Short Hair, Warm Colors

(CBS)  For the last few weeks, Web site visitors have written, telling The Early Show why they need a makeover.

Valerie Tracy, of South Windsor, Conn., is the winner of the malkeover. In her Oct. 9 email, she wrote:

"HELP! I need a makeover! I have an 18 month-old boy and never seem to find the time to help myself. We just bought a house and have been renovating it for the past year, so most of my time is spent with my son and redoing our new house. I feel like I am stuck in the '80s with my "look." I need HELP!"

Valerie's long, damaged, mousy brown hair definitely needs a new shape and although she's a very pretty woman, her makeup could use a boost as well. So, The Early Show sneakily enrolled the help of Valerie's husband, Mike, to bring her blindfolded down to the plaza.

As soon as they arrived stylist David Evangelista greeted her with the good news and they both run across the street to the John Barrett Salon at Bergdorf Goodman to start the makeover process.

Here is Evangelista's account of what took place while at the salon:

"First of all, she almost had a cardiac arrest when I cut the back of her hair," he said in his tongue-in-cheek fashion.

"I never had my hair this short before," said Valerie.

But it needed to be done since her hair had almost no shape. "I brought the length up to kind of soften her look a little bit," Evangelista said. Besides adding layers, the salon's color director Parvin Kline warmed up her color up as well to make it closer to her natural color.

"It's going to be easier for her to do at home, too. She can go to the drug store and find a color that will match this," Evangelista said.

Make-up artist Denise Chaplin also warmed her skin up, giving her a natural look. "We used a little bit of a cream shadow on her lid and lined the top lid a little bit and the bottom," Evangelista explains.

The makeover will allow Valerie to get ready in 15 minutes, instead of an hour it used to take her to do her hair and makeup.

Clothing stylist Domenica from Bergdorf was on hand to completely outfit Valerie. She wore a coat from Tracy Reese and T-shirt and pants from Joue.

"She's beautiful," was all her husband Mike could say.