Looking younger than your years is a goal of most women, but how does it feel to look the same age as your daughter?
We spoke to two women who are constantly mistaken for their daughters sisters and they revealed the secrets of their youthful skin and how men react when they reveal the truth.
Grace Adams-Short and Georgiana
GRACE Adams-Short, 41, a former Big Brother star and content and marketing executive from Liverpool, and her daughter Georgiana, 14.
Grace says: “Sometimes I am out and about, and a young guy will say: ‘Alright love?’ and then his eyes almost fall out of his skull when he spots my four kids in tow. For as long as I can remember, people have always thought I was younger than my years.
When I tell them I am 41 and a mum of four, they nearly keel over. Georgiana is the eldest at 14, then I have Spencer, 10, Allegra, eight, and Atticus, four, so life is busy, to say the least.
But Georgiana is at a lovely age now and we get on really well. It is lovely to be mistaken for her sister, because I do work hard at looking after myself. I don’t want people to look at me and think I am old. I want to age well, like a fine wine.
To that end, I have a strict beauty regime, taking supplements and exercising regularly. I use SkinCeuticals, which is medical-grade skincare, and have a monthly bespoke facial, as well as regular laser treatments and red-light therapy at Rachel Hunter Beauty Clinic in Liverpool.
I swear by The Golden Pill by Elle Sera wellness supplement and while I used to be a total sun-worshipper, these days I stay in the shade and always wear a hat.
I am not ashamed to admit to tweakments, either. I have Botox every three or four months and I have tried polynucleotides twice.
Everyone has been banging on about the salmon sperm treatment, although personally I haven’t really noticed much difference yet. I also have Profhilo for skin hydration roughly every six months, but I have never had fillers. I am no saint, though and I still drink wine most nights while I am making dinner!
Looking young has occasionally landed me in some ridiculous situations. A few years ago, I ran into a shop with no make-up on to buy a Red Bull and they wouldn’t serve me because they thought I was too young. I couldn’t believe it and I was nearly 40.
My husband Mikey Dalton, 43, looks good for his age, too, and takes care of himself. He goes to the gym five times a week and uses a touch of eye cream.
We met on Big Brother in 2006, and when Mikey was 29 and I was 27, Georgiana came along. When I was younger I bounced back quite quickly, but the more children I had, the more tired I felt.
By number four, I was looking after three children and a newborn and I had breastfed all of them, which takes a toll on your body, plus sleep deprivation ages you massively.
However, now we are out of the baby phase, I feel really good and exercise is a big part of that. I do a lot of reformer Pilates and try to make time for myself.
Georgiana tells me her friends think I am a trendy mum, although she will immediately bring me back down to earth by saying: ‘I don’t think you are!’
I have earned a few brownie points recently, because I have been doing a lot of content and brand shoots online, including work with leisurewear brands, so she thinks I have quite a cool job. But with teenagers, these things change like the wind. I could be uncool again tomorrow!
We have recently started to share our clothes. Georgiana wears trainers in my size and, because so much teenage fashion is oversized, she can pinch my clothes, too. I can never find a matching pair of socks, so I will often borrow hers.
I used to wear a lot of Adanola, but then it became trendy with younger girls, and I didn’t want to look as if I was trying too hard by dressing exactly like my teenage daughter. So I started buying ALO instead and now she is stealing those.
She will take something out of my wardrobe without telling me and I will be searching everywhere for it. Or she will take my best trainers and wear them to play netball and scuff them. I think she sees my wardrobe as a place where she can shop for free.
Georgiana wasn’t really aware of Big Brother when she was growing up, because it wasn’t on our screens in the same way.
Occasionally, someone would come up to me and ask: ‘Were you on Big Brother?’ and she gradually understood it was the TV show where I met her dad. One of her teachers remembers watching me on television, which makes me feel very old.
I love the relationship Georgiana and I have these days. She is growing up incredibly quickly, and while I am not sure I want us walking around in matching outfits, I am secretly quite flattered that she wants to borrow mine.
Georgiana says: “Sometimes when Mum and I go to London and walk around together, people think we are sisters, especially if I am wearing make-up, because it makes me appear older, and Mum looks young for her age.
My friends always tell me that my mum is really pretty and they always want to meet her.
She doesn’t usually mind me borrowing her things, although sometimes I take something out of her wardrobe without telling her. Then she will be searching for it for ages, and won’t realise I have got it.
I think it is nice that we are able to share things. We get on really well and I like spending time with her, although I probably won’t tell her too often that I think she is cool!
I am glad she is my mum and I am happy to share her genetics. Hopefully, that means I will look younger than my age when I am older, too.”
Geeta Vaiwala and Malissa
‘People assume my male friends are mine and my daughter’s dad!’
Geeta Vaiwala, 49, a single mum from Leeds who works in facilities management, and her daughter Malissa, 23.
Geeta says: “I will often get chatted up in front of Malissa by men who assume she is my sister. This summer, we were on holiday in Greece when someone at our hotel looked at us and asked: ‘Are you twins?’
Sometimes I will even get chatted up when I have a male friend with me, and people assume he is my and Malissa’s dad, which is hilarious. There are 26 years between us, and we don’t really see the resemblance ourselves, but other people obviously do.
It happens a lot, especially when Malissa does my make-up. We have similar hair, and if she gives us both the same winged eyeliner, suddenly we look incredibly alike.
I would love to say my youthful looks are down to a special expensive face cream, but the truth is much less exciting, as we just have good genes. I have two older brothers who both look younger than they are, and my dad is 83 but could easily pass for a man in his 60s.
My mum passed away in March, aged 78. She had beautiful skin, which also seems to have been passed down through the family.
I don’t even have a proper skincare routine. I have washed my face with water and Imperial Leather soap since I was 11, and that is still what we use in our house. If I have been out drinking, I have been known to fall asleep in my make-up.
I am comfortable with myself and how my skin looks, so I tend to save make-up for special occasions. I think wearing less can make me appear younger, too, whereas make-up makes Malissa look older, which probably closes the age gap between us.
I have never had Botox or other tweakments, although I always say: ‘Never say never.’ I used to think that if I reached my late-40s or early-50s and felt I wanted Botox, I would have it. I have reached that age now and so far, I just haven’t felt the need.
Malissa and I have always had similar figures, too. I have been a size eight since I was 17, and she is a size six, which means my wardrobe is basically an extension of hers.
She is forever stealing my clothes. I will be searching for a particular dress and eventually ask her: ‘Have you seen it?’ She will casually tell me: ‘Yes, it is in my wardrobe.’ Occasionally, I get my revenge by attempting to squeeze into hers!
When we go out together, the confusion can be hilarious. Malissa will get chatted up and I will sometimes intervene, jokingly saying to the guy: ‘Do you want to ask my permission?’ They will reply: ‘What, as her sister?’ And I will say: ‘No, as her mum.’ They are always shocked when I reveal the truth.
Despite approaching 50, I still feel like a young mum. I had Malissa when I was in my mid-20s, so perhaps that is why our relationship feels the way it does. I don’t mind people thinking we are sisters. At 49, I will happily take being mistaken for my 23-year-old daughter’s twin.”
Malissa, an assistant psychologist, says: “I love having such a glamorous mum. We are incredibly close and I honestly wouldn’t want it any other way.
Once, when we were in Morocco, a man came over and asked for my number. Then he turned to Mum and said: ‘Hi, are you her sister?’ I had to tell him: ‘No, she is my mum.’ It was so awkward. He didn’t know what to say and was very embarrassed, especially when she started saying he needed her permission to talk to me!
My male friends are always joking about how much they want to meet Mum. They will even tease me that she is hotter than me, though it genuinely doesn’t bother me and I find it funny.
We don’t deliberately try to look alike. Sometimes, we’ll come downstairs and realise we are wearing almost identical outfits. It can look as though we have intentionally dressed like twins, when in fact we just happen to have similar taste in clothes.
Our beauty regimes are pretty similar, too. Neither of us really does very much. I don’t have Botox, and Mum has never had it either. We’ve just been lucky enough to inherit good genes.
Having a mum who looks so young has never made me feel overshadowed or as though I have something to live up to. I hope I look as good at 49 as she does.
Other people may see two sisters when they look at us. I just see my mum and one of the people closest to me in all the world.”
