Nearly one year ago, Heather Carpenter, 28, and her husband packed up and left their hometown of Roanoke, Virginia, and headed for the "big city" in order to finish university and broaden their work opportunities.

Heather works full time, attends ODU part time, and plans to graduate in two years. In the meantime, she asked Tidewater Women for a makeover so she could learn to present herself in a more professional way with her job as an administrative assistant at ODU. Heather found learning about colors to be the most helpful part of her session. "In the past," she said, "I chose colors that made me feel good, but I discovered they caused me to blend into the background. With the new colors that Sandy introduced me to, I feel more empowered."

Another discovery that Heather made was natural-looking makeup with a bit more color than she was used to. Her skin is very nice, but as with most people, she has circles under her eyes. The right shade of makeup enabled her to blend it just under her eyes and slightly onto her cheek area. When makeup is in the correct color, it is not necessary to put it all over the face when you are young. A soft orchid-toned pink blusher followed, and it imparted a natural luminescent glow.

I recommended a medium shade of orchid-pink lipstick for school with jeans, and a light fuchsia shade for work. Heather looks spectacular in red, so she will wear a soft red lipstick with red garments. It is not necessary to match the exact intensity of garments with your lipstick, so Heather preferred a soft red to a fire-engine version. She also likes red lipstick with black. My recommendation was for Heather to use black skirts and pants as a starting point for building a basic wardrobe. Then, because black goes with everything, she can add jackets in endless colors. Pants always slim more than skirts, and they probably allow for more comfort at school. When it comes to skirts, the best length for Heather is knee-length, either just above the knees or at mid-knee. I advised her to avoid mid-calf skirts because they give a matronly image. Long skirts would overwhelm her.

Lastly, Heather's face is slightly round, so I suggested she give up her bangs and wear her hair in a part and somewhat off her face. The straight lines that bangs create produces a more severe look whereas a side part creates a softer image. Bangs have changed dramatically in the past few years. Straight bangs tend to look dated, especially when they are too short. A more flattering image is with bangs that are longer at the outer edges. Bangs are also much straighter now, with no more curled-under "sausage bangs." And pay attention to the shape of your face before you decide to go for bangs. If your face is full, bangs will make your face look even fuller.

Sandy Dumont, THE Image Architect is a professional image consultant and professional speaker based in Norfolk, Virginia, with 30 years of international and national experience helping individuals and Fortune 500 companies improve their image. She conducts customized Branding for People™ image workshops on a regular basis.
For more information, visit www.theimagearchitect.com or call 757/627-6669.

To view the original article in Tidewater Women, please visit here

by Sandy Dumont, THE Image Architect © 2005
Originally published in Tidewater Women, March 2005