“I rediscovered the most valuable thing a woman could find; unbridled confidence” Boudoir over 40

Boudoir is something that I wholly recommend any woman tries once, and for good reason.

Society teaches us from a young age that we're expected to behave, dress, and look a certain way. We are criticised for being too thin, too fat, too loud, too quiet, and will never be considered desirable company if we do not fit these unobtainable ideals laid out before us.

It can take a woman decades to find the inner strength to defy these notions and take control of her own body, mind, spirit, and life.

The art of Boudoir is one of the most empowering things any woman can do for herself; it displays our autonomy, our feminine power, and an incomparable sense of strength of will & the body...you try holding some of the poses that ask you to contort & arch your frame and you will soon understand exactly what I mean.

Boudoir is more than a simple genre of photography; it is a wake up call of your own sense of self, presenting you with the undeniable truth that it is you, and you alone who is the mistress of your own destiny.

Helen, for many reasons, is so well positioned in her own life that she understands this exactly, but she also understands that it is her purpose in life to shake us all up and help us find those pieces of ourselves that we've spent a lifetime trying to keep buried in the name of social acceptance.

When I first met up with Helen we discussed how it may be best for me to showcase her skills...she suggested some headshots for professional purposes, which is another service she offers for websites, social media, and the like.

It isn't a state secret, though not particularly common knowledge, but I have lived an exceptionally colourful & illustrious life, this was not my first time in a Boudoir photography studio, and I suggested that if we were going to do this then we might as well do it properly.

Helen's face began to beam, and we discussed an experimental shoot that allowed her to use all of the techniques, lenses, and cameras that she'd been keen to have a go at.

The most important part of a shoot is this discussion; it helps the photographer & model set expectations, boundaries, and you work out whether or not you're a good fit for one another.

As it turns out we were totally singing from the same sheet, and within the first few minutes of meeting it felt as though we'd known each other for several lifetimes, so we were good to go with whatever the session had in store for us both.

Under normal circumstances Boudoir packages include having a pre shoot makeover which includes time with a hairdresser, and make up artist. Helen works alongside two spectacular ladies who are no strangers to the Boudoir scene, and are known to professional models. After seeing samples of their work I can promise you that they are highly skilled, and have the transformational powers of Fairy Godmothers. They tailor every look to gently nudge the model just enough out of her comfort zone so that she feels super comfortable to go strut her stuff in front of the camera.

The combined efforts of this Goddess-esque trifecta yields the most jaw dropping, breathtaking results, leaving their models looking like the ethereal creatures that they were born to be.

You don't have to take my word for it though, the Masque website displays numerous examples of the work to see for yourself.

For numerous reasons we decided I'd do my own hair and make up, and you can bet I was awake at crazy o'clock primping, preening, priming, and, for the millionth time, making sure the outfit selection would convey the story we were both trying to tell.

Out of all the photographers I've encountered Helen is the most remarkable of them all.

She knows exactly how to capture, encapsulate, and showcase the best aspects of personality and aesthetic of the model in front of her.

She sees everything in angles, lighting, filters, positioning, instinctively knowing which camera and lens is going to preserve a split second for all eternity.

It's a skill you either have, or you don't, and I am convinced that Helen did indeed enter this world with a camera in her hand, ready to go straight into the studio.

It isn't all about camera skills, or even post shoot editing skills, the real trick is to be so attuned that you can instantly tell how the model is feeling, and respond to that immediately. It is the understanding that in this moment there are vulnerabilities that most of us are not used to experiencing, and the level of intimacy we are displaying isn't something we're necessarily accustomed to. We are sharing the most secret parts of ourselves with our photographer, and allowing them to expose us in ways we probably never dared to think about.

Helen is so very sensitive to this, taking such a deep care for the human being that has, for this moment at least, chosen to present herself.

We spent so much of our session howling and giggling at the most ridiculous things, we blasted a playlist that we were both dancing & singing along to, and every now and again I had to stop & freeze mid motion as she called out "hold it there, that is so perfect"

If such a thing even exists, it was too much fun for both of us.

A couple of weeks later she told me that the portfolio was ready for viewing, and despite it being such an epic level experience I felt my heart drop in panic.

The last time I shook my bootie like this I was in my prime, had a petite frame, and without the wrinkles & blemishes that catch up to us as we shuffle along the proverbial bus. As I look back on myself then I realised how bonnie I was, and that my insecurities from that era were all in my head...that was 16 years ago though.

I don't know if it was me, my attitude, and the outfits that did it, whether it was Helen being a maestro of her profession, or if it was both of us working in harmony and symbiosis like the boss babes we are, but as we looked through the portfolio I felt something I haven't felt since...well, since ever really...I felt beautiful, and the involuntary streams of happy tears began flowing so hard that I didn't think I would ever stop crying.

I rediscovered the most valuable thing a woman could find in that studio; the unbridled confidence to be exactly who I am without fear of reprisal or repercussion, and the gumption to tell anyone who thought less of me that that was most definitely a them problem.

Helen didn't just present a portfolio, she presented Hestia Rose exactly as she is, and there are no blogs, reviews, or recommendations that could tell her, or anyone else, the enormity of what that means on my deepest level of being.

Since then I've held myself, walked, talked, and acted so differently; she helped me finally find my place in the world, and told me that it was ok to let my true self out of her cage, and go out there and smash it at life.

To be able to reveal that to anyone is a Universe given gift that blesses only a few, and that day I felt as though I'd been touched by a real tangible magic.