Name: Sue Jones
Home: Southwater
Story: Lost two and half stone in weight
“When I was
younger I was in proportion, active and healthy but my challenges started, like
many women, when I had children.
It’s difficult to lose baby weight with a young family and over time
more weight gradually creeps on.
“Ten years ago I
lost a stone, but over the next decade two and a half stone sneaked itself onto
my frame and when my husband needed to get fit I took a long, hard look at us
both and what I saw wasn’t great.
Not only did we look overweight, but also our health was suffering so we
made a decision to get active together and go on a diet.
“We chose to
join the Slinfold Golf and Country Club, mainly because they had an open day
that we went to, it was very friendly, we knew a few people there and they had
a good variety of activities and exercise classes. To be blunt, it was also really clean, both in the gym and
changing rooms which was important to me as if I had to exercise, it could at
least be a pleasant experience!
“I went to the
gym and classes for a couple of months and the weight loss just wasn’t
happening so I was offered a free session with one of the personal trainers,
Toby, and I never looked back.
“It took me six
months to lose the weight.
I did a
calorie-controlled diet of 1,400 calories a day, which, along with the
exercise, meant I lost around 1lb per week.
The first stone seemed to take forever to come off even
though I was exercising 4 days out of seven, but I also made new friends at the
club who really encouraged me to stick at it.
It was quite hard cooking for my family of
four
as they like lots of food, but I cooked meals, including vegetarian, that we
could all enjoy.
I also craved
cheese and bread but I’ve stopped missing them now and can’t remember the last
time I had a biscuit!
“Today, I feel
much better, much healthier and I have a lot more energy. I can’t get my head around the fact
that I am now a size 10-12 and still pick up 14-16 clothes. I even got into a size 8 the other day
but I’m sure the sizing was out!
“Once I reached
my target weight I yo-yoed a bit but have now got my meals down pat and my
weight is stable. I’m really
grateful for all the help and support I got in achieving this goal and I wanted
to have this makeover so that I can look at the photo and see for myself the
physical difference in the size I was to what I am now – maybe then
I’ll believe it!”
STAGE 1 – HAIR
The team at Rush Horsham, led by Huw James, invited Sue in just before
the shoot. Sue wanted to maintain her current graduated bob style, but
was also looking for something easier to manage on her upcoming holiday. Sue’s
stylist Emma Fitzpatrick decided that a signature RUSH undercut would be
perfect for Sue’s thick, curly hair, removing the weight through the underneath
while giving her a much more modern shape and style.
After the consultation
Sue’s hair was washed and she chose a Kerastase treatment that was specifically
chosen to give her long lasting moisture and shine.
Emma said, “Sue has lovely thick, shiny hair so we wanted to build on
this and enhance it by creating a full, more structured shape. Her hair
had previously been over-layered through the top, so we left this heavier and
removed weight internally. This
will make it easier for Sue to straighten and style at home as well as giving
her a style much more in line with current trends’.
Sue said “I’m absolutely thrilled with my new cut and I think it takes
years off me! I can’t thank Huw and Emma, and all the Rush team enough
for getting me to try something different with amazing results!”
STAGE 2 – MAKE UP
Karen Loraine of the Make Up Box Studio in Horsham is an expert make up
artist, well known throughout Sussex, Surrey, Kent and London for her work in
helping women transform their look.
“Sue has lovely natural skin and her usual look is for minimal make-up,
which works well for her. For this
shoot we’re giving Sue party make up so that she can see how to glam-up on her
holiday!”
Karen chose to blend gold eye shadows with soft autumn highlights on
Sue’s eyes, adding blood-red lips, concealer and an airbrushed foundation and
blusher. She used a silicone
primer before applying foundation in order to diminish the appearance of fine
lines and a peach blush, to bring out Sue’s naturally good skin tone. Karen’s assistant Claire Cook applied
Sue’s lipstick to finish the look.
Sue said, “I love the eyes and Karen’s foundation has smoothed my skin
beautifully. The lips are a much
stronger colour than I would usually go for but I can see how well it works in
the photos.”
STAGE 3 – FASHION
Parisian fashion house Georgedé sent across their Autumn/Winter 2012 collection
for Sue to model. This beautiful
range contains occasion wear for all ages, created in soft fabrics with
matching jackets, skirts and trousers to offer great design, uncompromising attention to detail and a
perfect fit. There
are four distinct patterns that it uses for the range which, for this season,
are Flowery, Wildlife, Abstract, and Black & White and Sue chose a chiffon
and jersey dress and jacket from the Abstract range, packed with colourful and
eye catching colours to create a delicious tapestry of hues.
SUE’S VERDICT
“I love it! Rush were really lovely and welcoming
in the salon and I love the twist they’ve put on my hairstyle. Karen’s make up looked beautiful and the
Georgedé
is really flattering to wear.
Thank you so much for the experience and maybe now I’ll believe how good
I can look!”
