Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
When makeup artist Ramy went to work on Britney Spears Nov. 6, he had no idea that just one day later, the singer would announce her split from Kevin Federline.
Spears was in her Manhattan hotel room, getting her hair lightened from brown to blond by celebrity colorist Rita Hazan when Ramy arrived. Both of her sons, Sean Preston, 1, and Jayden James, 2 months, were with her.
"She was very engaging with the baby, the older one," Ramy says. "She had a lot going on. She seemed very busy."
Hazan, who signed a confidentiality agreement, won't discuss what, if anything, Spears told her about her upcoming marital split. Spears was "happy and fun and normal," Hazan says. "She didn't even have a mirror in front of her. She said to me, 'Make me look beautiful.'"
Since Spears was taping her appearance on the Late Show With David Letterman later that same day, Ramy ran through her lines with her. She never brought up her husband or her tumultuous marriage, Ramy says.
"She didn't seem like the happiest person in the world but didn't seem terribly preoccupied, either. She was all business. We talked about Tom Cruise and how long he waited before he showed his baby (to the world)."
Spears, of course, was revamping her look from frumpy to foxy with a svelte new bod, tight black clothes and cropped hair. Ramy marveled at how thin she looked barely two months after giving birth.
"She looked awesome. She certainly didn't look like a woman who just had a baby," he says.
Says Hazan: "She was going for a new image, to brighten her up and make her look hot and sexy and young."
As for her makeover, "she was going for a sleek new look," Ramy says. "I blonded up her eyebrows, and my focus was on perfecting her skin. I was going for pretty. I always feel she lines too heavily under her eyes."
Both Hazan and Ramy say Spears was hands-off and let them do their jobs with no interference. When Hazan finally showed Spears her new lighter tresses, the singer screamed out: "'I'm back! I love it, I love it, I love it.' She kept saying that over and over again," Hazan says. "She's growing up, is more mature and wants to feel good. She's getting into shape. It's a whole awakening."
To see more of USAToday.com, or to subscribe, go to http://www.usatoday.com
© Copyright 2006 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Co. Inc.
