You sent us touching stories, funny poems and photos of you embracing young children, smiling husbands and elderly relatives. Some of you were nominated by loving spouses or caring offspring. We wanted to award makeovers to all of you, but alas, we had limited resources, so here are the winners picked by the Style staff for our makeover series, which you’ll read more about in the next few months as local professionals work their magic.
1.The Figure It Out figure analysis and shopping trip goes to Margie Southworth, 30, a preschool teacher and mother of two who dropped 120 pounds in the past 15 months and wants Nancy Taylor Farel to help her learn to make the most of her new figure.
2.The Makeup Bag Makeover is going to Carmela Gonzales, 53, a retired school teacher who admits to being clueless about what makeup to use, what colors to wear and how to apply them.
3. The Hair Re-Mix category had so many truly worthy entries that we could have filled a salon for a week. We came up with a tie, and a tie-in to another winner. Monique Gonzales-Lewis, 35, is a teacher with a mass of unruly hair and middle school students who pepper her with questions like “Mrs. Lewis, why is your hair so big?”
“Please help my students get their focus back on math,” she pleaded. And Ed Gillespie of Venus Salon agreed to help. Monique is the daughter of makeup winner Carmela Gonzales, so we’ll feature both of their stories on the same day.
We also couldn’t ignore the situation of another entrant, Nancy Jacobs, whose hair is long, curly, coarse and frizzy. “Problem is, I haven’t been able to find a stylist in Denver who isn’t afraid of my hair,” Jacobs wrote. Gillespie is ready for the challenge.
4. Skin Deep, our dermatology category, had the most entries, many of them from women with skin damaged from too much time in Colorado’s legendary sun. Judy Messenbrink, 48, a commercial compliance officer with First Data, shares with many women the uneven pigmentation and fine lines that come with age and also would like to see better toned skin. Dr. Richard Asarch of DermaSpa said he can help her.
5. Closet Cases abound in the metro area, and they aren’t a pretty sight. We saw plenty of examples of overstuffed spaces, but Mary Jordan’s situation got our attention. She’s retiring and has deemed 2006 “a year for dramatic change and transformation.” Wardrobe consultant Debra Lindquist and the Container Store are coming to her rescue.
6. Pampering is something most women can use, but we found two types of women who particularly deserve it: mothers with young children and those caring for the sick. The Spa at the Brown Palace agreed, and two women will soon be treated to Relax packages. The first is Wendy Behrman, who gave birth to twins in August and recently went back to work part time as an environmental manager for the National Park Service. The second is Sandra Roberts, who spent 18 months caring for her husband, Bill, who died of cancer in December. “She was at his side every single day,” daughter Jada Roberts wrote of her mother. “Although she deserves a full body makeover, this little bit of ‘me’ time would be right on time. ”
We’ll tell the stories of each makeover subject during the next few months; please watch for the stories.
