The makeover: It absolutely inspires me. Improvement and response. Thrilling. At three years old I was obsessed with the hair of my “Tootie” doll. This miniature doll, packaged in a plastic cameo, had a tiny body and very long hair. It was perfect for little hands to hold and style. I spent hours on that thing, bobby pins everywhere. Later I graduated to my sister’s Barbie dolls. You could do more with clothing for them because they had full figures for which you could create tissue paper and Scotch tape fashions, complete with stickpin earrings.

When my uncle returned from Vietnam, seeing my bent toward beauty, he bought me a baseball bat and glove. He gave my sister a beautiful Asian doll on a stand wearing a traditional mandarin-collared red and gold brocade dress with her hair in an intricate updo. The bat and ball remained virtually untouched in my closet, but the idea of getting into that hair and creating my own “do” was the source of many daydreaming hours.

I began doing my own makeovers in junior high. As early as eighth grade I gave Kelly Wall bangs, in the driveway between my neighbor Sandy’s house and mine. Sandy was the recipient of more than a few makeovers, and even my high school sweetheart allowed me to do her makeup, style her hair, and choose the pattern for her prom dress.

After graduating from high school I moved on to a private liberal arts college, where I pursued my love of music and theater. I made extra money cutting hair and spent free time doing mini-makeovers. After leaving college I headed to Minneapolis, where I performed as a professional singer and dancer. I enjoyed creating the period styles and makeup as much as performing, so “for something to fall back on,” I went to beauty school. Upon graduating I traveled in the natural direction of anyone obsessed with entertainment and glamour: California.

After living the “reality” that is Los Angeles and the expense that is San Francisco, I moved back to Minneapolis and opened my first salon. There I was responsible for the looks of the ABC affiliate’s on-air talent. I also performed makeovers regularly on a popular daytime talk show and had the good fortune to work with such notables as Hillary Clinton, Al Gore, Loren Holley, Robert Wagner, Stephanie Powers, Roger Clemens, Art Linkletter, and Billy Graham. After relocating my company, I got a call from The Oprah Winfrey Show for my first major international makeover segment, telling people what not to wear. I returned years later to create her “Age Defying Makeovers” with Joan Rivers.

In the mean time my singing career took focus. I performed as a vocal soloist with the Minnesota Orchestra, a televised PBS special with the Erie Philharmonic. I performed repeatedly as a soloist for “Music in the Hole,” Jackson Hole’s 4th of July celebration with the Grand Teton Music Festival Orchestra, and finally I debuted in Europe with the Hannover Radio Philharmonic, singing some of Broadway’s most recognized baritone solos. Click here to listen. In flux between pursuing my musical career and continuing to develop my career as a beauty and style personality I blended the two until I created “The Makeover Guy,” a name I have trademarked and whose mission it is to help people realize their ultimate image. Though the music has taken a back seat to beauty, my passion to create is fulfilled in my makeovers, my love of the stage is fulfilled in my speaking, and my desire to express is fulfilled in my writing.

Creation of human physical beauty is what I do. I love the process. It borders on obsession. A friend put it into perspective. She said, “Christopher doesn’t see women for what they should be, he sees women for who they can be.” I think that says it all.