Teaching assistant Liz Dyson was nominated for our £500 Peters make-over by not one but six of her colleagues at St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School in Dalton. HILARIE STELFOX arranged a new hairstyle, make-up and wardrobe for the 50-year-old mum-of-three

THE last year has been a bit of a rough one for teaching assistant Liz Dyson, the winner of our Alex & Co and Dash make-over at Peters.

Six months ago the Highburton mother-of-three lost her father after a lengthy illness. For much of the past year she has had to make repeated visits to the south coast to visit her family.

Turning 50 at the end of March was another milestone event for Liz, who was, say her colleagues, “down in the dumps.’’

Six of Liz’s fellow teaching assistants – Mary Brennan, Elaine Crosland, Marie Morris, Sharon Macken, Kaye Senior and Michelle Moore – wrote to tell us that Liz is “a kind, caring, considerate and generous person, who will do anything for anybody and is always there to listen to your problems.”

We were impressed by their letter and her friends’ request to “put a smile back on her face.’’

Liz, who is married with three teenage children, says she knew that her colleagues had written in but didn’t expect to win.

“I thought that it was really nice of them. But I was amazed when you rang to say that I’d won,’’ she said.

The prize was a new hairstyle at the Mark Riley hair salon in Peters and £250 worth of clothes from the dressy Alex & Co label and £250 of outfits from casual label Dash.

Liz has been a teaching assistant for four years and works with Year 5 pupils. She became interested in working with children after running a playgroup in Kirkburton when her own youngsters – Holly (19), Alice (16) and Alastair (14) – were small.

Her husband Tim is a property surveyor. They have been married for 25 years and met while at university, where Liz was studying sociology.

Liz’s Make-Over:

At the Mark Riley salon in Peters, stylist Faye Taylor suggested a shorter, more defined haircut. “Liz has thick hair but the style is a bit nondescript. It would be beneficial to get rid of some of the thickness at the back and pull the hair back from her face at the front with a sweeping fringe,’’ said Faye.

Liz agreed and was delighted with her new, easy-care style.

We asked beauty consultant Nabila Ashraf at the Estee Lauder counter in Boots to give Liz a new make-up look. Using long lasting Double Wear make-up, she used a blend of new eye colours – soft browns and turquoise green – and a hint of blusher so that Liz felt glamorous and yet natural.

It was then time to model an outfit from each of the ranges.

We persuaded Liz to try a smart summer dress with silk jacket from Alex & Co, the ideal outfit for a summer wedding or garden party. “I wouldn’t have even tried the jacket,’’ said Liz, “but it looks really good and I like it. The dress is gorgeous.’’

From Dash we chose a casual, soft, leisure suit, which Liz said would be ideal for both relaxing evenings at home or a trip to the gym. “The fabric is really comfortable. I’d definitely wear this,’’ she said.

Our make-over complete, Liz announced that she would be celebrating being 50 by taking her family to Leeds Festival later in the year, to see the Arctic Monkeys – proof indeed that life certainly doesn’t end at the first half century!