THIS IS WHAT 55 LOOKS LIKE

Denise PieRee, 55, lives in Brentwood, essex, with her daughters Meredith, 21, and Antoinette, 19. she is a lecturer for an academy and is divorced.

BABY-SOFT SKIN

MY MOTHER started me on emollient cream. Now I use Ovelle Aqueous Cream (£3, sainsburys.co.uk). I don’t have dry skin and I put it down to the cream. If I want to spice it up or do something different, I’ll add a natural oil, like lavender. All the family use it — we go through a tub in two weeks!

ADRENALINE JUNKIE

MY KIDS might be grown-up, but Go Ape is still one of our favourite things to do together. We like zipwires and go trampolining. I got my eldest daughter into cycling. She was reluctant to start, but seeing her mother going up the hill quicker than her was a great incentive!

NIPPY NUMBER

MY DAUGHTER’S boyfriend enjoys racing his car on a track as a hobby, so I joined in. I loved it so much that I bought a sports car after turning 55. I got an orange Mazda MX-5. It’s great fun, and actually quite a stress release.

NATURAL HENNA

I’VE been dying my hair with the pure root of henna (£13, lush.com) for the past ten years. It comes in a bar, like soap, and is melted before it is applied to hair. Grey hair often gets brittle and wiry, but you don’t get that with this. I also love the shine it gives your hair afterwards. It does get a bit messy so I put clingfilm over my hair once it’s on — I look like an alien, but the end result is worth it.

DON’T DO DINNER

I HAVEN’T had an evening meal for about six or seven years, unless it’s for social occasions. I graze up until about 3pm — during the day you’d think I was a real pig, continuously eating — but then I’m done! If I’m doing yoga, or going for a bike ride and I need more energy for the evening, I may have an avocado or a banana, because they release energy slowly.