BANGOR – Susan Rego, 16, showed up just a tick after 9 a.m. Thursday in West Market Square wearing her best back-to-school clothes. A strong breeze tousled her long, blond hair, which she wore straight and shiny. Her outfit – jeans, an Abercrombie & Fitch T-shirt cinched with a wide white belt, and lots of bling from Claire’s – was exactly her style. And her makeup? Impeccable.

“My deadly weapon is my eyelash curler,” Susan said, smiling coyly and batting those lashes.

Susan and her mom, Amber Burpee, woke up early and drove from Bucksport to share that beauty tip with a crew from Marie Claire magazine. The New York-based writer and photographers were in town for a new feature, “Beauty Road Show,” which celebrates the beauty of real American women.

“I wanted something small and quirky,” said Maureen Dempsey, a Massachusetts native and features writer who has been with the magazine for nearly a year. “It’s a charismatic little town that people hear about but never go to – it’s not really a tourist destination – so I wanted to represent what Bangor looks like.”

Dempsey expected to see a lot of natural beauties, and within the first hour, one of her assistants had rounded up Alyce Santoro, who fit the bill. Santoro is an artist in residence at Acadia National Park who had come to Bangor to drop off a friend at the bus station.

“I’m kind of the least likely candidate,” Santoro said, laughing and gesturing to her long, blond, dreadlocked ponytail. “I’m totally into the lowest maintenance possible in terms of beauty care. … I’m kind of a hippie, artist, sleep-in-the-back-of-your-car type.”

On Thursday, she and a friend boiled seawater and comfrey to counteract a “bad skin day.”

“I make my own sort of magic-potion beauty treatments out of herbs I collect,” Santoro said. “I’m definitely into do-it-yourself potions.”

That type of tip is exactly what Dempsey had hoped to find in her tour of the country. She and her crew are traveling to a total of five cities and asking women to reveal their beauty secrets and what their favorite facial feature is.

Each installment of “Beauty Road Show” will include photographs and quotations in a spread of several pages. The first, which features women from New York City, will run in October. The Bangor date has not yet been determined.

Earlier in the week, Dempsey visited Dallas, where women are “more likely to talk about their beauty regimen,” she said. Women in Phoenix also were into product. In Minneapolis, women wanted to talk about their overall look.

In Bangor, Dempsey recruited Danielle Rosenblum and Kate Leighton, both students at New England School of Communications, and Ashley Stinson, a senior at Brewer High School, to scout out passers-by with “their own sense of style.”

“We’ve come to capture Bangor beauty by taking portraits of 25 to 30 women who sort of represent the area,” Dempsey said. “I’m kind of curious about what we’re going to see in Bangor.”

Lynn Thibeau, 37, of Bangor said her secret is sleep, and lots of it. She strolled down from State Street, where she works as a financial planner, because her neighbor told her about the Marie Claire event. She wasn’t sure what to expect.

“I don’t drink coffee or soda,” she said. “I typically only drink water, but not for any health reasons.”

Keeley Peasley, 20, of Bangor was walking by with her twin sons on the way to The Grasshopper Shop when her mom spotted a friend waiting to be photographed. Peasley, a slender beauty with flowing dark hair, gestured to Drew and Niko Brountas, who are 11/2 years old, when asked about her secret.

“Chasing after my children,” she replied with a smile. “And lotion. I always put lotion on after I wash my face.”

Johnna Lacey, who works downtown for the Bangor Symphony Orchestra, timed an errand to coincide with the Marie Claire event. She ran into her sister Jessie, a photographer on assignment for Bangor Metro Magazine, and the two posed together.

“We’re all standing here with natural beauty, and that’s what real beauty is – you’ve gotta have that confidence,” Johnna said.

Her sister agreed.

“Confidence is a big part of how beautiful someone is.”

Though the sisters resemble each other, Jessie has a more casual look, with a mane of curly hair, red lipstick and a romantic Paul & Joe top. Johnna is all business, her long hair swept back from her face, wearing a tailored pink suit and stylish shades.

But, as the folks at Marie Claire know, it’s the differences that define each woman’s look.

“We’re looking for women who look unique and beautiful in their own way,” Rosenblum said.