It’s not easy being beautiful.

No, really — it isn’t. Every woman knows this whether they want to claim it aloud or not. This isn’t some cheesy cosmetics pitch line. It’s just simply not easy being beautiful (or so I’ve heard).

No where was this more true than at the Miss Washington USA and Miss Washington Teen USA pageant this past weekend in Renton where the 42 Teen and 28 Miss contestants scrambled backstage to prep their beauty. Of that number, two — Katie Driscoll of Freeland, and Tiana Townsell of Coupeville — were from Whidbey Island.

The girls arrived Friday for a day of workshops, rehearsals and friend-making fun. This is after all more than a contest, according to promoters. It’s a chance for the women to grow past the stereotyped image that pageants are only about image.

Backstage at preliminaries Saturday evening, was a beautiful woman-filled zoo. There was barely any walking space as boxes and bags of business suits, evening gowns, swim suits, cocktail dresses and every beauty supply imaginable spilled out and onto the floors and were spread over countertops. The air was thick with heat generated from blowdryers and curling irons, and overly sweet from an excess of body sprays and splashes.

I kept thinking, “Stop choking me. The judges can’t smell you from the stage.”

It reminded me of my sorority days, and the fun of getting ready with the girls. Everyone was smiling and excitedly helping each other rush to meet the stage schedule. Every once in a while a screech could be heard over a hair disaster, for which emergency crews were dispatched. It’s good to know that even in a room full of Washington’s most beautiful — or at least pageant worthy women — even the best have bad hair days.

Miss Whidbey Island, Katie Driscoll looked calm, yet anxious as she helped straighten Miss Lake Washington, Lyndsey Mayr’s hair.

Driscoll, a 21-year old brunette from Freeland who works days as a dog groomer at “Joy’s Clip and Dip” in Everett, has prepared for the contest since October.

Last week meant a last-minute shopping scramble for two different pairs of shoes, and hair and makeup supplies to complete the arsenal of outfits for the first-time pageant contestant.

But the quest for the Miss Washington crown was about more than donning lipstick and sequins for Driscoll.

Driscoll grew up as a self-described “overweight adolescent and teen.” She decided to make a life change a year and a half ago when she moved back to the island. She realized she’d put on weight on top of her already existing weight issues while attending the Triple Crown Dog Training Academy in Texas and while living in Florida.

“It was comfort food in Texas and really rich food in Florida, and I hadn’t really been watching my health,” she said.

She began with walking her dogs and soon joined an island gym. She worked with a trainer and heads to the gym once a day, twice on days she doesn’t work.

Shortly before Halloween and 60 pounds lighter after a year of focusing on exercise, Driscoll walked into the Kent offices of ABC Modeling — a West Coast three-city promotion agency for model, talent and sport — and registered for classes, head shots and her first pageant.

She hoped to use her title to spread word of the need to educate teens about their health.

“Not enough is done to emphasize how good nutrition and body awareness effects them,” she said.

As I attempted to stay out of girls’ way in the tight quarters, Driscoll told me of another Whidbey girl in the contest. So off I went with a description in my head asking “Has anyone seen Miss Island County,” and thinking “How am I going to track two girls through this?”

After weaving through clothes racks, bodies in various stages of dress and more perfume, I found a petite African-American girl who flashed her dimples as she smiled in response to my inquiry. Tiana Townsell is Miss Island County, a 19-year-old sophomore at Western Washington University and the daughter of Rudy and Norma Townsell of Coupeville.

Townsell is a 2002 Coupeville High School graduate double majoring at Western in theater and marketing with a concentration in advertising. She entered the pageant in September after receiving an announcement letter. With school and work at the Bellingham Fred Meyer occupying her time, she didn’t begin pageant preparation until November. She stopped by “every business from Deception Pass to Greenbank” to search for sponsors to help defer the nearly $900 entry fee. She also began running every day and putting in extra crunches while working out to the Spice Girls.

“I got on the Internet and looked up pageants and studied what the winners were wearing and what worked for them,” she said.

The first day of the pageant was surreal, Townsell said. Days before the pageant she wasn’t even sure if she’d be competing, as she didn’t scrape together all of the registration fee until the last minute.

“I was just trying to meet people. I didn’t know what to expect, where to go, but all the girls were so nice,” she said.

During preliminaries nothing could stop Tiana’s smile. She went through the interviews early in the day with confidence, despite a “really dry mouth”. Not even a cramp in her foot that she had to shake out before getting in her high heels or a broken clasp on her evening gown slowed her grin.

Preliminary night was a mad dash through Miss and Teen division opening number, introductions, swimsuit and evening gown competition. As the two groups of girls flip flopped onto the stage, they had to weave through doorways, behind back curtains and shimmy into swimsuits with shaking hands.

Admittedly, Driscoll was nervous last week about stepping out on stage during the swimsuit competition where only a few thin layers of Lycra separated her from the reality an auditorium filled with people was on the other side of the bright stage lights.

“Growing up I didn’t do sports or anything where I was going to be singled out.”

In the audience were her parents, Clinton residents Pat, a Boeing employee, and Laura Driscoll, a kindergarten teacher’s aid. Down the aisle her grandmother, brother, boyfriend, her boss and a crew of friends cheered her on whenever she stepped out in front.

On Sunday the girls woke up, packed their things at their hotel and headed to one last run of rehearsals and the final show.

“While they were announcing the top ten I was actually torn on whether I wanted to make it or not,” Driscoll said. “I had gotten used to walking out on stage by the finals, and knew I’d have to do more if I made it.”

After the top 10 were announced, Driscoll and Townsell were not among those chosen, but they knew they needed to remain “on,” as they and the remaining 16 other girls were expected to remain in the show as on-stage background and smile as the remaining contestants were winnowed down to a winner.

Heading back to the backstage area was the most quiet it had been all weekend. There was an oddity in the air. There was no crying. But, there wasn’t the girlish jubilation heard before.

Admirably, one contestant expressed her concern for her parent’s contributions to her pageant run.

“They spent $400 on tickets alone,” she said.

Smiles were difficult to press through the dejection, but still the girls couldn’t have seemed more there for each other. They helped the finalists who rushed off stage only to have to scramble for the next round.

“It was a great experience. I’m happy with how I did, I mean it’s my first pageant and there was so many things I didn’t know before this,” Driscoll said.

Tiana’s Townsell took home the pageant’s Spirit Award, something awarded her by her chaperones for the event.

She and Driscoll both look towards gathering gowns for next year.

Writer’s note:

Backstage pass — The words mean the difference between a sub-standard and out of the ordinary entertainment experience. They elicit thoughts of exclusivity and excitement from the possibilities of rubbing shoulders with the people behind the scenes.

Get ready to be handed a backstage pass.

Backstage pass will be an ongoing series, where I take readers places where not everyone has access. I hope to be able to share looks at and thoughts of our neighbors and the South Whidbey entertainment scene possibly not seen before.