06-25-98: Geri THE NICE Girl -- by CLARE GRANT
WHEN you're down in the dumps, there's no better way to spice up your life than a change of image. Geri Halliwell, who kissed goodbye to being Ginger Spice, has settled for a makeover that will shock her fans. The most glamorous Spice Girl of all - the cruel would say tarty - has ditched the heavy make-up, the dramatic highlights and the low-cut dresses for a totally different look. Geri, 25, dressed in a simple and plain grey frock, was seen scraped clean of make-up yesterday on a shopping trip to Galeries Lafayette in Paris. Perhaps she has taken the stinging criticisms of Hollywood film mogul Aaron Spelling to heart. The producer is reported to have turned her down for a coveted role in a new Charlie's Angels movie because she was too chubby, too hard-looking - and her boobs were too big. Geri had set her heart on playing Jill Munro, the part made famous on TV by glamorous Farrah Fawcett. But one insider said acidly: "Geri has bulges in all the wrong places. And if she really IS 25, she's had a tough life." Whatever the reason for Geri's dramatic change of image, the jobless Spice should have done it years ago. Without the red lipstick and heavy blusher, fresh-faced Geri looks l8 again. Or maybe it is the weight loss that makes her look different. Her slimmed-down face shows no signs of that familiar double chin. She has lost the harsh, streetwise look of a girl who modelled topless to try and make the big time. Gone too is the cheeky look of a woman who thought nothing of pinching the backside of the heir to the throne.
Sadness An onlooker who saw her in Paris said: "I couldn't believe it was Geri at first. She looked so different. There seemed a certain sadness about her as she shopped alone. I hope she isn't regretting her decision to leave the Spice Girls." Geri quit the band at the end of May - just two days before the end of the European leg of their tour and two weeks before the American concerts started. Geri has been in the Paris since Sunday and is staying at the five-star Hotel Crillon. But she is not just there for the shopping. While her former bandmates are delighting fans on the 40-date U.S. tour, Geri is busy trying to sort out her future. A phone and fax has been installed in her room, where she is spending most of her time. Geri, who is there without her 24-year-old dancer boyfriend Christian Horsfall, has arranged a couple of business appointments but the deals remain a mystery. As for her unexpected change of image, the Mirror's deputy fashion editor Jane Alexander believes the new-look Geri is a massive improvement. She said: "Geri was beginning to look like she was wearing a mask of make-up. This very natural look makes her look sweet and gentle."
