By: Silfath Pinto

Nov 04, 2009

Hello to the NSD community!

I am Silfath Pinto, founder of Sense Your Style LLC, a Style Coaching company based in New York. My mission is to help women step in their life everyday with great style and true confidence. I am thrilled to be part of such a great community and looking forward to share my knowledge and passion for styling with you ladies! In this post, you will meet Celine, a busy mom who needed a little push to uncover her inner Goddess.

Céline is a busy mom of two and an entrepreneur. She has been so busy the past six years being a mother and developing her business that she had no time to nurture her outer self.

Lifestyle requirements
As a business owner promoting natural hair for women with frizzy, kinky or curly hair, she is constantly in contact with other women, promoting her products and advising on styling techniques. She came to realize how important it was to step up her look, her hair style and make-up, in order to take her activity to the next level and be more successful.

Tips on assessing your look
Always keep in mind that your image speaks volume when you get dress. In order to assess your current look, ask yourself what you would like to project? Think about what your outfit says about your personality. Fun? Warm? Creative? Serious? Sophisticated? Mysterious?

BEFORE

Style assessment
It turned out she was missing most of the wardrobe essentials as well as a smart, yet stylish professional wardrobe. Also, she needed to learn style techniques to minimize her hips and enhance her best assets. Naturally, her body changed after the pregnancies and she wanted to embrace her new figure.

First picture (left): The fit of the jeans is actually fine, however, this outfit lacks a sense of personal style which can be accomplished with some type of embellishments with design details and accessories. Her hairstyle is definitely missing this WOW factor that could appeal to potential clients and indeed add to convincingly advertise her business.

Second picture (right): She is wearing her “classic black pants”. Céline wears these pants at trade shows or workshops. The cut of the trousers is not a flattering one for any woman; it creates unwanted volume at the belly. Additionally, the tapered shape lays emphasis on the hips, which is exactly the opposite of what she should do with her body shape.

AFTER

I taught Céline how to use make-up to highlight her natural coloring and define her beautiful features. We also worked on different hair styles to showcase her curly hair and make her a walking advertisement for her business.

Make up tips
Use colors that relate to your natural coloring in order to highlight your face. Your natural coloring includes your hair, skin and eye color. Your coloring is warm if you look better with gold jewelry, oranges and cream tops; it is cool if you look better with silver jewelry, blues and white tops.

Celine got a whole new wardrobe including clothing for her everyday life, professional occasions and social events as well as underwear, fashion jewelry, shoes and handbags. Thought out the process, Celine did learn how to pick the right clothing and accessories to flatter her coloring and balance her pear body shapes.

Tips on dressing your body shape
If you have wider hips, de-emphasize them width with clean cuts and darker colors on bottom and bring the focus to her top half with brighter colors, prints and design details. Wide V-necklines are perfect for women with wide hips because they balance the hips. (Small necklines generally make the hips appear wider in proportion to the neckline.)

"I am still a young mom and a busy entrepreneur, but now I have the wardrobe to support my goals and face any challenge with style and confidence. My husband and kids are thrilled by the transformation while my business partners are very impressed by my new found confidence.
Thanks to this transformation, I feel more comfortable talking to potential clients and giving them expert advice on their hair and, even sometimes, on their look." —Céline

   
    
What can you learn from Celine makeover
1. Wear the right colors in make up and clothes to highlight your face using the tips I mentioned above.
2. Dress to flatter your body shape. If you are pear-shaped, use darker colors on bottom to de-emphasize the hips and lighter colors on top to bring the focus up. 
3. Use colors and accessories to spice up your style.