Such an affirmation.

I looked at every single picture again. I asked a friend with good taste, who thought the blonde looked high-class and sophisticated.

I can see now how many plates you have to keep spinning in the air to get these shots. And from a real-world maintenance point of view, beige-blond is the most realistic so roots don’t show so fast.

I like the neutrality of your makeup colors. In other books on looking younger, the pictures are pretty but the makeup is very warm. The artist states that he finds warm colors best on older faces, but if I saw those women in the mall, the very peach lips might stand out. I can’t decide if I agree with all that peachiness and bronzing for real life mature faces. It made me think of wedding photos, where warmer makeup than the woman would normally wear seems to work to look photographically healthy, but she’d look odd at the office, especially the cool skin types.

And, I haven’t said that I am HONORED that you took the time to type in these replies. For all the women who read this, learning from you in person is our privilege. Thank you.

I totally DIS agree that women need to go softer and lighter with make up as they age. Where I’m from women wear NO make up whatsoever…so to go softer and lighter…not really possible.

If you see my mother at age 68 (page 177) still with the dramatic make up, you can understand that in many cases that is anything but soft summer make up and hair!! Very dramatic winter.

You generally need to draw on your brows, your lips and your eyes as you age to balance the depth of your hair color.

We did equal parts spring make up …warm lips, warm blush, warm eye make up with some cool and some neutral.

We didn’t bleach anyone eyebrows. If anything we gave them more brow color. (page 205)

Tina (page 31) is wearing significantly more make up than her before photo including false eyelashes. We went with color tones as she naturally can support cooler winter or summer make up. But since she wears none…we went with softer. Also fits her personality.

Lynette (page 32) went dramatically dark brown from gray because she had the pigment (winter) to support it and the personality (and it’s a makeover)

Her make up is cool to neutral. I rarely do cool make up but keep it as close to what might happen naturally…not to fa from what a day in the sun on young skin might accomplish.

Nancy (page 41) had always been blond until she turned gray. For practicality, the lighter color allows her longer times between retouches. Went with neutral make up.

LInda (page 135) is a dramatic winter in coloring, but not a big make up gal. We went with icy and cool, false eyelashes, and “lifting” make up for the eyes.

Carol (page 154) went red. She’s more “spring” in her coloring and we pushed that with peach tones. Definately more defined eyes and brows.

Rici (page 157) was a cool, more winter coloring, and it took a LOT of make up to correct features. The lip color is too bright to me in the book, but sometimes color comes out differently in print than in real life. We left her darker hair, but added higlights to “deflatten” it.

Cheryl (page 165) likes cool tones. I didn’t think they were her best…and of course, it WAS a makeover, and since she was wearig cool blues and pinks with gray hair in her before (and was petrified of haircolor) we went warm and springy.

Lynda (page 171) with yellow toned dark skin seemed to lighten and brighten with warmer make up. thus the gold jewelry, the chili pepper necklace and the warm gauzey outfit (the only one that fit…thus…warm).

Gail (page 215) was a definite winter with olive skin. Her personal style, however, was not dramatic. We softened color, balanced ruddy pigmentation with foundation and stayed in the plum brown family with soft lips. There are many lip color choices, this is just the color that evolved on shoot day. To mee it looks a little frosty in the book, but I don’t use frost..some of the lip gloss added last minute in the photo shoots had frost in them and picked up more light in the shoot than in real life.

My mother (page 177) is a dramatic winter. We keep her hair dark, her make up dramatic and eyes heavily lined. It’s not going to change, it’s who she is, she looks better over done than underdone. Many women of darker skin ethnicities who know how to wear make up do not need to soften and lighten and fade away.

I guess the bottom line is that we had twelve models.

Five went blonde (medium beige blonde one ash, one warm, one beige)

5 went brunette of different tonalities and shades.

One went red.

One stayed white.

Yes, people can look monochromatic…which to me is a good thing. Contrast is given with hue and intensity of make up, not necessarily with “color” of hair and make up. We are, as humans, pretty monochromatic naturally. So natural make up is going to look monochromatic.

It sounds completely thrilling. You’d miss it when it was over.

Without meaning to be in any way critical because I am in awe of your work, you have a love for beige-blond hair. You explain it really well in the book, and I only see these women on TV or in a book, but do you find their hair and skin somehow seem the same color?

I agree that lighter hair is better to light the face, but lighter softer makeup is even more important to avoid an aging look, so the whole package can look monochromatic. I’m big on the 12 Season thing, you see, and many of them are given Light Summer hair and makeup, but they can’t all have that kind of skin tone. Clearly, you don’t do it on everyone and it suits the women you put it on…maybe my eye is looking for more color than would really work at that age.

Do watch the YouTube link Christopher posted – you’ll see 4 of the women he transformed, IRL. It’s great to see the happiness that their makeover has allowed them to radiate, as though they can barely contain it.

12 women, 12 makeovers (so: haircut, color, make up application, silhouette analysis, waxing– usually 4 to 5 hours each) then you take them shopping (I actually did 3 a day: I’d shop all morning from store open until they arrived at 1:00 where of course nothing worked and I’d run throughout the store until closing).

That would be on a Friday. I’d cut hair on Saturday. Monday would be hair,make-up and photo shoot. Then we do it the next week for about a month. Actually thrilling, but exhausting.

And the reason for no glasses: A. one more shopping trip B. find a company that will lend you frames for the weekend, C. find the “right” frames that happen to go with that outfit you picked on on Friday, but had to work Saturday, they’re closed on Sunday and the shoot is Monday… D. I’m showing make-up, not eyewear…

So there you have it.

OH…Nancy did wear her new glasses on the Today Show:

Well, now I’m wondering why you took their glasses off. So you could see their eyes, I guess.

You seriously do this shopping for all 12 in 1 store in 1 day?? I couldn’t do that for me alone. Must take a lot of Starbucks to get you through that.

“Visual marketing” … that’s a very insightful and multi-layered term.

Thanks for stopping by, and for the empowerment lessons in your book.

Yes…I get that comment frequently (along with why did you take their glasses off?)

Every day looks don’t really translate as a dramatic makeover in visual marketing. At least you lose some shock and awe. So it was more “extreme” and idealized versions. Not to mention…try finding attractive “every day looks” for 12 women in 12 sizes with different body types in one store, in one season, in one day. You take what fits!!

Thanks so much for the article!!

I have read this book and was impressed. I agree with your observations on why, psychologically, some women might not be able to incorporate the enormous physical change.

The after photos are very glamorous. Maybe the subjects need more help on incorporating their new look into everyday life. After all, we can’t all go around in dresses and heels every day. I would love to see makeovers with great every day looks!

Kathy