Surreally Yours, Veronica Webb
There’s an odd nexus when the Super-Model meets the Serious Issue. And when it happens at the most mundane of settings--Sav-on--it veers toward the surreal.
Last Saturday, patrons of the drugstore’s West Side branch, were greeted with a vision as they crossed the threshold. There, in Aisle 14, behind a table near the Maybelline and Cover Girl displays, was Revlon spokeswoman Veronica Webb, on hand to register entrants for the cosmetic company’s Run/Walk for Women benefiting women’s cancer research this Saturday.
The unseasonably cool weather left Webb shivering in her mint green Gemma Kahng suit, but still game to meet the masses. The only problem was that many of them didn’t have a clue who she was. Apparently, they hadn’t seen Webb on the covers of Vogue and Elle or--as her bio touts--in her “small but significant roles” in Spike Lee’s “Jungle Fever” and “Malcolm X.” Nor had they read her articles in such magazines as Interview and Details.
Others were more intrigued with her pretty face than her social politics.
Thus, more carefully signed photographs of Webb were passed out than cancer information booklets. One woman wanted to know about the new Revlon colors and whether Oprah would be at the race. Another customer was particularly delighted to find her favorite scent, Charlie, on sale, adding, “It was nice to meet a charming and beautiful model, too.”
Webb also dazzled many a bewildered child, including a boy whose mom asked that Revlon consider promoting diets of other, less cancer-ridden countries. “It’s something to think about,” the mom said. She suggested how the super-model might sign a photograph to her son. “Write ‘Hare Krishna,’ ” she said, “It means ‘all glories to God’ in Hindi. That’s pretty special.”
There were some genuine fans. On spotting Webb, one pretty, doe-eyed teen exclaimed, “Wow! I’ve seen her on TV! She is so pretty!”
Still, Webb--whose fingernails were tinted Vixen (a soon-to-come very dark fall color) and lips kissed with Maroon (a spring shade available now)--tried to keep the focus on cancer.
“We can help get the message across in a way the medical profession can’t. One in eight women get breast cancer. It’s a real issue in our consumers’ lives and we need to address it.”
