The room is pitch black. I am huddled under my duvet in a deep sleep. My alarm abruptly rings. Startled, I stumble to the other side of my bedroom to turn off the shrieking sound as quickly as possible. I look out the window and notice it's still dark outside. I am confused for a second and then I remember: It's "
Plaza Ambush Makeover" Friday. My morning haze immediately lifts. I realize I am smiling as I walk towards the kitchen for my morning coffee. This is my favorite day of the week.
I scramble to get ready. I laid out everything the night before but somehow time still slips away. Just as I am tying my shoes, the phone rings. I pick up the phone. It's the doorman telling me my car is waiting. I run out the door with my garment bag tossed over my arm. At this early hour, it only takes about ten minutes to arrive at the NBC studios. As I walk into the building, I scan the crowds gathering at the "Today Show" plaza looking for "ambush me" signs. They are dotted throughout the crowd.
I meet Jayme Baron, Jill Martin, and Leigh Rossini in the hallway. Jamie is the woman who produces the "Plaza Ambush Makover" segments. Jill is the fashion expert from US Weekly, who dresses the makeovers and is my partner on the segment. Leigh is my publicist and my right hand. We drop off our bags and run to the plaza. It's time to give the crowd an up-close once-over to look for the best make over of the day. We banter back and forth as we inspect the crowd. The potential make overs shout and wave their homemade signs so we will be sure to notice them. After a couple of loops around the plaza, we almost always agree on the same women. I take a few quick pictures of the makeovers on my iphone to keep as notes. We film the "Do you want a makeover" part of the segment and then immediately rush the women inside the studio to start their make over. We have less than three hours until "Ambush" airs.

The makeover always starts with a fitting to make sure the clothes are perfect. While the ladies are trying on clothes, I run to my team located on another floor and give them a heads-up on today's models. My team consist of hair stylist Arsen, make-up artist Enid 'O, and assistants Kevin, Igor and Gus. I show them the pictures of the makeover ladies. We have a group discussion and make preliminary cut, color, and make-up decisions.
The clock is ticking and the makeovers still haven't arrived for hair and makeup. In panic mode, I point to the clock. Leigh usually rolls her eyes but dutifully gets out her phone to track the women down.
Usually at this very moment, the women appear in the hallway. Everyone is introduced and we discuss our vision. Remember 20 minutes ago the ladies were at the plaza hoping to get a glimpse of Matt Lauer or
Meredith Vieira. Now, the still-stunned ladies are going to be part of the show. Once we get the OK, everything goes on fast forward. Arsen snips the hair of one woman while I color the other. Enid is applying makeup nonstop while the color is cooking. I constantly check the color to make sure it's perfect. This is live TV. There is no room in this tight schedule for redo's. The minute the color is ready, the women are rushed to be shampooed and sent back to Arsen. He finishes their blow drys as Enid puts the finishing touches on the makeup. The producer Jayme proclaims
"time's up" and rushes the women to be dressed.
We walk to the studio discussing what we did, so I can point out trends and give beauty tips on air. Jill is already on the set going through her fashion copy points. Kathy Lee and Hoda Kotb walk towards us from their previous segment. They always give us a warm hello as they look over their make over notes. The adrenaline kicks in as the stage manager gives us a five, four, three, two, one, you're on!
As the makeovers come on stage with their new-found confidence, I am beaming with pride. We not only gave them a new look, but we also gave them a fresh look at life! All the tension of finishing on time is forgotten. This is the moment that makes Fridays my favorite day of the week.
If you missed any of the other Plaza Ambush Makeovers you can
catch up here.
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