Achieve Your Dream Look: Stunning Style Transformations

Samantha Sarro, 30

Real life: Highway construction worker
Secret alter ego: Princess

Gets her hair cut at a barber shop, and wears bulky layers that make her feel schlumpy...even when she's off the job.

When she chopped off her hair:
"Two years ago, right before I started working my first construction job."

Her current hairstylist:
"A barber at Marley's Cuts in Shirley, New York."

What she digs:
"Roads. I also rebuild bridges and pour concrete."

Her workday wardrobe:
"Sturdy, oversize, and shapeless."

Her style idol:
"I'd have to say it's my 14-year-old daughter. She's really chic and just naturally has always had a great eye for fashion."

The Hair

Samantha may have set a photo shoot record in the stylist's chair: ten minutes. Stylist Tip Hallock, from the Ken Paves Salon, smoothed a dollop of gel through Samantha's hair, then used her fingers to sculpt soft waves around her hairline.

The Makeup

A little tinted moisturizer was all it took to even out Samantha's porcelain complexion. After that, Rebecca focused on enhancing her eyes (with a few individual false lashes and multiple coats of Lancôme Hypnôse mascara) and playing up her rosebud lips. Because Samantha has so little ruddiness in her complexion, she can pull off a blue-based red lipstick; a creamy formula (like Smashbox Be Legendary Lipstick in Legendary) has a natural luster. The total effect: fairy-tale feminine.

The Clothes

Samantha loved the color and fit of this gown by Sydney's Closet. Traditional fabrics (like floaty tulle, delicate lace, and jewel-toned satin) convey "classic, old-world glamour," says Adam. And the dress's unabashedly feminine silhouette—tight bodice, full skirt—emphasizes Samantha's generous curves.

Your Inner Princess

Long, full lashes bring femininity to every look (even steel-toed boots). To add extra volume, wiggle your mascara wand at the roots of your lashes before pulling through to the ends. Another easy (and subtle) eye-opener: Line the lower inner rims with an off-white eyeliner pencil.

Pair soft pieces like a charmeuse blouse with a pencil skirt. Pastels, jewel tones, and metallics heighten the wow factor.

Gown, Sydney's Closet, $346, SydneysCloset.com. Earrings, House of Lavande, $848, 561-802-3737. Bracelet, Ben-Amun, $215, thomaslaine.com.