We're kicking off National Breast Cancer Awareness Month with Ambush Makeovers for two cancer survivors.
Our Ambush Makeover team of celebrity hairstylist Louis Licari and (as Hoda Kotb called her) "our sassy style siren with a passion for fashion," Jill Martin, used TODAY’s #PinkPower series as inspiration to find two beautiful women who beat cancer to make over.
Susan Bagwell
Susan Bagwell, 57, visited TODAY from Raleigh, North Carolina, on her husband's birthday with her mother and daughter-in-law. Bagwell was so excited about her makeover that she didn't tell her husband she would be on TV. Her husband was diagnosed with prostate cancer shortly after her own breast cancer returned.
Bagwell's mother told Martin that she wanted Susan's new look to be her husband's "birthday surprise." Bagwell's positive attitude caught Licari and Martin's attention for an Ambush Makeover!
"No!" Bagwell excitedly shrieked after seeing her new look in the mirror for the first time.
"I don't think we've ever had somebody go, 'No!'" Kathie Lee Gifford said.
Licari softened the base color of Bagwell's hair and added natural and soft highlights. The team also layered the hair around Bagwell's face, which lifts it almost like a mini-facelift, Licari said.
Martin put Bagwell in a leather jacket from Chico's, leopard shoes from Talbots and a simple Clara Sunwoo tank that can be worn with any outfit.
Shop Bagwell's look:
Ruffle-Trim Faux-Leather Jacket, $159, Chico's
Mid-Length Tank, $49, Clara Sunwoo
Tessa Haircalf Pump - Leopard, $149, Talbots
Linda Balentine
Linda Balentine, 57, beat cancer and came to New York from Muscle Shoals, Alabama, with her son for her yearly checkup. She told Martin, "I just want to feel beautiful again."
Her Ambush Makeover left her son speechless!
Balentine had an equally emotional reaction when she looked at herself in the mirror.
"You look beautiful," Hoda said.
Licari said Balentine's hair was too long, so the Ambush team chopped it off. Martin complemented the new 'do with a Clara Sunwoo outfit.
Shop Balentine's look:
Free To Live Women's Wide Leg Boho Palazzo Gaucho Pants, $10, Amazon
Narrow V Tunic, $89, Clara Sunwoo
Erica Kitten-Heel Pump - Croc-Embossed, $139, Talbots
These two deserving ladies are ready to hit the town with their families!