Deserved break for Elaine after years of caring for other people

It was Derek Clubley's opinion that, after years of caring for other people, his wife deserved a bit of a treat. So he duly wrote to Femail to nominate Elaine for a makeover.

"For two years, Elaine's mother, who lived on her own, suffered from dementia. Elaine was going down to do her shopping, cleaning and washing," said Derek.

"My mum-in-law had many a fall and we were often called out in the early hours.

"She was often in hospital and my wife would go and visit every day."

Sadly, after being well looked-after in a home for four months, Elaine's mum passed away.

"My wife had to make all the arrangements as her only sister died more than five years ago.

"On top of that, I have had many hospital appointments after having skin cancer and then a stomach complaint, and my wife has been a great support to me," said Derek, 70.

Elaine, 65, of east Hull, herself suffers from osteoporosis (it's something she just has to get on with, she says) but never complains, even though she is in quite a lot of pain, said Derek.

A delighted Elaine couldn't believe Femail had picked her out as a worthy recipient of a makeover, courtesy of Hornsea Freeport and Colour Lounge in Hull.

She said: "It's wonderful news. I'm very surprised.

"We've had a bit of a traumatic year, really. My husband and I have been to six funerals."

Elaine joined Slimming World after her mother died, at a time when she was "squeezing into a size 20".

"I'm now down to a size 16 to 18, depending on the brand of the clothing," said Elaine. "It will be lovely to go and try on some new things.

"I buy the odd special thing. When my son came home from Canada to get married, I got a new outfit."

Elaine also colours her own hair and makes a fortnightly trip to her hairdresser for a shampoo and set.

"I've got a few age spots on my face and it will be nice to be able to ask the advice of the people at Colour Lounge about covering them up a bit," she said.

Kelly Meyerhoff, of Colour Lounge, said: "Elaine normally colours her hair herself to cover the grey re-growth, but felt it was slightly too creamy so we decided together to colour her hair adding more cleaner tones and, to break the colour up a little, we added through some subtle lighter pieces.

"To give the cut a softer feel we tapered the edge using a thinning technique. Through the rest of the hair we used a cutting technique to ensure that home care was made easier for Elaine to manage.

"We then styled it using Kerastase hair spray."

Tracy Richards, customer service assistant at Hornsea Freeport, told us Elaine was extremely surprised at being picked for the makeover after her husband nominated her and she's planning to try out her new look for her pearl wedding later in the year.

After recently losing quite a lot of weight, the makeover couldn't have come at a better time. Julie Smith, manager of Roman Originals, said: "Elaine told us she usually tends to wear the same style of clothes every day, however she was really open-minded about all of our suggestions and she tried everything on that we picked out for her. Her outfit really complemented her shape and the colour was lovely – perfect for heading into autumn."

Leanne Doody, of Colour Lounge, said: "We wanted to keep her look light and natural. To open her eyes I used a silver shimmer eye shadow all over the eye and up to the brow.

"To lighten the eyes I applied a thin brown line above the lash line.

"I pencilled her eyebrows in as you couldn't see them so this immediately changed the look.

"I finished the look with a pale pink lipstick."

"I felt like a million dollars when they'd finished," said Elaine.

"I don't usually wear make-up apart from special occasions – I think the last time I wore any was at my son's wedding last year – but I did feel amazing once I'd had my hair and make-up done at Colour Lounge and I was wearing my new outfit.

"The ladies at Hornsea Freeport were fantastic, they really knew what they were talking about and helped me pick out some clothes that really suited me.

"The blue two-piece they helped me pick out at Roman Originals was lovely – the sort of thing you could wear for an evening out or even just a drink with my husband down the pub.

"I've got a real thing for handbags so my trip to Domo was great. They picked out a great bag that complemented my outfit.

"We even managed to find one with a handle to match the shoes.

"I had a great day and felt really pampered."

Top and matching skirt from Roman Originals in turquoise and black. Top £25, Skirt £30.

Blue and black low-heeled crocodile patent wedge shoes from Clarks, £19.99

Navy bag from Domo £19.95