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The Honolulu Advertiser
Updated at 4:36 p.m., Monday, March 23, 2009

Tube Notes: Tonight's must-sees

By Mike Hughes
Special to The Advertiser

TONIGHT'S MUST-SEE: "The Powder and the Glory," 10 p.m., PBS.

As the 20th century began, this fascinating documentary says, Americans associated make-up with performers and prostitutes. Two immigrants would change that.

Florence Nightingale Graham was a Canadian farm girl. She became a New York beauty-shop clerk in 1907, starting her own shop three years later.

Chaya Rubinstein was born in Poland. Banished by her father, she moved to Australia and started a beauty business. Next came Paris, London and (in 1914) New York City.

They would change their names (to Elizabeth Arden and Helena Rubinstein) and have opposite images. Arden was suburban and country-club, with pink packaging. Rubinstein was cosmopolitan and continental. Short (4-foot-10) and commanding, she became a force in art; she commissioned a mural from Dali, rejected a portrait from Picasso.

Both built strong businesses, but were slow to adjust to a world that wanted on-the-go cosmetics. Still, when Rubinstein died (in 1965, at 94) she reportedly had $100 million. Arden died the next year, at 87; the two had worked five blocks apart, but never met.

TONIGHT'S MIGHT-SEE: "Sophie" season premiere, 9:30 p.m., ABC Family.

A soothsayer tells Sophie Parker that she's about to have a terrible year. When you're eight months pregnant, this is not good news.

It soon seems accurate, thanks to her scheming boyfriend. Her life (and her talent agency) are falling apart.

This is a Canadian comedy, delivered with flair. Natalie Brown stars as Sophie, giving us someone we can root for, while laughing at her misfortune.