OK, Now the Fun Begins

We couldn’t help but notice the anxiety oozing from the Yves Saint Laurent staff members as they awaited a show of the designer’s spring collection this week. Only after the parade of sumptuous clothes on equally sumptuous models from Paris and New York did the French contingent visibly relax with--what else--cigarettes.

And why shouldn’t they? (Except, of course, for health reasons.) With two consecutive fashion shows out of the way, it was time to party. Leading the pack was Saint Laurent’s longtime muse and accessories designer, Loulou de La Falaise, who’d spent much of the previous night on the dance floor at Babylon. After a suitable amount of hobnobbing with friends and clients of the Beverly Hills boutique, De La Falaise--in red from head to toe--departed in a vintage turquoise Thunderbird for parts unknown, looking the opposite of anxious.

Back inside, actor Bud Cort (“Harold and Maude”) approached hairstylist Laurent Dufourg, co-owner of the nearby Jose Eber salon. “I loved you in ‘Dracula’!” said Cort, mistaking the hairdresser for actor Gary Oldham.

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Saving Face: Kristy McNichol, late of TV sitcom “Empty Nest,” has a new calling--as a facialist. McNichol studies at the Newberry Beauty School and tried out her technique Thursday at the launch of “Project: Self Esteem” at the Foundation for the Junior Blind. Skin-care expert Vera Brown, who has taught grooming at the foundation for 17 years, encouraged her longtime friend to take courses in skin care.

Now, McNichol helps Brown with her considerable roster of charity work. “What I teach,” said Brown, “is that when your skin is clean and clear, and your makeup well applied, the world has a better impression of you. The importance of this program lasts long after the treatment is over.”

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Oh, a Writer and a Model: “Take a deep breath!” ordered our personal dresser. “You pull down,” she instructed her assistant, “and I’ll pull up.” Is there anything more satisfying than the sound of a zipper successfully completing its mission? Not to our ears--especially as we prepared for our modeling debut at a San Marino charity tea last weekend.

We so wanted the lunch-nibbling ladies to coo over our black velvet halter dress with matching fringed jacket. We even stooped to doing a dignified shimmy. But no one missed a bite. So, with RuPaul’s immortal words, “Work it, girl,” echoing in our brain, we fondled our big gold pendant and subtly wiggled our latex-encased hips. Linda Evangelista and Christy Turlington, look out.

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Moss Merchandising: After weeks of construction delays, Mossimo Supply--Irvine-based sportswear designer Mossimo Giannulli’s first retail store--opens today at South Coast Plaza. Here, the Mossimo maniac can buy footwear, swimwear, hats, belts, bags, eyewear, bodywear and on and on.

But our favorite is the store’s “Culture Card.” Awarded to customers who buy $1,000 worth of merchandise, it makes shoppers eligible for “exclusive specialty items as well as a monthly newsletter with all the latest Mossimo gear.” If this sounds a little like a fan club, it’s not far off. At his last public appearance, the handsome young designer’s one-hour autographing session stretched into three. Sign us up!

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Product Placement: Note all the Doc Martens items in “Wayne’s World 2,” which opens today. A throng of commando-outfitted waiters wear the label’s 10-eye greasy boots, while Wayne and Garth groupies cavort in DM underwear (look for the distinctive yellow stitching). Coincidentally enough, Dr Martens mini-stores also open today at Nordstroms citywide. . . . Billy Joel has cast aside the schlubby-piano-man look of days gone by. When he performs at the Sports Arena on Monday, the downtown guy will do so exclusively in Armani.

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Honors: The king of the blow-dry, Vidal Sassoon, has been immortalized in wax. Sassoon can now be seen in the Movieland Wax Museum’s “Rodeo Drive” set--not styling hair, but posing jauntily in front of his shop--its window inset with a mural depicting hairdressers hard at work.

“He looks very GQ,” said spokesman Mark Edwards, “or very Vidal Sassoon, I should say.” Visitors to the Buena Park museum suggested Sassoon take his place on the set, Edwards said. All the other wax figures strolling by Cartier, Gucci and Fred Hayman are stars of bygone eras. And with the exception of Sassoon, it will stay that way. Don’t get jealous, Fred.

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Holiday Shopping, Round 2: The women we once waited in line with at Bullock’s or Ann Taylor have shifted their priorities. This week, the well-groomed, well-shod crowd descended on Michael’s--the mother of all crafts stores. Dozens of businesswomen on their lunch hours contemplated the cost-per-yard of French ribbon versus plain old floppy gold mesh. Others stared glassy-eyed at a make-your-own-wreath display. “You gotta buy the right amount now,” stressed one Michael’s veteran to her neophyte friend, “ ‘cause you never want to come back!” Ain’t that the truth?

If you’d rather watch, quintessential craftswoman Martha Stewart, the queen of holiday frenzy, goes so far as thatching her own Westport, Conn., home on Sunday’s installment of “Martha Stewart Living.” Set the VCR on Channel 4, 5:30 a.m. The following week: hand-stamped wrapping paper.