IT’S ABOUT SO MUCH MORE THAN JUST SEXY PICTURES

“Of course, I loved all the pictures and spent more than I had intended but you know what...I AM WORTH IT!!!”

— Emma

Today we’re shining the spotlight on one of our amazing clients - Emma.

Emma writes a blog about her life’s journey and this is an extract from her blog about the day she came to enjoy an empowering Madison Bou Photoshoot.

We loved the open-ness and honesty of the blog and asked Emma if we could copy her article and post it here. She was more than happy to share these thoughts and we feel certain that this will resonate with so many of our readers and clients.

EMMA’S OWN WORDS

I used to be confident and carefree.

I never worried what anyone thought and I was comfortable in my own skin.

I've never been beautiful but I have felt it.

That all changed without me even realising, years of little comments, digs, remarks - all designed to chip away until, frankly, I didn't even recognise myself, let alone love myself.

My body felt like it was no longer my own.

It was something that someone else was entitled to, my needs were not important and my feelings even less so.

I read something recently that having a low sex drive is not really a thing, that your sex drive is connected to how you are feeling in that moment.

I had come to believe I had no sex drive, when in fact, what I had was no desire due to being made to feel completely undesirable.

Hitting 40 and being single for the first time in a long time, I was determined to change this.

For me, not for anyone else.

A boudoir shoot has always been on my bucket list, so what better time than now?

I went through all the reasons not to do this…

I'd put on weight, needed my eyebrows done, wanted another tattoo, it was self indulgent, what was the point if I wasn't going to share the pictures, but ultimately decided to jump out of my comfort zone and in front of the camera.

I watched a lot of ‘Tik Toks’ for ideas and inspiration and trawled the internet looking for the perfect company - This is when I found Madison Bou.

They were not the cheapest but I loved the feel of their website.

I bit the bullet and booked.

When I tell you I panicked, I PANICKED!

As the date approached, I panicked about EVERYTHING!

The clothes, the underwear, the hair, make up, style, photos, would I even dare do it? would I hate it? would I feel ridiculous?

Nothing fitted, everything looked awful, I was being stupid etc etc etc...

A quick chat with both Dave and Jayne at Madison Bou set me at ease and they reassured me I could take as much stuff as I wanted and they'd help put things together on the day.

So I arrived on the day with a boot full of stuff.

Anyone that knows me will not be surprised that there was an entire weekend bag full of shoes (and that didn't include the boots I was wearing and the other pair I threw in as I was leaving... Just in case. )

The shoot was in a hotel suite, but we didn't head straight there, we sat in a reception area first and had a brew and a chat - instant relaxer.

Once we moved to the room, the fun began. I unpacked everything and instantly ideas were being thrown around, questions asked and jokes made.

I sat for well over an hour while Jayne did my hair and make-up.

I don't think I've sat so still for such a long time, I'm not normally very good at relaxing and being pampered.

I will go to the hairdresser in my lunch hour and come out with wet hair if needed, but, I loved it and it made me feel special and worthy of the time.