MAKEOVER: "I feel like a new woman after my makeover"

After a tough 18 months Jill Marsh from Eaton feels tired and drab. To give her a bit of a boost Emma Harrowing gives her a Life Matters makeover to make her feel like a new woman.

When Jill Marsh's daughter announced that she was getting married later this year and the wedding preparations got under way Jill realised that she had fallen into a rut when it came to her looks.

It has been a traumatic couple of years for 54-year-old Jill, after her mum sadly passed away. Her best friend also died from motor neurone disease and her cousin suffered a heart attack and passed away.

She has also looked after her sister after she had an operation on her spine.

Since her mum died she has become a carer for her step dad, as well as holding down a full-time job as a chef manager.

She is not only in need of some style advice but also some time for herself.

Says Jill: 'I usually wear jeans and a top and I have worn the same makeup for years.

'I would love to wear a maxi dress, but at five foot two inches I feel that this style of dress will swamp me and make me look shorter.'

Clothes

The maxi dress is the dress for the summer, but many women struggle to find the right one to suit them.

For petite women like Jill some fashion experts warn against wearing the maxi as it can make you appear shorter. However, if you are comfortable with your height, why not wear a long dress? Get the shape of the maxi right and wear with heels or wedges and you can in fact look taller.

To show Jill how she can look stylish in a maxi dress this summer I took her to see Emma Parncutt the personal shopper at Debenhams for advice.

Says Emma: 'Jill has a petite shape but her top and bottom half are in proportion so she can wear this season's maxi dress. For petite women like Jill look for a maxi dress with a small print and wear a shoe with a bit of a heel.'

The dress Emma chose for Jill accentuated her figure perfectly. The halter neck beaded design draws the eye downwards creating a vertical emphasis, which makes Jill appear taller.

The addition of some stylish wedge heels also gives her more height.

Jill is conscience of her arms so Emma teamed the maxi dress with a shrug to cover the arms without taking away the shape and detail of the dress.

Mixing and matching chunky bracelets around the wrist also draws the eye down and away from the upper arms.

Hair

Jill likes her hair colour and style so Kerry and Emily at Max Giammello gave her hair a tidy up.

For the colour

Says Emily: 'Jill is definitely a blonde but as her hair has been bleached so much her blonde is looking more brassy than classy. Using three colours interspersed throughout her hair will give it a more natural look and help her thin hair look thicker.'

For the cut

Says Kerry: 'Jill doesn't want to take much off the length so I'm going to trim the hair and add a few more layers to give more height to the crown.'

Makeup

Jill has worn her trusty blue mascara for years, but longs for a more up-to-date look.As Jill has a warm skin tone and blue eyes she can wear many of this summer's makeup looks.

Hayley at Yves Saint Laurent in Debenhams gave her tips on how to give her look a revamp for

2010.

For the base

After cleansing, toning and moisturising the skin, YSL Top Secrets moisturiser and base was applied to the skin to act as a base to the makeup.

Perfect Touch foundation was applied with a brush (the foundation comes with a brush applicator).

Next, Touch �clat was applied over the eyelids, under the eyes to hide any dark circles or

blemishes.

For the eyes

YSL No 3 five colour palette was used to create a smoky look on Jill's eyes.

First the light beige colour was applied with a brush across the eye lid up to the brow bone. Next the gold colour was applied with a brush across the eye lid from lash to crease.

Finally the darker brown shade was applied to the outer edge of the eyelid and blended to create a smoky effect.

To finish the eyes a brown pencil eyeliner was applied along the top lash line and False Lash Effect mascara was applied to the lashes.

For the cheeks

Bronzer was applied over the face and a rose pink blush was applied with a brush to the apples of the cheeks and blended up towards the cheekbones.

For the lips

A pinky brown lipstick was applied to the lips, which were finished with a touch of lip gloss.

The verdict

Says Jill: 'I'm pleased with my look. I never thought that I could wear a maxi dress but this one looks great!

'It's good to know that I can wear long dresses, especially as this is a big trend for summer.

'The makeup tips and advice I got from Hayley are invaluable. As I have blue eyes I didn't think that I could wear brown eye shadow, but the colour really brings out my eyes.

'I love the makeup so much that I am going to go back to see Hayley and buy the makeup so that I can recreate the look for my daughter's wedding.'