By Jason Scheer
Her hair was done as it normally is, long and straight with no adornments, no frills or bows. Her outfit was perfect for a day at work, a walk in the park, or for enduring the grueling chemistry regents that she had taken earlier that day.
But two hours after first walking into the Beautiful Bride Salon, thoughts of periodic tables and redux reactions was the furthest thing from her mind. Instead, filling her mind were visions of limousines, corsages and a night she will never forget, as she prepares to attend the Baldwin Senior High School prom Tuesday night at the Crest Hollow Country Club in Woodbury.
Cools, a junior, was invited to the prom in February. She was very happy to accompany her good friend, Kevin, to the event, but eventually realized that going to the prom required an incredible amount of time and effort.
Over the past four months, Cools has been on a scavenger hunt, hoping to unearth the perfect dress, a complementary pair of shoes, and a salon that would make the vision she had of herself come to fruition.
"It [is] incredibly stressful," Cools said of the experience.
The hunt for the perfect dress started in early April. After searching through many aisles in many stores in a three-day marathon of shopping, Cools finally found what she was looking for. A light gold dress with an intricate flower design caught her attention. She tried it on and found that she liked the way it fit her, with the halter-like top giving way to a more traditional bottom that flowed nicely about her waist and legs.
Cools said the simplicity of the dress was also appealing because it was not her prom and she did not want too much focus to be on her.
"It was perfect," Cools said. "I didn't want it to be too big and gaudy."
But for her prom, Cools plans on going all-out with an much more extravagant dress. "I'm definitely going much bigger next year," she said.
With the quest for the perfect dress finally over, Cools focused on finding the right pair of shoes to wear with the dress. Though seemingly a simple project, the act proved arduous.
Again, she sifted through aisles and advanced from one store to another and again her efforts proved worthwhile as she found the shoes she had been looking for: black stilettos adorned with small rhinestones.
The shoes, however, won't be on Cools' feet for long. She plans to dance the night away and those high heels just aren't made for moving. "They're great, but I know I am going to take them off after 15 minutes," she said.
With the dress and the shoes secured, Cools' focus was now on her hair. John, her father, recommended that she go to Lorraine Roman of the Beautiful Bride Salon.
"Lorraine's an artist," John said.
Samantha heeded her father's advice and just hours before the limo was set to arrive, Roman twisted the first braid in Cools' thin, chestnut-colored hair. Eventually, the one small, tightly woven braid turned into six, each one pulled back very tightly to last the whole night through. The small braids gave way to large, flowing curls that fell neatly on Cool's shoulders. Finally, the ends of the braids and the curls were twisted together forming an intricate bouquet that, with the help of much gel and hair spray, rested proudly on the crown of Cools' head.
"It looks great," said Cools inspecting herself in the mirror.
But Cools was not ready to take off in the limousine yet. Roman still had to apply the make-up, as much a part of the prom as the dresses and tuxedos.
Using a small sponge, Roman carefully applied bronzing foundation that gave a great contrast to Cole's naturally rosy complexion, and then dark, bold eyeliner was applied, followed by a warm red lipstick. And then...
"She's done," Roman said.
Finally, after months of searching and shopping and with a day spent primping and prepping, Samantha Cools was ready to attend the prom. Though time-consuming, she is confident that it was all worthwhile.
"It's crazy how much time it takes, but in the end, when you have those memories to look back on, it is definitely worth it," she said.
