The Five Best Movie Makeover Scenes

Makeover montages are one of the best inventions in the history of cinema. And there’s no better time to watch someone else’s glow-up than when you’re preparing for your own.

Whether you’re looking for wardrobe inspiration or just a second-hand hit of dopamine while you move through your nightly self-care ritual – smoothing, masking and setting the foundation for whatever the weekend holds – these are five of the best transformations, from The Princess Diaries to Crazy Rich Asians and Miss Congeniality. 

The Devil Wears Prada

With another iconic Anne Hathaway performance comes another iconic transformation. Playing aspiring journalist Andy Sachs, Hathaway begins her job at Runway magazine (a thinly veiled stand-in for Vogue), hopelessly out of step with the fashion world. After being schooled by editor-in-chief Miranda Priestly (Meryl Streep) about her frumpy cerulean sweater, Andy finally embraces her job. With the help of Runway’s art director Nigel Kipling (Stanley Tucci), they raid the magazine’s fashion closet, pulling everything from Dolce & Gabbana to Jimmy Choo, Nancy Gonzalez and the Chanel boots.

What follows is a montage of outfits soundtracked by Madonna’s “Vogue”, capped off by the biggest compliment, direct from Gisele Bündchen (who played a Runway employee): “You look good.”

The Princess Diaries

In Anne Hathaway’s first feature film, the Oscar-winner plays Mia Thermopolis, an ordinary teenager living with her artist mother in San Francisco. Mia’s life is upended when her estranged grandmother, Queen Clarisse Renaldi (Julie Andrews), visits from the fictional European country Genovia to reveal that Mia is, in fact, a princess.

Princess lessons follow, along with a full makeover from Paolo (Larry Miller). He places cucumber slices over her eyes (something he admits does nothing), snaps a hairbrush attempting to tame her frizzy hair, and breaks her glasses.

Name a more iconic movie moment than when Paolo’s two assistants unveil a newly made over Mia. You can’t.

Crazy Rich Asians

In Crazy Rich Asians, Constance Wu’s Rachel Chu is thrown into the opulent world of her boyfriend’s ultra-wealthy Singaporean family – and finds herself in need of the perfect wedding look. At the home of her flamboyant friend Peik Lin Goh (Awkwafina), Rachel tries on a parade of couture gowns with commentary from Peik Lin and friend Oliver T’Sien (Nico Santos). During the montage, Rachel tries on gowns from Balenciaga, Chloe, Giambattista Valli and one that looks like “a bag of Skittles” before landing on a powder blue number by Marchesa – a modern Cinderella moment, chosen to withstand the scrutiny of Eleanor Young (Michelle Yeoh)

She’s All That

This classic late-’90s teen comedy is like a grab bag of the best movie makeover tropes. When popular high schooler Zack Siler (Freddie Prinze Jr) bets he can transform “artsy outcast” Laney Boggs (Rachael Leigh Cook) into prom queen, the film leans fully into the glasses-off reveal.

The makeover scene sees Anna Paquin’s Mackenzie Siler pluck Laney’s eyebrows, powder her nose and take her hair from a “coif” to a bob. The result: a prom entrance that cements this as one of teen cinema’s most referenced glow-ups.

Miss Congeniality

Sandra Bullock as Gracie Hart in Miss Congeniality remains one of the most iconic performances ever committed to film. Gracie, an FBI agent, is sent undercover into the world of beauty pageants to stop a terrorist threat. But she has to look the part. That’s where pageant coach Victor Melling (Michael Caine) steps in.

During what is likely the only movie makeover to take place undercover in an aeroplane hangar, Gracie’s teeth are cleaned, her hair is untangled, a solarium is plugged in, and legs are waxed before she emerges with a full blow out, dressed in a skin-tight blue minidress and heels she can barely walk in.

This article was produced by Broadsheet in partnership with Garnier. Consider this your sign to queue up a makeover montage on Prime Video – and give your own transformation moment a head start with Garnier’s new Keratin Sleek range.