A New You: Sarah Henley

Who: Sarah Henley of Lake Cormorant, Miss., a single, 25-year-old social media consultant, who is 4-feet-7-inches tall.

Issues: She had worked in a warehouse, where it didn’t matter that she wore children’s jeans and T-shirts. But she found it difficult to look professional in an office job while wearing the children’s-size clothing that fit her diminutive stature.

Hair fix: Michelle Swiatkowski, cosmetologist at 525 Clothing Design Salon, took note of Henley’s youthful, dramatic personality, and created a more complimentary look, focusing on changing her intense red hair. She combined two Keune reds — intense copper red and orange copper — to create a red hair color that was on the Warm Golden color palette, ensuring it would not wash Henley’s already fair complexion completely out.

To build body in Henley’s hair, Swiatkowski used Kenra Thickening glaze, followed by the Polishing glaze to protect the hair without weighing it down. Swiatkowski created fullness in Henley’s ‘flat to her head’ style, using the Sahag dry cut. She inverted Henley’s style for length in the front, where it was needed. Swiatkowski’s cut made styling simple, hair spray first, then styling with a curling wand. Strong winds on the day of the shoot did not destroy the perfectly cut hair; all pieces fell right back into place, a must for a no-muss hairstyle.

Beauty fix: Rachel Evans, makeup artist at 525 Clothing Design Salon, used Luminaire Airbrush foundation shade No. 2 on Henley to create a smooth, even look. Drawing on the intensity of Henley’s hair color, Evans chose dark-brown copper and shimmer-gold eye shadows. To connect her eye color with the hair, Evans lined along the lash line with dark brown, then added a green liner on top of the brown liner on the upper lid only. Evans applied a soft warm pink blush with the Luminaire, too. Topping it off with Luminaire Brightening Glow, a slight gold pigment for a warm shine and to seal the makeup. Black mascara was applied on Henley’s naturally long lashes.

Swiatkowski had colored Henley’s brows in a dark auburn brown. The finishing touch was a bright intense cool pink, topped with a gold shimmer to create a warmer color for Henley.

Fashion fix: Carolyn Bendall, president of Fashion Academy and Image Consultant, searched for the right children’s store that was fitting for a 25-year-old professional. Monsoon, a United Kingdom-based store that recently opened in Shops of Saddle Creek, had classic items that filled the need. A cotton navy/cream striped blazer ($35) with a polyester flowing jumpsuit ($84), both machine washable, were a perfect fit.

Score card: Henley beamed, “I love it! I love the hair color! I feel like I actually look 25, instead of 12! I’m wearing this to the Business Over Coffee meeting on Thursday!” Shops of Saddle Creek gave Henley a $50 gift certificate, Fashion Academy gave her the Warm Golden color palette. Henley’s mother, Patty, purchased the hair products as a gift.

Insider info: From Evans: When you choose unnatural or intense hair color, never do the brows the same color. Brows should be a shade or two darker than the unnatural hair color. Example: For intense reds, use dark brown auburns; for unnatural purple hair, use dark black or deep brown for brows. When using reds, unnatural or intense, refrain from washing hair with shampoo more than twice a week. Red is the hardest dye to hold on to the hair shaft. Frequent washing will fade it quickly.