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Jeanette Burnette saw the Dream Makeover contest entry form in Indianapolis Woman, tore out the page and carried it around for two or three weeks. She hesitated because she thought, although it would be really great, she wouldn't win anyway.

When she finally decided to enter, she wrote in her application, "I just turned 58 in November. This last year has been a real nightmare for me. ... After 16 years of marriage, my husband decided the grass was greener ... To have a dream makeover would be time spent on me. I have lost 50 pounds this last year, but I still feel like the same old shoe my husband threw out."

Burnette almost didn't go to the required meeting when she received notification that she was one of the 50 contest semifinalists selected from hundreds of applicants. "I thought, It's a Saturday. It will take all day and I'm not going to win anyway. But my girlfriend kept telling me to go. I just never in a million years thought I would win.

"I was very unprepared to win. I remember the day we spent with all the other semifinalists. I kept thinking there are women here more deserving than I am. I enjoyed the day, but I still did not think I had a chance to win. When I got the phone call that I was a finalist, I was shocked."

Burnette worked hard on the speech she would make before the judges at the finalists' luncheon. Limited to two minutes, she ran over her time and had to stop before she was finished. One thing she told the judges that seemed to have an impact was that she had a son working in Iraq and that he had called her before the luncheon to wish her good luck.

Burnette says she loved everything about her makeover, including the lessons from nutrition counselor Bonnie Terrill Ross. "That lady was so kind, and she taught me a lot," Burnette says. "She came to my office two or three times and met with me."

Hairstyling by David Lowry of DL Lowry
HairSpa Boutique.

The hair appointment at DL Lowry HairSpa Boutique, makeup session from MAC Cosmetics and shopping trip to Parisian all stand out in her mind. Going to Parisian was particularly special for her. "Talk about feeling like the rich and famous," Burnette says with a laugh. "That was quite an experience. I've never gone shopping in my life where I stood in the dressing room and people kept bringing me all these clothes to try on. Heather from Parisian was the sweetest thing. She found beautiful things for me."

Another perk of her makeover is a membership to Curves in Mooresville, where she has been several times to work out. She likes the fact she can be in and out in less than an hour. She has not yet had a chance to take advantage of her pampering at Mystique Day Spa, but she is really looking forward to it.

Burnette cautions that having such extensive facial and dental cosmetic work is not easy. "As wonderful as this has been, I want people to realize that this is a major deal. It's not like reality television. There are a couple of weeks after surgery when you look pretty bad. Dr. [William] Beeson told me it will take me a year to heal completely, and I am just a few months past my surgery," she says.

She appreciates the support she has received from her employers. Burnette holds down two jobs. During the day she works at Keystone Senior as a bookkeeper and payroll clerk. In the evenings and on weekends, she works at Damon's Grill on the south side of Indianapolis. Damon's allowed her to take several weeks off, and Keystone Senior gave her time off for her many appointments. "They really worked around my schedule, and I am very grateful."

Burnette's daughter, Roxanne Maze, was particularly supportive of her mother throughout the entire makeover process. Burnette stayed with Maze for two weeks after surgery. As a thank you for all the help, she is taking Maze later this month on the Ambassadair trip she won to Booth Bay Harbor, Maine.

"It's been quite an experience. Until I actually went into surgery, I still did not realize what was happening to me. For every woman, it's her dream to have this done. I am just very, very pleased."

Burnette is grateful to the members of the Dream Team. "Everyone did just an amazing job. During the last year and a half, my life has been pretty hard. Now I walk by a mirror and I cannot believe it's me. People tell me I look 20 or 30 years younger. I am so thankful to Indianapolis Woman. This has been just amazing."

A Team Effort
The professionals behind our Dream Team

Last December, a number of professionals came together in a group Indianapolis Woman called the Dream Team to give one lucky reader a Dream Makeover. Each member of the team agreed to provide his or her services free of charge to the winner.

We received more than 700 contest entries, and over a period of several months, the applications were judged through a series of steps. Fifty invited semifinalists attended a daylong session, where they met each of the members of the Dream Team and underwent intense screening. They were briefed on the makeover process and given a general overview of the medical procedures, recovery time, health issues and the necessary time commitment for the entire process. Each candidate was thoroughly examined and underwent computer imaging to get a better idea of what the results of cosmetic surgery could be, and attended presentations from the Dream Team members to learn what role each would play in the makeover process.

The doctors narrowed the field to 10. Those women moved on to the next step, a complete physical exam by Drs. Nancy Branyas and Tony Nasser of the Care Group. Following the physicals, five women were named finalists. Those five attended a finalists' luncheon on April 17.

Each woman made a two-minute presentation to the Indianapolis Woman panel of celebrity judges. Architecture firm owner and former fashion designer Alpha Blackburn, RTV-6 news anchor Martha Weaver, WIBC radio personality Terri Stacy and talent agency owner Helen Wells cast their votes and selected Jeanette Burnette from Mooresville as the winner.

Cosmetic Surgery

Facial plastic surgeon Dr. William Beeson performed extensive cosmetic surgery on Burnette. When he first consulted with her, Burnette told Beeson that she especially did not like her nose and jowl areas.

"Beauty is symmetry and proportion," Beeson says. "What we do is restore that symmetry and proportion." To restore Burnette's beauty, he performed cosmetic surgery on May 25. He improved her eyes by doing an upper eyelid blepharoplasty to remove the extra skin and fatty tissue in the upper eyelid area. "On the lower lids ... we used a laser and went through the back of the eyelid so there is no external incision. That took away the bags and sags she had. Then, to get rid of the wrinkles in the forehead area, we did an endoscopic forehead-lift, where we make small incisions behind the hairline and use telescopes and lasers to contour the muscles to take away the deep wrinkle lines."

Beeson elevated Burnette's eyebrows with a special technique to open up the eye area. Then he performed rhinoplasty to straighten out her deviated septum and contour the nose to remove a hump and narrow the tip.

"Finally," Beeson says, "we did a face-lift, tightening up the muscles in the neck and taking away the laxity in the jowl area and the lateral temporal area."

Burnette's surgery took about seven hours under a "twilight" anesthesia. The night following surgery, she stayed at Beeson's surgery center and was monitored closely by doctors and nurses and treated with ice compresses. The next morning, she received training on dressing changes and wound care, ate breakfast, took a shower and went home.

Beeson explains that it is important for people to understand that not everyone gets the same result. "Some people get more improvement than others. Bone structure and anatomy make a big difference."

Burnette looks 10 years younger, Beeson says. Although her face began aging again the day after surgery, 10 years from now, she will still look 10 years younger than her chronological age, he says.

Even someone who cannot have cosmetic surgery can improve her appearance. "Surgery is great to have if you can afford it and are in good health," Beeson says. "Even if you cannot do surgery, there are many things you can do within your budget to make yourself look the absolute best you can. Surgery does a lot, but makeup does a lot, hair does a lot and working out does a lot. The positive, overall self-image makes a big, big difference in the way we feel about ourselves," he says.

Cosmetic Dentistry

Dr. Randall Shoup provided Burnette with a complete oral restoration. He first brought her into his office for an initial comprehensive evaluation, which included an oral cancer screening and bite and gum evaluations. He then formulated a treatment plan to rehabilitate her mouth, including periodontal therapies to perform root planing and scaling, and irrigation with a medicated antibiotic solution.

After four sessions of periodontal treatments, Shoup made a set of molds of Burnette's teeth. "In the laboratory, I took the molds and reworked them to ideal shape, form and contour. Jeanette then came into the office for a half-day session, where I removed all her old fillings and restorations. Then we rebuilt her teeth with temporary crowns and veneers."

Burnette lived with the temporaries for about three weeks to make sure everything was comfortable and worked right. She then returned to Shoup for fine-tuning before her final restorations were made. Based on her hair color, eye color, complexion and age, and her preference, Shoup decided how white her new veneers would be. "Jeanette wanted a bright and clean look," he says. "She did not want an artificial look. She wanted people to look at her and think, Boy, she has pretty teeth."

When all the temporaries were removed, adjustments were made and final impressions were taken so that Shoup could make the permanent porcelain restorations.

"At the end of the day, every one of her teeth was restored," Shoup says. "Her mouth has been entirely reconstructed, including giving her some bridges. Everything in Jeanette's mouth is completely healthy and sound and will last for years and years.

Hairstyling

Burnette's hair was restyled, cut and colored by David Lowry of DL Lowry HairSpa Boutique. "Jeanette has lots of fine hair," Lowry says. "I razor-cut the perimeter of her hair and cut the interior of her hair with shears using a technique called j'arcing, which means removing tiny bits of hair to obtain a short, layered shape, create volume and enhance movement."

Lowry complemented Burnette's new cut with all-over color in a medium ashy-brown with a caramel blonde and warm gold-beige blonde, obtained through a foil technique. This turned Burnette's hair two shades lighter than her natural color. He also colored Burnette's brows one-and-a-half shades darker.

Lowry used Goldwell leave-in color fluid and Davines texturizing finishing spray on her new style. As a final touch, Japanese gloss wax was added to give her hair shine and texture.

Nutrition

Bonnie Terrill Ross of Designs for Health of Indiana traveled to Burnette's office three times for one-on-one nutrition sessions. Although Burnette had lost a lot of weight in the year before her Dream Makeover, Terrill Ross made suggestions about foods she should eat and supplements that would help improve her nutritional health.

Fitness

Curves of Mooresville, an all-female fitness and weight-loss facility, provided Burnette with a one-year membership to help get her in tiptop shape. Co-owner Theresa Eiteljorge says Burnette has been in often to take advantage of Curves' 30-minute aerobic and strength-training workout.

"We work all her major muscle groups for toning and get her heart rate up," Eiteljorge says. "Those help her burn fat and lose weight." When Burnette finishes her 30-minute workout, she does 5-10 minutes of stretching. "She has had some restrictions because of all her surgical procedures, but she has come in as often as she can. My staff says she is doing great."

Wardrobe

Parisian Circle Centre provided Burnette with a new wardrobe, including casual wear, work attire and an evening outfit. She worked with Heather Allen of Parisian to make her wardrobe selections.

For her casual outfit Burnette selected pants and a blouse by J.H. Collectibles and a camisole by Ralph Lauren. For work, she chose a suit by Jones of New York and paired it with a blouse by Anna and Frank. Brighton Shoes completed her business outfit. Burnette's favorite outfit is a cocktail dress by Maggy London. Parisian also provided her with jewelry by Anne Klein and a new bra by Lilyette.

Makeup

Makeup artist Katherine Sterrett of MAC Cosmetics met with Burnette for a one-and-a-half-hour studio session. She showed her how to enhance her features with makeup and what shades to select for her coloring and clothing.

For Burnette's final photo shoot, Sterrett applied MAC N5 Face and Body Foundation. On her eyes, Sterrett started with a base of Bare Canvas Paint. She put Tilt Eye Shadow on Burnette's upper lid.

"In the crease I contoured with Scene and Nehru eye shadow. Then we highlighted Jeanette's eyes with Llama eye shadow," Sterrett says. She used Carbon eyeliner all around Burnette's eyes and applied #4 lashes. Burnette's lips were lined with Spiced Pencil. Plink Lustre Lip Color was applied, and Sterrett used Luminary Lustre Glass on top of the lip color. Finally, Sterrett added color to Burnette's cheeks with Blush Baby.

Spa Services

Holly Stover of Mystique Day Spa provided Burnette with a dayspa pampering package. Although Burnette has not yet had a chance to use it, she is looking forward to a day of relaxation at Mystique.

Travel

Ambassadair donated a trip for two to Boothbay Harbor, Maine, to our Dream Makeover winner. Burnette is taking her daughter along as a thank-you for her support while Burnette was going through the Dream Makeover process. They will depart Sept. 30 for Portland, Maine, where they will travel by coach to Bath and then cruise to Boothbay Harbor, a seaside village. Burnette plans to eat lots of lobster and shop 'til she drops.

Photography

Hether Miles photographed Burnette's journey for the Dream Team. She was with Burnette every step of the way. When Burnette began to heal, Miles says she could see a physical and emotional difference.

"The more she healed, the more she blossomed. ... It was a kind of metaphorphosis. The butterfly was coming out. It really started when she got her new hairstyle. Then, a few days after getting her hair done, she went to MAC for makeup. That's when I could really see the twinkle appear in her eye," Miles recalls.

"No member of the Dream Team could have been more gracious to her. I can't think of even one person who did not really step up and deliver for Jeanette."