It’s Sunday – the first day the The Makeup Show – NYC is open to the public and it is bananas. I heard there were 2k people in line when the doors open!

I am not a line stander, but this year Make Up For Ever introduced their colorful Aqua Liners – felt-tip liquid eyeliners – and since we all know how I feel about those, standing in liner for them was a foregone conclusion.

But, before I got in this unwieldy line, I made my way around to look at many of the 150 vendors showing their wares. Of course I had to also stop and say hello to the beauties, Melissa and Wanda, from CoverFX and the lovely Nicole from Mario Badescu. In fact, Nicole took me over to look at the pretty opaque lipglosses from Armour Beauty. I love when beauty folks share their faves!

So, I’m here, in line, and enjoying the people watching until I get my hands on some colorful goodies.

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As I write this, I am on a plane headed to New York City. That’s right, it’s that time of year again – The Makeup Show.

TMS is a makeup trade shows that includes some of the biggest names in makeup (*Nars, Smashbox, MUFE, YSL) and gives a chance to smaller brands to break thru (*can’t wait to see who is premiering this year). It’s also an opportunity to hear some of the leading Makeup Artists in the business give tips & tricks and flat out good advice for those in the business.

As usual, you know that my twitter feed will be blowing up with up-to-the-minute of what I’m seeing and doing while I’m in NYC.

I’m excited to go again this year and can’t wait to share it with all of you!

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This week, you (yes, you!) have more personal invitations to Fashion Week shows than even the Tumblr convoy, because a slew of designers are broadcasting their big events via livestream. We’ve got the entire schedule below, which includes Lincoln Center, Milk Studios and off-site shows; there’s so many you can always just “see what’s on” and tune in.

Compare this list to last year’s February Fashion Week livestreams, and the growth is stupendous. From 10 shows livestreaming to nearly 50…better start making some reminder Post-Its.

Note that many other sites have also listed similar livestreaming schedules, but we’ve found missing and incorrect information in all of them, so what you have below is as near to perfection as we’ve gotten.

· Wednesday, February 9
Hear Truth’s Red Dress Collection: 7pm. Live from Lincoln Center on CBSNews.

· Thursday, February 10
BCBG Max Azria: 10am. Live from Lincoln Center on BCBGMaxAzriaRunway.com.
Luca Luca: 3pm. Live from Lincoln Center on FirstComesFashion.com.
Wayne: 6pm. Live from Milk at Milkmade.
Christian Siriano: 7pm. Live from Lincoln Center on FijiWater.com, plus a contest to win one of the looks.

· Friday, February 11
Peter Som: 10am. Live from Milk on Milkmade.
Perry Ellis: 11am. Live from Lincoln Center on PerryEllis.com.
Jason Wu: 1pm. Live from off-site on BergdorfGoodman.com, with chance to pre-order looks on February 16.
Rebecca Taylor: 2pm. Live from Lincoln Center at RebeccaTaylor.com.
Costello Tagliapietra: 3pm. Live from Milk at Milkmade.
Rebecca Minkoff: 3pm. Live from Lincoln Center at RebeccaMinkoff.com.
Nicole Miller: 6pm. Live from Lincoln Center at FirstComesFashion.com.

· Saturday, February 12
Prabal Gurung: 12pm. Live from Lincoln Center on FirstComesFashion.com.
Alexander Wang: 5pm. Live from off-site on Style.com.
Charlotte Ronson: 6pm. Live from Lincoln Center on FirstComesFashion.com.
Suno: 7pm. Live from Milk at Milkmade.
Altuzarra: 8pm. Live from Milk on Milkmade.

· Sunday, February 13
Derek Lam: 10am. Live from Lincoln Center at FirstComesFashion.com.
Preen: 11:30am. Live from Milk at Milkmade.
DKNY: 1pm. Live from off-site on Facebook.
Calvin Klein Men’s Collection: 2pm. Live from off-site at CalvinKleinInc.
Thakoon: 3pm. Live from off-site on FirstComesFashion.com.
Cushnie et Ochs: 7pm. Live from Milk on Milkmade.
Tommy Hilfiger: 8pm. Live from Lincoln Center on Facebook.

· Monday, February 14
Carolina Herrera: 10am. Live from Lincoln Center on FirstComesFashion.com.
Olivier Theyskens for Theory: 12pm. Live from off-site on Facebook.
Tracy Reese: 1pm. Live from Lincoln Center on FirstComesFashion.com.
Donna Karan Collection: 2pm. Live from off-site on Style.com.
Alice + Olivia: 5pm. Live from The Plaza on Livestream.com.
Betsey Johnson: 6pm. Live from Lincoln Center on BetseyJohnson.com.
Marc Jacobs Collection: 7:30pm. Live from the Armory on MarcJacobs.com.

· Tuesday, February 15
Badgley Mischka: 10am. Live from Lincoln Center on FirstComesFashion.com.
Diesel Black Gold: 1pm. Live from off-site on Livestream.com.
Jen Kao: 1pm. Live from Lincoln Center on FirstComesFashion.com.
Marc by Marc Jacobs: 3:45pm. Live from the Armory on MarcJacobs.com.
Tibi: 7pm. Live from Lincoln Center on FirstComesFashion.com.

· Wednesday, February 16
Michael Kors: 10am. Live from Lincoln Center on MichaelKors.com.
Nanette Lepore: 11am. Live from Lincoln Center on NanetteLepore.com.
Oscar de la Renta: 1pm. Live from off-site on Facebook.
Milly: 3pm. Live from Lincoln Center on FirstComesFashion.com.
Anna Sui: 6pm. Live from Lincoln Center on AnnaSui.com.
The Blonds: 7pm. Live from Milk on Milkmade.
Proenza Schouler: 8pm. Live from off-site on FirstComesFashion.com.

· Thursday, February 17
Calvin Klein Women’s Collection 2pm. Live from off-site, on CalvinKleinInc.

*UPDATE* I just saw today (10th) that Maybelline (*as official makeup sponsors of Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week) have a YouTube page that is streaming fashion shows all week: Live From The Runway

Of course, as much as I will enjoy watching the shows, it’s the backstage that I will really miss this season. I just adore watching everything come together with the hair and makeup. Is it too soon to start counting down to September??

Are you going to tune in to any of the shows? Are there any shows *not* streaming that you wish were?

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Leo has a great background of how he ended up here in NYC, which includes starting as a wood-sculptor, honing his hair styling skills in Dallas, TX, to styling for fashion magazines worldwide before opening NYC’s first green salon with his two friends, (*who have also been featured in worldwide fashion mags & just happen to be good-looking Italians, too), Pasqual Ferrante and Marco Santini (*you may remember me talking about Marco during NYFW last September).

Let’s talk about this space for a minute. Besides it being wind-powered with the goal of a 0% carbon footprint, it was also established as a multi-functional location. All of the stations can be pushed back to open up the area for other types of activities like art shows, or even fashion presentations like the Ann Yee Spring/Summer 2011 collection this fashion week. Not only do they keep the surroundings “green”, they also use the Davines line of products, which are made with “high-grade, natural ingredients”. (*I enjoyed a shampoo & hair masque before my haircut & was lucky enough to get to talk James, who is from Tulsa, OK, while leaned back in one of the custom built “trust fall” chairs by EcoSystems.

Anyway, back to Leo & my hair. After ruling out bangs (“Oh no no no…”) and layers, we decided to keep my length, clean up the ends by taking around 1.5″ or so off – getting rid of all the dead/splitends – and giving a just a hint of shorter fringe around my face to break it up a bit. I was sincerely amazed at what that change did to my hair. It felt lighter, smoother & looked so much healthier than when I had walked in, that’s for sure. I appreciated that he was honest about what would work for me and my face shape & worked with me about keeping my length – I really felt revitalized when I was done.

If environmental beauty is your thing (*and why wouldn’t it be?), and you are in NYC, I would definitely recommend you track down this salon for your hair (or even event) needs. And even if you don’t have one of the partners work with you, my girl Meredith, from Retrodiva’s Beauty can tell you that you can get great work done by one of the other stylists at the salon.

Lemme know – is going green at your salon a high priority to you? Or is it just stylist, or even location, that makes you go where you go?

*Disclaimer: Services were provided by the salon for PR consideration.

Great view of both the upper and lower areas of ION Salon in NYC.

The downstairs washing area, including the “trust” chairs, that look odd, but feel comfy.

Before: My hair was long, but it had no shape, nor pretty ends.

Leo’s curls would stick up like wings when he would catch the blowdryer air in his face. Ha!

Leo’s “Zohan” moment after he put the finishing touches to my hair.

Checking out the back of my hair, while Leo fluff’s the hair in place.

After: Still long, but with shape & nice cleaned up ends, with a bit of fringe around the face.

The lovely Meredith, RetroDiva, after getting her pretty hair all blown out.

You guys – it’s September *already*. You know what that means? Yes, I know it’s almost Fall, but that’s not what I’m talking about. It’s time for “Mercedes Benz Fashion Week” in New York City! And in September, they show the collections for Spring/Summer wear for next year.

Well, I’m excited to tell you guys that I will be getting to go to NYC this season and bring you all kinds of coverage – everything from backstage, talking to makeup artists and hairstylists; front of house, watching the actual clothing presentations; checking out hair and beauty salons; and even reporting from some of the best parties during the week. Now, not only will I be attending MBFW, I will also be in NYC for “Fashion’s Night Out”, which is a night to celebrate shopping and fashion. As of right now I think there is something like 950 events lined up in NYC alone! But, it’s not just a NYC event – it’s global – make sure and look to see if there are any events in your town so you can participate, too. (*You may want to google if your town isn’t listed. I know for a fact several Oklahoma City places are doing something, but it’s Oklahoma isn’t listed on the page. Boo!)

I will be nice and give you guys fair warning – if you are following me on twitter you know that when I travel I tweet *a lot*. Well, considering everything going on this trip, expect my tweeting to be in overdrive. I can’t help it – I wanna share what I am doing THAT MINUTE with you guys & that’s the best way to do it. So, if you wanna take a break from me for a week, I totally understand. (*Just come back on the 15th). But, if you want to feel like you are there with me, then make sure to follow me and you’ll get all the up to the minute stuff that I have going on.

I’m excited to head out there on Thursday & hope you are excited to go with me, too!

*UPDATE* I just wanted to include some links that I found about happenings around Oklahoma City for Fashion’s Night Out OKC: The MOOD blog lists several of the participants, here is the Facebook page for the event and here is Alex, from “The Makeup Bar” (*who is primarily spearheading this event) speaking with the Fox 25 Morning Show about FNO. So, all you local OKC folks have no excuse for not getting out there Friday, because you can’t say you didn’t know what was going on!

This fall, they will be adding two new scents to their “neighborhood” of fragrances: “Cooper Square” and “Washington Square”.

I don’t really have any info on what the scents smell like, or their “notes”, but we all know I don’t really know much about those anyway, right? So, I’ll just say that the bottles look pretty cool – esp the “Washington Square” one with the arch on it.

“Cooper Square” launches September 1st, 2010 and “Washington Square” launches November 1st, 2010 at your local Saks Fifth Avenue Bond counter, any of the 4 NYC retail locations or online. I don’t know exact pricing but I am sure it will run along the same lines as the others, between $45 to $300+, depending on size. I know it’s not exactly budget, but, Bond’s packaging (*and scents, of course) can almost make a collector out of anyone.

Now, I don’t know anything about this scent, but the thing that caught my eye was the fact that you could get a makeover from the VS Beauty Supermodel Artist team – led by Polly Osmond. You might rememer when I met her backstage at the Christian Siriano Spring/Summer 2010 show. It would be so cool to get a makeover from her, but, unfortch I’m in OKC and won’t make it. But, if you are in NYC, head over there between 2-4pm and pick up something from their Parfums Intimes Velvet collection (*required) to get your makeover from Polly.

In addition, the model Alessandra Ambrosio will be there for autographs (*with purchase, too), there will be a “Suprise Guest”, cake from Sylvia Weinstock and a chance to get a preview of the Heidi Klum VS Makeup Holiday Collection. So, since I don’t get to be there for all of that, you’ll have to come tell me all about it. Deal?

This opportunity is so amazing to me, and has shown me just how generous people really can be. I continue to be amazed at the kindness I am shown on a daily basis. Bah, enough of the mushy stuff – I’ll be all mushy and thankful when I get home and am not cursing them all for me being so exhausted.

So, just like when I went to The Makeup Show earlier this year, I’m going to be blowing up my twitter feed with everything I am doing. So, now is either going to be a really great time to follow me or a really good time to take a break. I’ll leave it up to you.