SKIN-TERVENTION
How Jennifer Aniston’s former facialist was jailed for ‘hiring hitman to kill rival’ & the twist that happened next
The skincare pro said that killing the rival was the only 'solution'
IT may sound like fiction - but the upcoming movie Skincare is based on a wild real-life story involving a Hollywood facialist accused of hiring a hitman to murder a rival.
The thriller follows a celebrity skincare guru named Hope Goldman, whose beauty business faces sabotage when rival Angel Vergara opens a boutique right across the street.
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Hope, played by Elizabeth Banks, goes on to discover that her email account has been hacked, sending out messages pretending to be her, as well as leaked fake snaps going online.
The movie, which premiers on August 16, then sees the facialist setting out on a quest to discover who is behind all of this - and to take them down.
But while it most definitely sounds like a gripping story that's sure to keep viewers glued to the screen, what many cinema fanatics may not know is that the movie was inspired by events that took place in real life.
The main character is loosely based off Dawn DaLuise - a famed beauty pro who was accused of asking someone to murder fellow aesthetician Gabriel Suarez.
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Dawn, who was working with the likes of Jennifer Aniston, Nicki Minaj and Sarah Mitchelle Gellar, was convinced Gabriel was on a mission to ruin her career and reputation, and sent a text message to a mate saying she wanted to ''take him out'', Daily Mail reported.
However, Gabriel was later proven to not be guilty of any of the claims of wrongdoing - and there was an even more bizarre twist to follow.
The person behind the career-damaging career was, in fact, the friend whom she had messaged earlier.
By March 2014, Dawn's empire came crashing down when she was arrested and charged with solicitation for murder.
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Dawn, who is now 65, was taken into custody after her mate Edward Feinstein contacted authorities and said that the facialist had told him that she'd asked former NFL lineman Chris Geile to ''take out'' the rival across the street.
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According to Dawn, she had suddenly found herself at the centre of a hostile stalking campaign, receiving over a staggering thousands messages of disturbing nature and threatening calls.
The celeb beauty buff also claimed that a person had uploaded fake lewd photos where her face had been edited onto pornographic images and even shared on Craiglist ads seeking who would fulfil her ''rape fantasy'' with her.
In total, Dawn spent close to a year in jail awaiting the trial, before being acquitted of all charges in January 2015 when authorities concluded there was no evidence that anyone had acted on the plot to kill rival Gabriel.
Her friend Chris, now retired from sports, also insisted that he was never approached and asked to murder anyone.
Police later linked the gruesome ads to the mate who'd originally turned her in - Edward - and arrested him on suspicion of stalking.
After pleading guilty to one count of misdemeanor stalking against Dawn, Edward and a man named Nick Prugo were both sentenced to community service a year later, in 2016.
Dawn DaLuise - successful business comes crashing down
Before going to prison, DaLuise was a successful business woman.
At the Dawn DaLuise Skin Refinery based in West Hollywood, the beauty guru plumped, plucked, and waxed both celebs and the not-so-famous faces.
Her signature facial - Galvanic Electrical Muscular Stimulation - and self-labelled beauty products were praised by some of the biggest names in the industry, including Vogue, InStyle, and Vanity Fair.
On her website she lists Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, and Brad Pitt among her A-list clients.
Appearing on Dr. Phil afterwards, Dawn, who is a mum to two children, admitted that she had sent a message to her pal where she said that killing Gabriel was the only ''solution'' to put an end to the harassment and regain her reputation.
However, she emphasised that it was never her intention to actually follow through with it.
''I didn't do anything wrong... I was under assault and I was not guilty of a crime.''
The former beauty guru, who was diagnosed with cancer during her time in prison and lost her business, said: ''The miscarriage of justice is insane and overwhelming.
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''My life is decimated. [Authorities] shot first and asked questions later,'' she told People.
Chatting about the thriller with Entertainment Weekly, Elizabeth, 50, claimed she was unaware the movie was based on real-life events until ''way later into the process''.
''I didn't know it at all. I had never heard about it. I was just all in on Hope Goldman and this character and the sort of milieu of LA,'' she said.
Mwanwhile Dawn, who went on to open another clinic in 2018, was far from amused when she realised her story had inspired the movie - and was concerned it could have a negative impact on her future.
The beauty whizz, who alleged to be in the midst of trying to sell her story for a documentary, said: ''It could deprive me of my ability to tell my own story.''