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QVC's merchandising power has nurtured blockbuster brands like Spanx body shapers- and whole sub-industries that help entrepreneurs get their products onto the shopping network (or at least claim to). The company's allure is so powerful that silver key rings Marion Brando reportedly sought to become one of its celebrity presenters during his final, cashstrapped, obese, and depressed years.

Naturally, a company this closely tied to the decades-long American consumer boom has been hit hard by the recession. silver necklaces Consumer credit problems and falling sales in 2008 and early 2009 forced QVC to lay off staff, close a call center, and cut inventories. But lately, its fortunes have rebounded. In February, Liberty Media, QVC's parent company, announced that the network's operating income in the fourth quarter of 2009 was up about a third from its dismal 2008 level.

That's good news for closet fans like me, who furtively watch its broadcasts without ever really buying. But it's less clear what that says about the health and sanity of the American consumer. Does it mean we're getting back on our feet? Or does it mean that we're still in way over our heads, unable to pull silver pendants ourselves out of our obsessive overspending?

To appreciate QVC's consummate skill in separating its customers from their money, you have to travel to its headquarters, tucked behind an obscure office park outside Philadelphia. For $75 you can take the "All Access Tour" of its vast facility, silver rings which spans a lot the size of 15 football fields.

You disagree. You are not one of those people, trying to plug your gaping inner ness with cut-rate consumer goods. You are a discriminating shopper, a person of real substance, a unique snowflake. It doesn't matter. QVC has something you want. And- odds are- Two Hearts pendant has it at a price you can't resist.

While researching this article- that is, watching QVC in earnest- I made the mistake of suggesting to my television-hating mother that she should tune in to a presentation of some Reed & Barton flatware, which silver bracelets she'd wanted to buy for a cousin's wedding gift.

"You want me to buy something ... from the television"?" Her tone suggested icy Thanksgiving dinners silver cufflinks and rewritten wills.

And silver earrings to be fair, 30 minutes later, she had not bought any flatware. Somehow, though, our family came to own three jumbo sets of Lock and Lock storage containers, in Kiwi, Fuchsia, and Coral- one for each of us, and one for my sister. Now that we each had a color-coded personal set, my mother explained, the McArdle women would never again tussle over the Tupperware.

This power to turn the most resistant foe into a QVC shopper has made the network one of the most effective retailing machines ever invented. Founded by the same man who started the Franklin Mint, the company began broadcasting on November 24, when it sold $7,400 worth of merchandise. Since then, QVC- it stands for "Quality, Value, Convenience"- has become one of America's largest jewelry retailers and a leading importer of goods, and has earned other superlatives too numerous to elaborate.

merchandise bags of paper or plastic, paper gift wrap bows, paper ribbons, bottle wrappers of tiffany engagement rings cardboard or paper, plastic bubble packs for wrapping or packaging, sheets of cellulose for wrapping food for household use, plastic film for wrapping food for household use, wrapping paper, gift wrapping paper, printed note books, printed paper envelopes for use when sending watches or jewelry for repair, paper tags, plastic-coated paper tags, price tags, printed timetables, transfers or decalcomanias, hat boxes of cardboard.

packaging material made of starches in the nature of a paper substitute for food, beverages and consumer products, pencil sharpeners, stationery folders, posters, calendars, letter openers, writing cases, namely, pen and pencil cases; stands for pens and pencils, passport holders, blotters, pens, pencils, drawing sets consisting of drawing pencils and charcoal pencils, desk-mounted cabinets for stationery, stencil cases; pen cases, pencil cases, rubber erasers; drawing squares and drawing rulers; tiffany bangles gummed tape for stationery use, covers of paper for flower pots, book covers, marking chalk, chaplets, modeling paste for stationery or household use

Unworked or semi-worked leather sold in bulk, animal fur-skins, luggage, handbags, shoulder bags, garment bags for travel, tiffany money clips traveling bags, beach bags, clutch bags, all purpose sports bags, attach cases, school bags, tote bags, textile shopping bags; card cases, namely, business card cases; vanity cases not fitted; keycases, knapsacks, rucksacks, briefcases, purses, wallets, pouches of leather for packaging; traveling trunks, suitcases, umbrellas, parasols, walking sticks; dog collars, whips

Lanvin dished up one of the season's key theatrical moments with black wigs that recalled Urna Thurman's iconic do in Pulp Fiction. Palau sourced them at Ricky's in New York ($39 each) and hand-carried them to Paris. "The thing about a wig is that it's a total fantasy," says Palau. "The girls look like tough, dominatrix-y bourgeois French women, with a nice little cartoonishness to them." Because the wigs were vinyl, getting that smooth, glossy look was just a matter of steaming them flat. In real life, Guido suggests spritzing on shine spray for extra sheen. Since all the models looked alike, McGrath used a high-coverage foundation and a beige lip as contrast against tiffany rings on sale metallic "flashes of eyes," which she created using black eyeliner and a theatrical "aged gold" pigment she mixed herself. FLARE picks: Redken Vinyl Glam 02 Mega Shine Spray, $19. Chanel Vitalumiere Compact Makeup, $75. CoverGirl LiquiLineBlast Eye Liner in Black Fire,

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To add sheen to clean skin, she applied a hint of clear lip gloss wherever light naturally hits the face (across the forehead, lids, cupid's bow and cheeks). The beautifully bare face- emphasized by minimal mascara and white eyeliner inside the eyescomplemented luxurious, almond-shaped lips all dolled up in gothic purple-black lacquer. FLARE picks: John Frieda Luxurious Volume Lavish Lift Blow Dry Spray, $10.50. Revlon tiffany earrings sale ColorBurst Lipstick in Grape, $10.50. Revlon SuperLustrous Lipgloss in Shine City, $9.50. -Katie Young

"It's easy- mousse, hairspray and tease, tease, tease!" says hair guru Odile Gilbert of her big hair creation at Karl Lagerfeld. Chignons looked slick with vinyl bandeaus that echoed all of the high-tech fabrics seen on the runway. To balance out the latex sheen, tiffany bracelets for sale M.A.C's director of makeup artistry, Nadine Luke, kept the message sophisticated and timeless. "It's exactly the look you want for fall: classy and elegant," she says. Start with a vintagerose cream colour on che.eks, and think "flush, not blush,",so don't overdo it.

On eyes, Luke used two brown shadows; a matte textured shade topped with a gold-shimmered one for art "expensive" look. To finish, Luke used a tiffany earrings on sale vibrant reef; lipstick (one of fall's must-haves) with a coral tinge that popped against perfectlooking skin. FLARE picks: Aveda Control Force Firm Hold Hair Spray, $34. La Prairie Cellular Radiance Cream Blush in' Rose Glow, $95. M.A.C Lipstick in Lady Danger, $16.50. -T.I.

At Nina Ricci, Redken creative consultant Guido Palau channeled a French '60s look with teased, imperfect "back-dos" (it's pinned back instead of up). "It's not meant to be too madame even though the shape is quite grand," he says. Palau created volume by applying creamy mousse to damp hair, then dried, teased and set it in place with a strong-hold hairspray. For makeup, CoverGirl's global creative design director, Pat McGrath, drew attention to the eyes with strong browsubiquitous tiffany necklaces sale on fall runways- and soft brown liner. "We just wanted to show beauty in an understated way, accenting [models'] natural prettiness," says McGrath. How did she achieve that silvery sheen on the eyelids? By blending two shades you might not expect: purple and bronze. FLARE picks: Redken Aerate 08 Bodifying CreamMousse, $21.50. Clinique Instant Lift for Brows in Soft Brown, $19.50. CoverGirl Smoky ShadowBlast in Purple Plume and Bronze Fire, $9 each. -Tina Isaac