No salão, ela disse que a maquiagem ficaria melhor com um penteado mais simples.

Because no is the contraction of em + o.

• em = in / at
• o = the
• em o salão becomes no salão

This kind of contraction is very common in Portuguese:

• em + a = na
• em + os = nos
• em + as = nas

So no salão literally means in the salon or at the salon.

In this context, salão usually means a beauty salon or hair salon.

In Brazilian Portuguese, people often shorten salão de beleza to just salão when the context is clear.

So:

• Vou ao salão. = I’m going to the salon.
• Ela estava no salão. = She was at the salon.

Depending on context, salão can also mean a large room or hall, but here the beauty-related words maquiagem and penteado make salon the natural meaning.

Portuguese uses definite articles much more often than English.

So where English might say:

• makeup would look better

Portuguese often says:

• a maquiagem ficaria melhor

That a does not necessarily mean a very specific item of makeup in a narrow sense; it often just sounds natural in Portuguese to use the article with nouns like this.

This is something English speakers have to get used to, because Portuguese often prefers:

• o cabelo = hair
• a maquiagem = makeup
• a roupa = the outfit / clothing

even when English would often leave out the.

Yes. Portuguese often omits subject pronouns when the verb already makes the subject clear.

So both of these are natural:

• Ela disse que...
• Disse que...

Including ela can add clarity, contrast, or emphasis. For example, it may help if several people are being discussed and you want to make it clear that she was the one who said it.

Ficaria is the conditional form of ficar.

Here it expresses something like:

• would look
• would be
• would turn out

So a maquiagem ficaria melhor means something like the makeup would look better.

This sounds like an opinion, suggestion, or prediction rather than a statement of fact. She is saying that with a simpler hairstyle, the makeup would look better.

Because the sentence reports what someone said about a hypothetical or suggested result, not something already confirmed as true.

Compare:

• ficou melhor = looked better
  This suggests the result already happened.

• fica melhor = looks better / looks best
  This sounds more like a general truth or direct statement.

• ficaria melhor = would look better
  This suggests a possible result under certain conditions.

In this sentence, she is giving an opinion: the makeup would look better with a simpler hairstyle.

Yes, very often.

After a past reporting verb like disse (said), Portuguese may use the conditional to express the future from a past point of view or a hypothetical result.

So:

• Ela disse: A maquiagem ficará melhor...
  = She said: The makeup will look better...

When reported later, this can become:

• Ela disse que a maquiagem ficaria melhor...
  = She said that the makeup would look better...

This is very similar to English backshifting from will to would in reported speech.

Yes. In Brazilian Portuguese, ia ficar melhor is very common and natural in everyday speech.

So these are both possible:

• a maquiagem ficaria melhor
• a maquiagem ia ficar melhor

Very roughly:

• ficaria can sound a bit more compact, sometimes slightly more formal or written
• ia ficar is extremely common in speech

Both are good Portuguese.

Penteado means hairstyle or hair arrangement/styling.

It is not just hair in general. It refers to the way the hair is styled.

Compare:

• cabelo = hair
• penteado = hairstyle

So:

• um penteado mais simples = a simpler hairstyle

This could mean less elaborate, less decorated, less structured, or less formal.

The preposition com means with.

So this part means:

• with a simpler hairstyle

It describes the condition under which the makeup would look better.

The structure is:

• ficaria melhor com... = would look better with...

Examples:

• Esse vestido fica melhor com sapatos pretos. = This dress looks better with black shoes.
• A sala ficaria melhor com uma luz mais suave. = The room would look better with softer lighting.

Because mais simples means simpler.

She is comparing one hairstyle to another possible hairstyle:

• a more elaborate hairstyle
• a simpler hairstyle

So mais creates the comparison.

Compare:

• um penteado simples = a simple hairstyle
• um penteado mais simples = a simpler hairstyle

The second one implies comparison with some other hairstyle option.

Because melhor is the comparative form meaning better, and ficar melhor is a very common expression meaning:

• to look better
• to turn out better
• to suit something better

In this sentence, a maquiagem ficaria melhor means the makeup would have a better overall visual effect.

You will hear ficar melhor in many situations:

• Esse corte fica melhor em você. = That haircut looks better on you.
• A foto ficou melhor sem flash. = The photo came out better without flash.
• Assim fica melhor. = It looks better this way.

Yes, in a sense.

Portuguese does not need to say se (if) here, because com um penteado mais simples already gives the condition clearly.

So the idea is basically:

• the makeup would look better if she had / with a simpler hairstyle

Portuguese often expresses this kind of condition with com instead of a full if clause.

A fuller version could be something like:

• Ela disse que a maquiagem ficaria melhor se fosse com um penteado mais simples.

But the original sentence is more natural and elegant.

Yes. Portuguese word order is flexible, especially for adverbial phrases like No salão.

Possible versions include:

• No salão, ela disse que...
• Ela disse, no salão, que...
• Ela disse que, no salão, a maquiagem ficaria melhor...

But the original version is very natural because No salão sets the scene first: At the salon...

That kind of opening is common in Portuguese narration.

A broad pronunciation guide would be:

No salão, ela disse que a maquiagem ficaria melhor com um penteado mais simples.

Approximate English-style pronunciation:

noh sah-LOWN, EH-lah JEE-see kee ah mah-kee-AH-zhen fee-kah-REE-ah meh-LYOR kohm oong pen-chee-AH-doh mais SEEM-plees

A few useful pronunciation notes:

• salão has stress on the last syllable: sa-LÃO
• disse sounds roughly like JEE-see in many Brazilian accents
• maquiagem usually sounds like mah-kee-AH-zhen
• melhor has the lh sound, which is like the lli in million
• um often sounds nasal, not like a full English oom

Yes, it sounds natural and idiomatic.

It has a very normal spoken/written Brazilian structure:

• setting the scene: No salão
• reporting what someone said: ela disse que
• giving an opinion about appearance/style: a maquiagem ficaria melhor com um penteado mais simples

It sounds like something you might hear in a salon, during wedding/event preparation, or in any discussion about styling and visual balance.