It was a cold day for the outdoor event that brought approximately 4 million attendees! Thankfully, the warm thoughts and feelings the Inauguration of Barack Obama brought to the millions was enough to warm the coldest of hands and feet! I was honored to be a small part of this event. The television show, Inside Edition, hired me to come downtown and provide makeup for its host, Deborah Norville.

At first, I rejected the offer due to the bridge closures of all bridges leading from Virginia, my home, to the District of Columbia. I quickly came to my senses and immediately called the broadcasting team to let them know I was willing to brave the long lines at Metro and travel in to the station which housed Fox News, CSPAN, and NBC.

I arrived at the closest Metro Station to my home, Vienna Metro in Vienna, Virginia, at 7:30AM. I arrived in the District of Columbia at 11:30AM, one-half hour before my call-time at 12:00PM! Upon entering the building, I was quickly escorted to the rooftop so that I may meet-up with the talent, Ms. Deborah Norville. The station was packed with numerous television shows, reporters, and crew because the building was shared by three main stations! The rooftop was organized as it was divided into approximately 15 sections for the various broadcasts to occur.

Deborah Norville and I immediately wanted to get right down to the business of doing her makeup for the high definition broadcast of Inside Edition. As the building was over-crowded with shows from across the country and world, Ms. Norville and I proceeded to an outdoor courtyard in order to do her makeup. In 30 degree weather, I proceeded to apply her makeup which took approximately 30 minutes. Even throughout the cold weather, Ms. Norville was very gracious and kind as she too was excited to be part of such a magnificent day!

I used the following products to complete her look:

• Makeup Forever HD Foundation (www.makeupforever.com)
• Makeup Forever HD Powder (www.makeupforever.com)
• Graftobian Ultra Silk Matte Eye Shadow Palette in Medium Cocoa, Dark Chocolate, and Black Smoke (www.paintandpowderstore.com)
• Natural Born Cosmetics Hi-Define Cake Eyeliner in Black Brown (www.paintandpowderstore.com)
• Natural Born Cosmetics Volumizing Mascara (www.paintandpowderstore.com)
• M.A.C. False Eye Lashes #3 (www.maccosmetics.com)
• Graftobian Hi-Def Glamour Crème Blush Palette in Vienna Rose (www.paintandpowderstore.com)
• M.A.C. Liner in Half-Red and Lipstick in Viva Glam V (www.maccosmetics.com)

The makeup stayed through four hours of taping in the bitter cold weather! Touch-ups included powdering her red nose, which was red from the cold, and dabbing her tears, also caused by the cold weather. The foundation did not budge and there were minimal touch-ups to her lips.

The travel back home to Virginia was not as tiresome as the way there. Thankfully it took under an hour to get back home where I immediately grabbed a warm blanket, cruised through pictures from the day, and made a hot bowl of soup!

Photos: Victoria Stiles