What I learned at HSN

The other week I was down in Tampa at HSN for our Lucky Shops Designer Event shows--which were insane and fun and totally surreal (also heart-thumpingly exciting to watch things like this crazy-cheap Kooba bag sell out in a matter of minutes). The HSN headquarters look like a military bunker: the compound (I can't even guess how big it is) is a low-slung, windowless warren of rooms (with the exception of a vast, airplane hanger-ish studio complex where stuff gets filmed). 24 hours a day the place is fully staffed--THEY NEVER STOP.

24 hours of live television, and no commercial is longer than a minute.All the producers and tech crews glide around the sets wearing littleinvisible earbuds, talking smoothly to whomever is on the other end;they are WICKED efficient, and ridiculously nice and helpful to allon-air guests suffering from stage fright. (By "on-air guests sufferingfrom stage fright," I mean "me"). It is a tightly run operation, andsomehow everyone is CHEERY. At 2 AM, 5 AM, whatever. It is astounding.

Withinthe compound is a mini-compound: The makeup compound, where a smallarmy of makeup and hair people works on hosts, guests, and models at afeverish pace. Once again, 24 hours a day. I managed to pick up a fewtips:

1) One of our show hosts, Shivan Sarna, told me that she's allergic to self-tanner, and the only one she ever uses is Diana B's 60 Second Miracle Tan.You put it on for only one minute in the shower, then rinse it off; youget a light, amazing glowiness (not a crazy-dark tan, just a littlecolor).

2) Designer Rebecca Taylor (she of the super-pretty cardigan) loves DiorShowmascara. Her method: Dust a little pressed powder on eyelashes beforecurling, then put on the DiorShow ("the powder makes the curl last, andthickens them").

3) Night-shift makeup artist/hairstylist Eric loves the Hot Tools Ceramic Curling Iron (1 1/4 inches) for beachy waves, Makeup Forever HD foundation for dewy, un-cakey-looking coverage (HSN is HD), and the flat-topped, white-tipped M.A.C. brushes for powder, blending cream blush, eye shadow, basically anything.

More from Luckymag.com:

Don't Forget--Lucky On HSN!

HSN Lands Another Big Name Designer

Budget Fabulous