Losing weight if you are obese is a tough challenge but one Norwich woman managed to lose 10 stone. The only problem now is that she doesn't know how to dress to suit her new shape. By Emma Harrowing.

As 39-year-old Sarah Willis from Norwich looks at herself in the dressing room mirror her hand absentmindedly touches her stomach as she twists from left to right. She is wearing a leopard print maxi dress, an item of clothing that 22 months ago she would never have entertained, but now as she looks at her svelte figure there is a slight smile on her face.

This time two years ago Sarah was a dress size 22 and needed to lose weight for health reasons. To help her achieve her goal Sarah joined her local Weight Watchers meeting at The Waterside Caf�. Within two years she has managed to lose an impressive 10 stone.

Says Sarah: 'I didn't just want to go on a crash diet and then risk putting on all the weight I had lost and so I decided that I needed to completely change my lifestyle and think about changing my diet for good.

'The Weight Watchers plan is easy to follow and is a healthy diet that I can stick to for the rest of my life.'

Sarah is pragmatic when it comes to discussing how she lost weight. Whereas some would struggle when, after losing some initial weight, their metabolism slows up and weight loss is more gradual, Sarah found sticking to the food plan easy.

'The hardest part for me was actually going to the first class,' says Sarah. 'I found that it was easy to get into the swing of my new diet once I had started.'

Sarah's Weight Watchers leader Leanne Davison wrote to Life Matters to ask if Sarah could have a makeover because of her weight loss achievement.

Says Leanne: 'I feel that Sarah will benefit from being featured in the Monday Makeover slot. She is a different person to the one that walked through the door just under two years ago, but her confidence in her look is still low. She thoroughly deserves to be pampered and shown how amazing her new shape is.'

And so the Life Matters team begins Sarah's makeover to help her gain confidence in her looks.

Clothes

Debenhams personal shopper Emma Parncutt chooses this season's empire line shaped maxi dress to emphasise Sarah's slim waist and hide her stomach which she is conscience about. Teaming the dress with a fine knit shrug covers the tops of Sarah's arms, also an area that Sarah doesn't like. The shape of the outfit highlights her new slimmer shape.

Says Emma: 'The 1970s boho look is a big trend this summer and this maxi dress really suits Sarah's new shape. From the moment she put the dress on she stood taller and oozed confidence as the dress skims over the parts of her body she doesn't like and draws attention to the parts she does.'

Hair

Sarah now needs a new hair style to go with her new boho look. Lauren at Saks on Orford Hill transformed Sarah's tired locks into a stylish 'just got out of bed' look.

Says Lauren: 'Summer hair is all about 1970s glamour with thicker highlights and a tousled style. At the moment Sarah's thin highlights are just not cutting it, but by thickening them up with warm gold shimmers and copper tones, Sarah's hair will be transformed into a natural sun bleached style.

'For the cut I'm going to keep the length but take out a lot of the weight by cutting into the thickness of her hair. Sarah has a petite face and at the moment her hair is hiding her pretty features. By cutting a slight graduation in the front and layers Sarah will have more movement and versatility in her hair.'

To enhance Sarah's natural waves Lauren used hair straighteners to create a tousled effect. To create this look take a section of hair and pull it through the straighteners from root to tip twisting the straighteners up and down as you go.

Makeup

To complete Sarah's new look Christine from Lancome in Debenhams treated her to a makeover.

Get Sarah's look

For the base

After cleansing, toning and moisturising the skin, apply a primer to the face to provide a base for your makeup (Christine used Lancome's Genifique serum). Next choose a foundation colour that matches your skin tone to create a flawless finish. Conceal dark circles under the eyes and any blemishes with a concealer a shade lighter than your foundation.

For the cheeks

Add colour to your face with a soft pink blush. Apply the blusher to the apples of your cheeks and blend with a brush up along your cheekbone to your hair line.

For the eyes

To create a smoky eye for the day use three complementary eye shadow shades – one light, one mid and one dark. The easiest way to do this is to buy an eye shadow palette which has all the colours you need. For the day it is best to use brown shades.

First sweep the light colour over the eyelids from the lash line up to the brow bone. Next use a mid tone across the eyelid from lash to crease. Finally take the dark eye shadow and apply it as you would an eyeliner along the top lash line, then take the colour up and around the outer edge of the eyelid and blend. Finish the eyes with a coat of mascara and frame the face by pencilling in eyebrows with a soft brown pencil.

For the lips

Keep the lips natural with a lip gloss or if you want a splash of colour like Sarah, use a red lipstick (in a shade of red to suit you) and finish with a touch of lip gloss applied to the middle of the lips to create a natural pout.

The verdict

Says Sarah: 'I cannot believe how stylish I look. I would never have thought that I could wear animal print but as soon as I put this dress on I felt great. My hair feels and looks amazing and it's a style that I think I can easily achieve at home.

'It will take some time for me to get used to my new shape, but this makeover has gone a long way to boosting my confidence. I'm thrilled with the results!'