A slice of “Beverly Hills 90210” came through Darien Tuesday, when actor Ian Ziering stopped by the Spree clothing store on the Post Road to promote a skin care product. Ziering played the brash rich kid Steve Sanders in the hit 1990s television series, arguably his most well known artistic effort. Crowds of women piled into the Post Road shop to catch a glimpse of Ziering and see why he was in town. Cameras flashed while local ladies posed with the star, and visitors were hard-pressed not to associate him with his long gone “90210” character, like a close friend who had grown apart from his hometown clique.

But it was all business for Ziering. He was exposed to Nu Skin epidermal care products while on the “90210” set in California. Two years ago he revisited the business, and has since worked with the company to promote its products.

Ziering said that he’s been interested in skin care since he was a child actor. “As a child I realized that I could affect change in my complexion if I took care of my skin,” he said, pausing from his conversations with curious visitors to speak with the Darien Times. “As I got older, I’ve realized that clear complexion wasn’t enough. I needed to maintain a youthful appearance.”

Slightly coy about some of his other, entertainment-based projects, Ziering said acting remains his primary passion.

“I’ve got a lot of different irons in the fire,” he said, adding that he’s producing a competition reality show that is still in its infant stages. “I can’t really talk about it until we ink the deal,” he said. “We definitely have traction, just waiting for business affairs to come through.”

Spree owner Lindsay Westbrook hosted Ziering and his associate, Nu Skin distributor Aimee Rein of Westport.

Westbrook’s friend Marnie Lane helped arrange Ziering’s visit.

“I thought it would be a good way to bring people from out of town,” Westbrook said.

“And as a good bonus, we get to meet Ian Ziering from ‘90210’ and ‘Dancing With The Stars’.”

Ziering and Rein were promoting Nu Skin products such as the Galvanic Spa, which sends micro-currents of electricity in conjunction with ionized gels to promote younger looking skin. Visitors also had a chance to test their levels of antioxidants through the company’s BioPhotonic Scanner, a noninvasive method of measuring carotenoid antioxidant activity.

“A lot of people have been coming in to test their antioxidant levels,” Westbrook said.

A fan of the ‘90210’ series herself, Westbrook said Ziering’s visit gave her company a new level of exposure. “I think people will come back,” she said.

Although he is passionate about his skin care line, this California resident has not strayed from his vocational roots. This past summer, Ziering acted in a new Adam Sandler film “I Hate You, Dad,” due to hit theaters in 2012. He’s also starring in a film to promote the new American Girl doll line, where he plays the father opposite Nia Vardalos of “My Big Fat Greek Wedding” fame. That movie hits theaters sometime before the next Olympics, he said.

Since his “90210” days, Ziering has acted in a number of films, most recently as the character Testiclees in the National Lampoon spoof “The Legend of Awesomest Maximus.” He’s also directed a number of short films, and he earned a Best Actor award at the 2006 Monaco Film Festival for his role in the independent movie “Stripped Down.” His “Dancing With The Stars” stint ended at the 2007 semi-finals, halting the two-year winning streak of his dancing partner, Cheryl Burke, who had previously won with Drew Lachey and Emmitt Smith. The pair’s perfect score on one of their last dances wasn’t enough to make the final round.

Ziering grew up in West Orange, N.J., and has family in Guilford, Westport and New Haven – where his mother is from. He now lives in California where he’s married and with a five-month old daughter, Mia.

Starting a family has given him an even stronger conviction in the Nu Skin products.

“Being a husband and a new dad, I trust in the fact that I know where the science is coming from and who’s doing it, that I will die young, late in life,” he said.

The products are only available through independent distributors or online at nuskin.com. Ziering can be contacted about the product by visiting IZOverview.com. While he admits he was in town to promote Nu Skin, he said he was also checking out Spree’s new line of clothes for his wife, Erin.

“I’m always out shopping for my wife,” he said. ddesroches@darientimes.com
Darien Times/David DesRoches

Ian Ziering, left, who played Steve Sanders in the “Beverly Hills, 90210,” series, visited Spree clothes store and owner Lindsay Westbrook on the Post Road to promote the Nu Skin care products.