Vain Glorious | Revlon’s Fire & Ice

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By HOLLY SIEGEL

| November 10, 2010, 1:48 pm

In Revlon’s 1952 ad for the Fire & Ice Collection, Richard Avedon shot model-of-the-moment Dorian Leigh in a sparkling silver gown framed by an amorphous tuft of red fabric (a copy of a Balenciaga cape), her hands drawing attention to her blood-colored manicure and lipstick. One of the most indelible ads in fashion history, the image was part of a niche campaign that included a Peggy Olsen-worthy tagline — “Are you made for Fire and Ice?” — and a bizarre questionnaire that asked, ‘Have you ever wanted to wear an ankle bracelet?’ and ‘Does gypsy music make you sad?’ While a lot has changed since 1952, Fire & Ice has a new shelf life now that Revlon has re-released three “lip-and-tip” pairings ($4.79 – $ 8.99). The ad restages the original, with a few notable exceptions — the actress Jessica Biel stands in for Leigh, ankle bracelets are so last century, and that dress is no knockoff.

Now then. I have my own little tidbit to add to this story.

So of course as soon as I heard about this collection I rush over the Revlon website, hoping to come across some additional info that might help me track this collection down. I see that they have a live chat option, so I proceed to ask one of their reps which stores in my area would be carrying this. She says she can't give me specific stores to go to but says that Walmart in my area is carrying the collection. How she knew what "my area" was since I didn't give her a zip code I know not, but whatevs. I proceed to throw some clothes on and zip on down to hell aka Walmart. It's nowhere to be seen. I talk to 3 employees who know NOTHING about the collection. And these are employees who are regularly in the cosmetic section. I go home empty handed and disappointed. I get back on the Revlon website to chat with a rep again to tell them what happened and the same rep says, "You should look at Target and Walgreens too." WHY DIDN'T SHE TELL ME THAT BEFORE?! She made it sound like Walmart was the only retailer carrying it. Why did she mention Walmart before the others? So I asked her if those were the only retailers in the US carrying the collection. She said,"almost all drugstores carry Revlon products." I KNOW THAT YOU STUPID *****! I don't live under a freaking rock! UGH! I'm asking about THIS specific collection. Not Revlon in general.

Long story short, if you can't find this in your area, don't turn to the Revlon people for help. They'll only give you the runaround.