Lisa Forbes came along for a makeover because she wanted to look as good as possible for an upcoming job interview. But, most of all, she’s doing it for herself. She recently made a firm commitment to lose weight and has already lost 15 pounds. Lisa has an upbeat and delightful personality, and she loves to sing. “I sing all the time,” she said. “In the shower, in the kitchen when I’m cooking—nearly everywhere!”

Lisa has been a stay-at-home mom since shortly after her son’s birth. She lives in Virginia Beach and volunteers for her son’s Little League baseball team two days a week, but she hasn’t worked for several years. Now that her son is in the second grade, she has decided to get a brand-new professional look and go back to work.

Despite her outgoing personality, Lisa worked behind the scenes before in a laboratory doing water analysis. She has a degree in chemistry and is an environmental specialist who monitors and tests the state of wastewater. She has an upcoming interview for a job with the City of Norfolk as a storm water and run-off specialist.

Lisa has lived in jeans and T-shirts for the past few years and will be in the market for a professional wardrobe once she lands a job, so the makeover is part of her overall strategy. Lisa returned one week after the makeover for an after photo with her new interview suit. Lisa discovered the colors that make her look more attractive, but also colors that worked for her in a business setting. She looks great in both black and white, but the black and white top has large rounded swirls. Large patterns always make you appear larger than you are, and prints with rounded designs suggest a rounded body. They’re better for someone who has sharp angular features.

Lisa’s new suit is in a really good business color: taupe. An ordinary beige color would have blended too much with her hair and skin, and she would have blended into her clothing. With the taupe color, her face pops. Lisa discovered she looked fabulous in royal blue and purple, two colors that really show off red hair but also make the skin look glowing and healthy.

The Chanel-style jacket is perfect for her because it has no collar, which only adds bulk. When jackets do have collars, they should be pointed rather than rounded, because no matter where they are, those round lines do suggest roundness. All the lines of her jacket are clean and straight, suggesting a more sleek and slim figure. This particular style is especially slimming because the black trim at the jacket’s closing sharply divides her upper torso into three distinct parts. This makes Lisa look much more trim at the bosom area. Given a choice, Lisa could opt for a black jacket with taupe trim, teamed with either black pants or taupe ones. Going with one color from head to toe, however, is the ultimate trick for looking both taller and thinner!

Lisa has beautiful naturally curly hair, and she often wears it pulled back at the nape of her neck or pulled back at the sides, as you see in the photo left. I suggested she remove her hair clips and let us see her stunning hair since it falls beautifully and frames her lovely face.

I showed Lisa how to do the irresistible “smoky eye,” and she saw that it opened her eyes and made them look larger and more engaged when in conversation with others. She has beautiful skin, so I only added a tiny touch of foundation in order to even out her color; then I added a soft orchid blush. Violet-toned lipstick is the most beautiful on redheads because the blue undertones in the violet color contrasts wonderfully with red hair. 

Sandy Dumont is an internationally known image consultant based in Hampton Roads. Her specialty is transforming your image, so that you own the room when you enter it. Her latest product is a Video/Slideshow product “12 Days to a Brand New You” which is available on her website: www.theimagearchitect.com.