I never in my wildest dreams thought it was possible for me to look beautiful or sensual, let alone sexy. Its an unfortunate common story for women that look the way I do; always being bullied because you don’t fit the standard. This never really got any better and followed me out of school and into adulthood, I was in a very abusing relationship that left me feeling like a shell of a human. It made me believe all those things I was told in school.. When I got out of that relationship, I became addicted to working out and loosing weight in a very unhealthy way but
I was finally starting to look the way I thought I should. Then I got sick, I was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia and UCTD. I felt like my body had completely betrayed me.
I’ve never felt all of those things id previously mentioned, and now even more so than ever.
That was until I saw a competition to win a confidence booster experience voucher with BYB. I had a moment of “Oh yeah, I can do this!” and entered. When I got the phone call, I cant lie.. I was terrified of the idea of getting in lingerie and having anyone see my body. On the day of the experience, I pulled up to the studio and I was having major anxiety, until Megan came out to see if I was okay- I told her I was super anxious and I felt so sick. As soon as I entered the building, my anxiousness started to fade away. The atmosphere in the building was so calm and welcoming. You can tell them exactly how you’d like your hair and make-up (Megan, you did an incredible job - thank you!) I met everyone who would be handling my experience and everyone was so friendly and explained exactly what would be happening and happily answered any questions I had. I was then taken upstairs to sort through my outfits and props with the photographer (Paulina- you’re incredible at what you do, thank you for making this experience feel less scary!). The shoot itself was not intimidating in the slightest. Paulina told me exactly how to pose and was always so complimentary which honestly gives you so much confidence. She handled everything, all I had to do was follow instructions. I trusted her completely and because of all this, you don’t think about how you’re feeling nervous during the shoot- that feeling melts away.
After the shoot was done, I had a lovely afternoon tea and was offered juice as it was a hot day, they did everything they could to make sure I was feeling comfortable and even had a nice chat with the staff while waiting for the viewing (which was so helpful because I didn’t think about how daunting it was to see my images!)
Nicola came and got me and took me to the viewing. I could not believe the photos on the screen was me. My goal was to have one image I really liked. I wasn’t expecting to have over 40 i was happy with. There was one image that made me cry- I looked like a beautiful, sensual and sexy lady. I had no idea It was possible for me! But the team at BYB did that for me. I was so overwhelmed and Nicola was so lovely and let me explain why this experience is so important to ALL women. I cannot thank BYB enough for giving me the ability to not only feel, but show me I can BE all those things I wanted to be; regardless of my own body image.
Thank you again Nicola- what you’ve created has helped and will help so many women and men gain their confidence back.
