Hidden in the pile of ancient copies of Cosmopolitan were three issues of particular interest. My mother – aged about 35 – featured as the magazine’s cover girl on two of them, and my sister S on the third. They both looked fabulous, but I had some questions:

1. How had this come about?
2. Why had I never known about this?
3. What kind of magic went into the makeovers to transform my nearest and dearest into beauty queens?

My third question was answered by a photographer: clever lighting and camera angles.