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To celebrate our Mills & Boon Makeover we thought we’d ask some of our lovely authors what their all time favourite Makeover story is…
Easy A
I adore Emma Stone in Easy A. Brilliant high school student Olive turns into a Scarlet-letter wearing bad girl to prove a feminist point after a rumour about her virginity goes viral. Olive’s makeover isn’t just smart, fierce and fabulously edgy, it also provided inspiration for my own good girl-goes-wild story The Good, the Bad and the Wild.
My Fair Lady
My Fair Lady is the classic makeover story. A snobbish phonetics professor makes a wager that he can take a common street vendor and turn her into high society. He tries, but his plan backfires, of course, when he realizes ‘he’s grown accustomed to her face.’
Miss Congeniality
I love the makeover of Sandra Bullock’s character in Miss Congeniality. Gracie is a dark-suit wearing nerd who wipes her nose on her sleeve. Of course, she’s transformed into a beauty queen by the glam squad and turns the head of her handsome colleague played by Benjamin Bratt. But the sequence ends with her tripping over her high heels, which to me symbolizes that she’s still going to be her authentic self.
In my book Her New York Billionaire, artist Holly Motta meets tycoon builder Ethan Benton while her face is covered in blue paint! So after an agreement that they’ll pose as an engaged couple, there’s a long way to go to get her to look the part. Ethan takes her on a shopping spree that dreams are made of, complete with an evening gown covered in icy-blue crystals and a visit to THAT jewellery store on Fifth Avenue!
Bridget Jones
I come back to Bridget Jones in Bridget Jones’s Diary every time. She can’t seem to get out of her own way, but in the end the man sees her for who she really is and loves her. I sigh each time I watch the movie.
Life and Loves of a She Devil
My favourite makeover story is one with twist, Fay Weldon’s Life and Loves of a She Devil. Dark, macabre, vengeful, what’s not to love!
Matches made in Scandal is my new Historical quartet and there is a rags to riches Cinderella story, perfect for fans of makeover stories.
Pretty Woman
My absolute favourite make-over movie has to be Pretty Woman. I loved it the first time I saw it and have done ever since. It’s pure magic, from the humour of the moment Edward shows Vivian the necklace in the box to when he and Vivian leave the hotel for San Fransico.
The Spanish Bride
Oh, I love a good makeover story! That moment when the hero suddenly looks at the heroine and sees the desirable woman he can’t resist? Makes me melt every time, but my ultimate favorite makeover story is in Lynne Graham’s The Spanish Groom. I laughed so hard, I woke my husband up from a sound sleep the first time I read it. This heroine did not slide oh, so perfectly into glamour, but waged an unconscious battle with the new clothes and makeup just by being her charming, quirky self.
Some of my books with a makeover storyline:
Hired: The Sheikh’s Secretary Mistress (my personal fave as his mum was in on the makeover and the campaign to make him see the heroine)
I love ALL makeover stories.
For me, it’s not about the clothes, the jewellery or the hair cut (though who wouldn’t want those??). It’s the way the handsome hero helps makeover the heroine’s confidence…that fairy-tale moment when, in the mirror, she sees the person she’s always wanted to be.