Ginger Spice, meet Geri Halliwell

In her transformation from Spice Girl to U.N. goodwill ambassador, Geri Halliwell, a.k.a. Ginger Spice, has turned the makeover into a makeunder. Showing off her new, de-glitzed look at the MTV Video Music Awards and on the cover of November’s Allure, this onetime Union Jacker looks positively Gwyneth Paltrow. Herewith, a head-to-no-longer-platformed-toe guide to how Ginger morphed into Geri.

Hair
Ginger: A sassy, brassy copper with shocks of blond to frame her face
Geri: Strawberry-blond tresses that give her a softer look — especially when blow-dried straight and tucked behind her ears or pulled back into a simple knot

Foundation
Ginger: Smeared on with a trowel. She must have gone through a case a week.
Geri: Paging Pippi Longstocking…only a touch of sheer base is used to even out her skin tone. ”I was surprised when I saw that she had so many freckles,” says Jo Strettell of Cloutier, who did the makeup for the Allure shoot.

Eye Makeup
Ginger: Heavy black liner and frosty eye shadow under precisely penciled-in eyebrows
Geri: Think bare, naked lady. A lash curler and a few strokes of mascara and — presto — she’s done.

Nails
Ginger: Hard Candy-colored talons (the better to scratch Scary’s eyes out)
Geri: Very Madeleine Albright

Necklines
Ginger: ”Fall-out” fears kept her from bowing to the Queen last year.
Geri: Can curtsy to her heart’s content now that she wears suits and crew-neck tops (also appears to be a lot less chesty)

Shoes
Ginger: Who knew she’s only 5′ 3”? Those cartoonishly tall platforms fooled us into thinking she was WNBA ready.
Geri: Nothing like a pair of loafers to tell the world you’re ready for grown-up power.