When it comes to affairs of the heart Life Matters reader Helen Gibson needs surgery, but she is determined to celebrate being single and stylish this year. Emma Harrowing helps her get the glamorous look she wants.

Helen Gibson from Norwich has been single for a while. She enjoys her single life but would love to share her life with that special guy. Unfortunately the men she attracts usually turn out to be the wrong type of guys for her.

Says Helen: 'I'm 32 years old and I'm tired of attracting the wrong kind of men, so I have decided that this year I will take a different approach to finding love.

'I enjoy being single and I want to make the most of myself by finding a look that will make me look and feel glamorous.'

Helen has a good career in management consultancy in the public sector, so she usually dresses professionally for work in a suit or pencil skirt and blouse. The classic style appeals to her the most and even when she is dressed down at weekends she wears neat jeans and a top or a dress with tights to keep up her smart image.

For Helen's Life Matters makeover we want to show her how she can experiment with her look to give her classic look a little bit of a shake-up with more feminine details that touch upon new fashion trends.

The clothes

Helen likes to dress up for an evening out in the city and she tends to stick to classic dress shapes and colours. Helen Newton, personal shopper at Debenhams shows her some of the new dress shapes that will flatter her body shape and colouring.

Says Helen: 'Helen has a lovely Mediterranean look with her dark hair and olive skin, so colours such as black or grey can make her look pale and pasty. Instead she should go for bright deep colours that will really bring out the natural glow of her skin.

'Her body is in proportion and she is quite petite. Helen usually emphasises her waist with a belt, but I'm going to show her that she can wear this season's tunic style dress without looking like a sack of potatoes.

'The dress is backless with a diamante strap running down the back, which gives Helen a dramatic twist on the classic styles she usually wears.'

As Helen is petite a pair of wedge heels gives her a bit of height making her instantly feel glamorous.

The hair

Helen is tired of her long brown hair and wants to change her look to start her new year in style. Becki Matthews at Nigel Alexandre hair salon on Castle Street gives her a new style to suit her new glamorous look.

Says Becki: 'Helen has thick long hair which at the moment hangs straight down without any real style. Her hair is naturally wavy and she straightens her hair everyday so a style that makes her hair appear thinner will make it easier for her to style.

'For the cut I am going to style Helen's hair into a graduated bob that is slightly longer at the sides than the back. This will give her hair movement and will create interest.

'For the colour I am going to enhance Helen's rich brown tones by putting an all over colour gloss that will enrich her hair and make it look glossy.'

The makeup

To complete Helen's glamorous look, Izzy Pendleton at Pampers beauty salon on Castle Street treated her to a makeover using Bare Minerals makeup.

Says Izzy: 'For Helen's new look I'm going to show her how she can update her makeup for the evening by showing her how to create a simple smoky eye look.'

After cleansing, toning and moisturising the skin, Izzy applied a powder foundation in a colour that matches Helen's skin tone all over the face and applied Well Rested concealer under the eyes. This created a flawless base on which to apply the makeup.

To bring some colour into the face Izzy applied Warmth powder to the forehead, cheeks and chin with a brush, and pink blusher onto the apples of the cheeks.

For the lips a pink lip gloss was used to give Helen's lips a high sheen.

To create a smoky eye look Izzy applied a neutral eye shadow (Vanilla Sugar) all over the eye lid up to the brow bone. Then using a grey eye shadow (Drama) she contoured the eye by applying the grey shade along the eye lid crease and down into the outer edge of the eye lid. The colour was blended using a brush.

Black eyeliner was applied along the top lash line and the eyes were finished with a coat of black mascara.

The verdict

Says Helen: 'I tend to stick to the same old look when it comes to getting glammed up to go out so getting some advice on other styles that suit me was the shake-up I needed to be more experimental when it comes to my look. The dress chosen for me looks great, but it's something that I would never have picked out for myself. However, I love the look so much that I am going to buy the dress!

'The whole day was an amazing experience, I felt pampered and preened and ready to face the world as a single girl!'