Valleytalk

Love That Ad A larger-than-life poster to announce the upcoming opening of Abercrombie & Fitch in the Fashion Square mall in Sherman Oaks drew a very enthusiastic response from at least one shopper. The poster, a black-and-white photo of a shirtless young man, went up several weeks ago to herald the store’s opening on Nov. 26. Soon after, someone covered the picture with kisses. Joy Rankins, an administrative assistant at Fashion Square’s management office, noticed the lipstick stains during a walk-through of the mall, and she first thought the ruby-red lip prints on the poster were part of the advertising’s design. But when she took a tissue to the poster, the lipstick smeared. Sleuth Rankins quickly figured out it was a lone culprit, because all the kisses were planted in the same, unusual lipstick color. “I don’t think many people walk around with holiday red on,” she said. Vive la Difference From the culture shock files: Sephora, a French cosmetics retailer that just opened its first Los Angeles store, is just beginning to learn about American tastes, but some differences are already clear. Its newest store in the San Fernando Valley, as with all its U.S. operations, employs makeup artists, who will gladly sit a shopper down and provide a cosmetic makeover, removing the old makeup and applying a new face. But there are no makeup artists in the company’s stores in France. That’s because French women would never think of taking their makeup off in public. Of course, L.A. has another makeup custom that the folks at Sephora may not yet know about. It’s the one where women apply their makeup in full view of all the freeway drivers while they make their morning commute. So far, there’s no word on whether makeup artists will be available at drive time. Defining the terms For developers battling the objections of community groups and others to their projects, the Van Nuys-based Apartment Association recently published this guide to opponent attitudes: NIMBY: Not in my back yard NIMFYE: Not in my front yard either BANANA: Build absolutely nothing anywhere near anybody NIMTOO: Not in my term of office NOPE: Not on planet Earth To which we add: NONE: Not now, not ever. Evening With Emmy Looking for a reason to head downtown? In yet another bid to boost activity in the area, the Los Angeles Sports & Entertainment Commission is selling tickets to the upcoming Emmy Awards as part of a package that includes a stay at a downtown hotel. “It’s a chance to get people downtown and realize how much stuff (there is) to do,” said Kathy Schloessman, president of the commission. “People don’t come downtown unless they have a reason.” The package sells for $499. So far, 200 have been sold, with another 300 available for the Sept. 12 event. Along with two balcony seats at the awards and a two-night stay at a participating hotel, the package includes two tickets to the commission’s post-Emmy party, round-trip transportation to the Shrine Auditorium, and a red-carpet entrance to the show. To sweeten the deal even more, the package comes with two tickets to the Dodgers game the night before the Emmys. Well, on second thought Wrestling With Ratings UPN executives have taken a beating since the network announced it was going to air professional wrestling on Thursday nights to bolster anemic ratings. One feisty scribe went as far as calling wrestling “sexist, racist, homophobic and even Satanic.” UPN President Dean Valentine thinks that’s a little off the mark. “There’s clearly a disconnect between some of you guys and the audience that watches it and enjoys it,” Valentine replied to the criticism during a recent TV confab in Pasadena. Another critic pressed the prez. “Call me old-fashioned, but convince me how a wrestler called ‘The Pimp,’ who brings his ‘ho’s’ into the ring, is not sexist,” he said. “Hey guys,” the exasperated Valentine said, “It’s a comedy. Lighten up.” Web Welcome The L.A. Convention & Visitors Bureau recently added a feature to its Web site a home page in Japanese. Titled “The New L.A.,” the page provides prospective visitors from places like Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto with information on L.A. For example, they can learn how much to tip waiters, bell boys and taxi drivers (which must be very helpful because there is no tradition of tipping in Japan). The site also says the three key words necessary to understand life in L.A. are culture, entertainment and sports. “The L.A. life that couldn’t be enjoyed without living here has become something that even visitors can find enough to enjoy,” the page proclaims in Japanese.