Nancy and José Veltran

His and Her Makeover

by Jessica Rossman

Less than two years ago, Nancy and José Veltran were consumed by romantic, weak-in-the-knees, get-all-squishy-inside honeymoon bliss. As newlyweds, Nancy and José were having the time of their lives. They were way too busy just being madly in love to worry about life’s little details, such as what to wear or fixing their hair. The return to “real life” with hectic schedules and two careers in the bar and restaurant industry hadn’t helped either.

Judging by the disapproving looks on the faces of hair designer Mario Romero, fashion master Todd Ramos and lifestyle guru Fadi Armanious, Nancy and José’s lifestyle had not only caught up with them, it had run them over. “Nancy looked like she had a fight with a bottle of Clairol … and lost,” confesses Ramos in hushed tones with an eyebrow raised at an alarmingly sharp angle. “And I’m sorry,” pipes in Armanious, looking both ways conspiratorially, “but I was just scared of José’s eyebrows.”

Nancy admits that they had maybe, slightly, just a little bit, begun to “let themselves go” after the wedding; and José concedes that he had gotten a bit “shaggy” lately. But eyebrows that actually struck fear in a grown man? Clearly, they had no idea how serious the situation had become, but they found out in a hurry.

The day began at Romero’s Avant Garde Spa, Hair and Makeup Studio for plucking, preening and general remodeling. Nancy thought that “basically, we’d get new haircuts.” She was wrong. Together, they were mani’ed and pedi’ed. Nancy learned to apply dramatic going-out makeup, and they each got a happenin’ new ‘do. Coif king Romero rescued Nancy’s color from that experiment in red-headedness, taking it back to her natural brown, with layers to add fullness. Although it was never conclusively determined whether or not a bowl was placed over José’s head for his previous haircut (“then parted right down the middle,” Ramos hastens to add), Romero gave José a super-chic Tom Cruise-style do. Now he’s sleek and definitely shag-free.

And then, they attacked those eyebrows. Some people remember where they were when President Kennedy was shot. Or where they were when proposed to. Anyone who has ever had anything waxed remembers precisely where he/she was the first time someone yanked hair out by the root in the name of beauty.

José, brave soul and team player, was on camera, being filmed for Fox 26’s coverage of their makeover day, trying as hard as he could not to “squeal like a girl” during his maiden eyebrow wax. After the smarting and stinging and redness subsided, and the urge to squeal dissipated, José’s a convert! “It really wasn’t that bad,” marvels an incredulous José. “I never would have thought about doing that on my own, but without a doubt, I’m doing it from now on.”

Primped and polished, waxed and coiffed, it was time for some stylin’ new duds. Ramos outfitted José in a versatile Claibourne suit from Foley’s Downtown, casual enough to wear with a fitted T-shirt yet fine enough to pair with a tailored shirt and tie. Ramos then decked Nancy out in a deep burgundy Carmen Marc Valvo dress from his boutique Couture. He completed the look with matching pointy heels and evening jewelry, also from Couture. Now that they were stylin’, it was time for a little quality time with Armanious.

To Armanious, it was immediately clear that Nancy and José needed a little refresher crash-course on getting steamy. With Valentine’s Day right around the corner, it was back to school for Nancy and José.

With help from The Four Seasons’ Tiffany Kendall, Armanious swept them straight to a candlelit table for two in The Four Seasons’ private wine cellar dining room. Strewn rose petals and a chilled bottle of champagne greeted them. Although José admits to “inhaling the food” as soon as it arrived (one’s first wax is notorious for the appetite it works up), he slowed down long enough to learn how to sweep Nancy around in a sultry table-side waltz. He even, under Armanious’ discerning eye, discovered how to feed his wife strawberries with a dessert fork without so much as a drip of whipped cream landing anywhere unintended. Nancy confirms with a happy sigh, “It was beautiful! A true Valentine’s Day fantasy date.”

Feeling like newlyweds all over again, Nancy and José vow to keep up their new and improved looks. And why shouldn’t they? As José puts it, “We look like superstars!”

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