A woman whose habit of dressing like a Japanese Lolita doll saw her fiancé brand her a ‘colourful catrastrophe’ has undergone a dramatic TV makeover in an effort to be taken more seriously.
Cosplay fan Cayleigh, 28, from Market Weighton in Yorkshire, told the team on 5Star’s 100% Hotter that her partner said her ensembles were ‘holding her back’ in her career as a vintage make-up saleswoman.
She admitted she used her heavy make-up, pastel wigs and baby doll dresses as a way to distract from the side effects of her systemic lupus – an auto-immune disease – which often causes her to break out in rashes.
Cayleigh, who is obsessed with Japanese Harajuku girls, told the team she was finally ready to ditch the girlish outfits in favour of something more sophisticated in order to be taken seriously.
Cayleigh, 28, wanted to be taken seriously but her penchant for dressing like a Japanese Lolita doll (seen left) was holding her back (seen right after her 100% Hotter makeover)
Cayleigh explained to stylist Karen Williams, hairdresser Daniel K Palmer and make-up artist Melissa Sophia that suffering with lupus makes it impossible for her to hold down a normal nine-to-five job.
‘Some days I won’t be feeling too bad, but other days I won’t be able to get out of bed. I’m tired and achy,’ she said.
Lupus is a debilitating illness which causes the body’s immune system to attack healthy organs and tissue.
Cayleigh said that she often turns to her make-up box as ‘therapy’, and a way of making herself feel better.
‘If I’m feeling really c*** and I can’t get out of bed… [I] put my make-up on. I don’t feel physically better but I feel better in myself.
‘I look brighter and happier, I suppose it is a kind of therapy. Make-up makes me feel good, I use it as a way of expressing myself more than covering it [rashes] up.’
But she admitted turning up to important meetings and conventions dressed as a Harajuku girl hasn’
‘I’m 28 and I want to be taken more seriously in what I do,’ she said.
The 100% Hotter team gave her a stunning makeover. They got rid of her shocking lilac wig and cutesy clothes, and dyed her hair auburn
Cayleigh’s boyfriend explained how she would wear a different wig every day and that she was inspired by anime and manga characters
Cayleigh explained how she liked to use make-up as a way to make herself feel better as she suffered from an auto-immune disease known as lupus
On the show, Cayleigh discovered what members of the public made of how she used to look.
She was rated 3.7 out of 10 by strangers asked for their opinion on her outfit.
Cayleigh was then tasked with removing all of her make-up and her lilac wig, which she removed to reveal a shock of green hair underneath.
Hairdresser Daniel explained how dying it a shade of auburn it would add warmth to her skin, and Melissa gave her a glamorous glow using bronzer and fake eyelashes.
Cayleigh was desperate to be taken seriously and so opted to remove her wig for something more sophisticated
Cayleigh was stunned by the results of her makeover.
‘I don’t even look like me! I love the hair, it’s amazing,’ she said.
Stylist Karen had replaced her child-like dress with a smart blazer and matching shorts, and her girlish Mary-Jane shoes with mannish brogues.
When the public was once again asked to score Cayleigh’s look out of 10, she scored an impressive eight out of 10.
100% Hotter returns Wednesday at 8pm on 5STAR