A Foundation Shift
The recession is hitting the very foundation of Southern California. Custom-blend foundation for the face, that is. Visage Beaute, one of the few West Coast-based cosmetics companies, will close its Beverly Hills corporate doors this month. Headquarters will shift to the New York skyscraper offices of parent company Revlon. Visage specializes in blending custom colors of foundation, lipstick, blush and eye shadows at department store counters. Blending will go on as usual--so Ann-Margret, Faye Dunaway and Janet Jackson can still buy their custom colors--but founder Roy Karell is gone and so are about 100 West Coast employees.
* OVERDEVELOPED ENTRANCE: Just before the end of the LA Style sixth-anniversary party Monday evening at Union Station, a couple appeared at the edge of the throng. He wore a nondescript suit, but she was a sight to behold: beehive hair, ultra-white skin and a body-hugging gown of rust velour with a distinctly Jean Paul Gaultier feel. As they eyed the crowd that included Keanu Reeves, Alexander Godunov, Corbin Bernsen and Miss Universe, he leaned over and said with great seriousness, “Are you ready?” “Ready,” she replied. He grabbed her elbow and they plunged into the crowd, eyes searching furtively for reaction. How could they miss? Her gown featured “Truth or Dare” breast cones that preceded the rest of her by a good 10 inches.
* BLAIR BAGS IT: The rising tide of troubled waters at Balmain has not abated. The venerable Paris fashion house dropped its couture line this year and now Alastair Blair, its ready-to-wear designer, has quit. Women’s Wear Daily reported he left after growing tired of Balmain’s switches in strategy. The company suffered 1990 losses of $17 million.
* TATTOO’S SCRATCHED: Wisconsin’s teen-age trendoids who lust for a tattoo may have trouble getting one, if two state legislators have their way. State Rep. Jim Baumgart and state Sen. Calvin Potter--both Democrats--recently introduced a bill imposing a fine (up to $200) for tattooing anyone under the age of 18 without parental consent. A recent record check revealed that no such bill has been introduced in California--yet.
* DIAL A DILEMMA: New to the 900-number telephone directory is a service that provides information for brides. The number, 900-WEDDING ((900) 933-3464) has a selection of recorded tapes on a variety of topics, such as what to do when your mother takes control of your wedding. The tapes can be heard for $1.95 a minute from a touch-tone phone. “We try and provide information brides can’t find anywhere else,” says Mary Barnett, the Costa Mesa party planner who devised the service. Tapes change weekly and the lines are open round the clock.* DK MEN: Donna Karan is branching into yet another area of retailing. She recently announced plans for a DKNY men’s collection scheduled to debut in the fall of 1992. Karan will test market the line at the Barneys New York store. There is talk of putting it in a Los Angeles store, but talk is all there is at this point, says Patti Cohen, Karan’s spokeswoman.
