5 list for my favorite makeup products. While I still stand by that list and use a handful of those products regularly, they vary greatly in cost from a $10 Colourpop Glitter Gel to a $40 Anastasia Beverly Hills Contour Kit. On top of that, I’ve discovered several new products since then and decided it was time for a new list, this time focusing exclusively on more affordable products that can be found at any drugstore!
Available at Target, CVS, Walmart, & More – $12.99 (lasts up to 6 months)
Starting off this list is a product I discovered recently when I searched for an affordable mascara on Target.com and sorted by the highest rated. This Maybelline mascara has an impeccably high rating average, and after using it myself, I can tell why. Upon first application, it left my lashes long and dark. I opted for the waterproof option too, so it dries quickly and doesn’t leave any marks on my upper eyelids when I blink (something I can’t stand in other mascaras.) The waterproof element is insanely effective to the point that I can’t get away with using my typical face wash and need to use additional makeup-removing products! So it is as waterproof as a mascara can possibly be!
The one critique I have is that it’s definitely more of a lengthening mascara than a volumizing one, despite being advertised as both. I think it works best when paired with volumizing mascara. That said, I have been using this as my everyday mascara ever since I bought it a month ago. It’s quick and easy to apply, dries fast, and makes my lashes strikingly dark and long.
Available at Target, CVS, Walmart, & More – $6.29 (1-2 years)
This is the perfect highlighter for a soft, subtle shine. It’s buildable so you can adjust the shine to your liking. Just like the Maybelline mascara, this has become a part of my everyday routine. While this can be used in drag, I sometimes prefer a more striking, icy color, a shade they don’t offer with this highlighter. But for a more casual look, this has been a perfect product.
Available at Target, CVS, Walmart, & More – $8 (lasts up to 6 months)
I have been using this concealer for years, ever since I first started experimenting with makeup back in 2021. It’s a great, buildable concealer for both everyday and drag makeup. The coverage is unmatched, it’s such a great price, and it comes in such an extensive shade range, so whenever I have done makeup on someone else, this is the product I always come back to.
Available at Target, CVS, Walmart, & More – $10.49 (lasts up to 1 year)
This is a recent discovery of mine and I am truly obsessed. I had never used a liquid blush before, but like several other products on this list, it became my standard everyday blush (using two dots on my cheeks and blending them out), though I’ve used it for drag now too (using three dots for a more intense look). While I still enjoy and use powder blush, I just love how the color of the liquid blush builds, how it blends out so easily, and how long it lasts.
Available at Target, CVS, Walmart, & More- $13.99 (lasts up to 6 months)
This L’Oreal Paris liner is another top-rated Target product, and I would put it right alongside the Stila eyeliner from last year’s list. It’s incredibly dark and precise. It glides so effortlessly on my eyelids, making it incredibly easy to paint on a clean, sharp wing. I use it every single day and will definitely continue to use it in the future as a cheaper alternative to the Stila liner.
And thus concludes my list of my top 5 drugstore makeup products! As a beauty concierge and drag queen, I am always on the hunt for new makeup finds and hidden gems. These products are effective, affordable, and best of all, versatile. No matter the amount of makeup you are interested in wearing, there is something here for you on this list.
