Mum had surgery to look like me
Jane's mum Janet was tired of looking frumpy next to her glamorous daughter, so she took drastic action

Janet and Jane are used to men chatting them up at the same time.  Most assume the pals are sisters or even twins because of their matching size six figures, pretty faces and long blonde hair.  They're stunned to learn the women are actually mother and daughter and more shocked to learn that Janet is in fact 22 years older than Jane.

But the secret of Janet's stunning age-defying looks is down to more than just Mother Nature.  The 50-year-old splurged more than £10,000 on cosmetic surgery, which has turned her into a carbon copy of daughter Jane, 28. Desperate to look as pretty and young as her daughter, Janet splashed out on a boob job, eye job, nose job and lip augmentation. She completed her transformation with hair extensions and a wardrobe makeover.

And at the end of the day she got her looks from me in the first place -they'd just faded with age, and seeing how attractive Jane looked made me want to get them back.

'Instead of mum and daughter we now look more like twins.'

In fact people have often incorrectly guessed that Jane, 28, is the 'older' sister. But beautician Jane isn't offended. She knows it's not because she looks older than her years, but that her mum looks so shockingly young for her own age.

" Mum looks better than Madonna at 50" which is saying something,' laughs Jane." People ask if I mind that she's transformed herself into me, but I couldn't be more proud. I'm the one who helps with her hair and clothes, so it's down to me, too. I can hardly accuse mum of copying my looks when she gave them to me, can I?'  But it was a different story a few years ago. Tired of her dumpy figure, Janet knew it was time for a change.

She'd had a boob job in her early thirties after divorcing Jane's dad, but living with her new partner in the Costa del Sol she discovered one had ruptured so decided to have them done again.  Instead of her usual 34C cup Janet asked the surgeon to boost her to a whopping DD cup costing £4,000.

Seven years later, when that relationship broke down, Janet found herself back in the UK-without friends or direction.  It made sense for her to move in with Jane in Burnley, Lancashire.

Jane saw how down her mum was feeling and didn't think twice about taking her under her wing and trying to cheer her up.

One night she demanded her mum get dressed up and join her and her pals on a night on the town.  But getting dressed was a nightmare for Janet.  'Having lived in Spain, all I had was shorts and T-shirts or scruffy jeans. I had nothing fashionable in my wardrobe, and couldn't borrow anything from Jane because it was all too small,' she remembers.

'I remember looking at Jane and remembering how I'd had a body just like hers when I was much younger - but now I just felt like an old blob.'

After a few drinks and a dance, Janet managed to have a good time.  Soon she was enjoying regular nights out with the girls. But she was acutely aware of the age gap between herself and the group.

'I imagined people laughing at the old bag out with all the young girls.  Jane and her friends are so gorgeous that among them stood out like a sore thumb.

'Older celebrities somehow manage to turn the clock back and I wondered if I could do the same.'  The first thing to go was the weight. 'I only weighed 9st 10lb, but I have a tiny frame, and it made me look enormous.'She ditched the Chinese takeaways and the beers and started to follow the same healthy diet as Jane, with grilled chicken, salad and vegetables.  In four months she lost nearly two stone and could easily slip into Jane's size six to eight trendy gear.

But Janet wasn't entirely happy.  She still envied Jane's crinkle-free eyes, full lips and fashionable, long blonde hair.  She knew creams could never wind the clock back far enough and started doing research into cosmetic surgery.  It was much cheaper to go abroad and Janet found the website of self-confessed surgery addict Linda Briggs online, who recommended a clinic in Croatia.

She decided to have her eyes lifted, her nose straightened and her lips boosted at the same time.
With flights and board, it cost nearly £5,000.  When she discussed her plans with Jane, however, her daughter was furious.

She begged me not to.  It wasn't because she didn't want me to look young and pretty - she was worried about the operation says Janet.

But her mind was made up.  Janet flew to Croatia for the operation last September.  When the swelling went down, mum and daughter were shocked at the result - Janet looked the image of Jane and her younger self.  After she splashed out on hair extensions to match Jane's, you couldn't tell them apart.

'The only difference between us now is our eyes and shoe size,' laughs Janet.  Next time they went clubbing, men kept doing a double take.  'All night people asked if we were sisters and we both loved the attention,' says Janet.  'Our friends nicknamed us Paris and Chantelle.'

There was no shortage of offers from toy boys but Janet is happy being single at the moment:  'I haven't done this to get a man, I'm just happy spending time with my daughter and having a good time.  Besides, I'd only date someone my own age - somebody I have things in common with.'  And the girls insist there's no jealousy between them.  'We're both confident about our looks.  Men give me just as much attention as mum so why would I feel jealous?' says Jane.

'I would love big boobs like her, but there's no way I could stand the pain.  I've seen Mum in agony, and I don't want to go through that.  'I love us looking the same, we're closer than ever.  She's the sister I always wanted but never had.'

Written by Kelly Strange, Julia Lawrence
Hair & make-up by Emma Fairfield at Nemesis
Photos by Jeremy Durkin

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