Real Housewives Get a New Look

Vicki Gunvalson, 46

Vicki, who runs a successful insurance business, works on her laptop whenever she has both hands free during the photo shoot. She knows what she likes and is very definite about it. Although she's game for her transformation, she wants more makeup ("I'm so excited I'm getting lip pencil!"). For everyday makeup, she wears mineral foundation, blush, eyeliner on top and lower lids, lots of black mascara, lip liner, and lipstick.

The hair: "Vicki's hair has been overlayered, so it's too short on the crown, which makes it look thin all over," says Paves. It's also very processed, so it's hard to style. Paves uses several hairpieces to add length at the top of Vicki's hair, while taking off about 6 inches from the bottom. Her haircolor is extremely yellow, so Paves uses hair with more beige, which still has texture and richness and warms up her complexion.

The makeup: Transformed, Vicki wears a matte foundation because she tends to get shiny, and going with a matte finish gives her a polished, professional look. She also wears a nude-pink blush, a dark mauve shadow on her lids, and a chocolate brown liner smudged at the lashline, concentrated on the outer corners to make her eyes look more open. A taupe shadow in the crease gives her some contour without any hard lines. Her nails are painted scarlet.

The clothes: Vicki is too blonde and too tan to wear pastels, says Adam; they make her look girly and unsophisticated. She's got terrific, long legs, which she should show off, so he gives her a pencil skirt to the knee, with dark hose and a matching heel to continue the line of her leg. The raised waistband accentuates her waist, and the open neckline with a soft bow lengthens her torso. She looks incredibly sexy and professional at the same time. Vicki has a few qualms about the dark hair and polish. "I think they add 10 years to my looks," she says, a little morosely. "I just want to get back to my California style quickly." But she loves her new clothes. "They remind me of my native Chicago," she says. "Though I would have liked to wear them with my pink and white nails."

Jacket, Narciso Rodriguez. Blouse, Max Mara. Skirt, Bisou Bisou. Necklace, M.C.L. by Matthew Campbell Laurenza. Watch and ring, Cartier. Tights, Wolford. Shoes, Gætano Perrone for Te Casan.