Love Yourself Series, Sue, Post #12

In this series within my blog, I will share individual client stories, that they have allowed me to share with you, in hopes of encouraging you to love yourself more right now not when. These are real women, with real stories.

Meet Sue, she came in for a gift for her hubby, she said that he was the only man who ever made her feel beautiful and sexy. They dated in high school, went separate ways, and later on came back together and the love they share is incredible. Over the years while they were apart she felt fat and ugly, she hated photos of her and started to realize she had no nice photos of herself, none.

So after years of work, effort, finding her love again, and finally starting to love herself, she decided it was time to finally do the shoot!! During her style session, we talked about how she had been working out, being more instead of working more. We grabbed a few things and talked about the things at home she had and wanted to use. Also, informed me he wants a large wall art, which I was all in for, I love when my clients get those wall arts. We talked about she had some tattooed makeup, and gets lashes done as well.

On the day of her shoot, we clicked, even more, and had so much fun. Our favorite outfit was something she threw in off-hand, and it was the perfect thing for her. She looked amazing!!! In fact, most of her and his favs were in this outfit, a red cotton form-fitted dress, simple, yet powerful!!!

When she came to get her wall art and album, she told me about wanting to buy pants, and actual jeans for the first time in over 30 years, did I mention she is 60. All I can say is how much I admire those who start the journey they know they need to take, no matter what the age, thank you.

Here’s what she had to say after her shoot, I forgot to do the video, so this is what she wrote:

“Before the shoot I was nervous. During the shoot, I was completely comfortable with it all.
And after the shoot going through all the pictures and seeing my husband's face, was worth it all. This is something every woman needs to do for herself. Women are beautiful in every shape and size and Boushie Babes takes beautiful pictures to capture your inner beauty. Thank you for this fun adventure. You have a rare talent. Thank you.” Sue

Love Yourself Series, Lucinda post #11

In this series within my blog, I will share individual client stories, that they have allowed me to share with you, in hopes of encouraging you to love yourself more right now not when. These are real women, with real stories.

Meet Lucinda, She is a 66-year-old grandma, mother, wife, and widow, who has always wanted to do a shoot like this, but never found the time, her husband really wanted her to have a session too. She battled with her weight her whole life, was finally seeing results, and loved it! This shoot was her way of celebrating her goals, and how far she has come.

We meet up at the valley mall, and I noticed right away that she loved to smile, she has an amazing heart and a very kind soul. She had ordered a few things online, I believe we grabbed a few things as well while there. We talked about how she was a beautician and had been doing it for years, and had just recently retired.

During her shoot, we had so much fun and it flowed, she wanted to do all the things, break out of outdated beliefs. So we did, we collaborated and created some amazing images, I just love the ones in the button-up shirt and the hat. Though enough about how much fun I had, here is what she had to say about her session:

Some of her favorite images…..

At Home Hand/Foot Spa Day

Do you have dry hands or feet? Maybe you have a few callouses? When I did papers years ago I would have hands and sometimes feet that were cracked and would bleed at times because they were so dry. Here are a few at-home tips and tricks I used when needed.

  1. Coconut oil cuticle hydrator:

Skincare expert Mega Brame-Finkelstein turns to coconut oil for extra nourishment on dry cuticles. The heavy oil provides long-lasting moisture. Simply rub a small amount on each fingertip and swath with plastic wrap to let it sink in.

2. Exfoliating baking soda foot soak:

a simple foot soak of baking soda and water will do the trick. Dr. Jaliman says “the baking soda treats calluses because it is abrasive and helps loosen dead skin.”

recipe": add a ratio of 1/2 cup of baking soda for every gallon of warm water in a shallow tub and stir until the powder dissolves. sit back and relax, soaking feet for about 30 minutes. Rinse away the baking soda and pat feet dry before applying lotion or foot cream and slipping on a pair of cotton socks.


Try these out let me know how you like them.

Here is a few more blogs to check out if you like this one:

Spa days

Face masks

Natural oils....


Love Yourself Series, Post #10 Sheryl

In this series within my blog, I will share individual client stories, that they have allowed me to share with you, in hopes of encouraging you to love yourself more right now not when. These are real women, with real stories.

Meet Sheryl, this amazing 64-year-old badass woman. She is a mother, grandmother, widow, and one hell of a badass woman. She recently lost 40 pounds, and she and her husband always wanted to get this done for her and him. So, after his passing, she decided to really start living, and get out of her comfort zone.

She saw my ad, and jumped, she knew she had to have one of these sessions for herself after all these years, it’s never too late, or early. The lesson I learned here is don’t wait, do it!! We did her style session, and we clicked right away, I just loved her personality, the fact she rode a bike and was really enjoying doing the things she never “had made the time” before, she said no more, now is my time.

She wanted to showcase her body art, and her new self, which we did amazingly. In fact, she was so in love with her images, she felt freaking amazing. Below are some of her images, her love note, and client reveal.

So without further ado, here is what Sheryl said about her session:

Isn’t just an amazing woman?

Love Yourself Series, Post #9, Rachelle

In this series within my blog, I will share individual client stories, that they have allowed me to share with you, in hopes of encouraging you to love yourself more right now not when. These are real women, with real stories.

Meet Rachelle, She just turned 51 and really wanted to show herself how beautiful she was, she had never really felt beautiful, and her whole life others told her the opposite, that she was fat, or even shamed her for being her. Her mom used to model, and she felt as though she always fell short of that, and wasn’t enough. As we got to talking she talked more and more about she felt shame around exploring who she was, I mean all the sides of herself.

She never really married or had kids, worked the same job for 20 years, she just finally started to invest in herself. She started to travel more, and do things she always wanted to regardless of what others thought. During the style session, we had a blast and found some amazing pieces for her session and the upcoming trip she was taking to Mexico. She wanted to be tan for her session, and it was kind of just perfect timing.

During her session we talked a lot about how much she never felt beautiful or pretty in her life, she had so much shame around wanting to explore the different sides of herself, she was grateful to have a safe place to explore finally, or a place where there are no judgments, shame, only love an acceptance. I was grateful and honored that she shared her story with me. I mean, isn’t she just amazingly beautiful? I think so.

Here’s what Rachelle had to say after her session:

Rachelle’s Reveal

Love Yourself series, Mandy post #8

In this series within my blog, I will share individual client stories, that they have allowed me to share with you, in hopes of encouraging you to love yourself more right now not when. These are real women, with real stories.

Meet Mandi, one hell of a woman. She started off with a brief rundown of her life: mother of 2, divorced and still, friends, domestic abuse survivor, battled with her weight due to thyroid issues, cervical cancer, ex-military. She has worked in the medical field for over 20 years now, as an EMT, CNA, Med Tech Pharmacy.

She has been through so much and finally decided to love herself more and gift her S.O. with some amazing photos for Christmas. She needed to pamper herself since she was so busy helping others and caretaking so many people in her life. Does this sound like you, always going and doing?

We meet in CDA for her style session as it was one of the first ones I did. We found a few things and talked about her riding leathers and it was the one thing she had to have a few pics of her ass in! I was super excited to get the shots she wanted to show off her assets, and her body now that she was happy with her weight.

The shoot was amazing!!!! We had so much fun. She got images with a wide variety, and the shots she wanted for her and her riding leathers, some in a special t-shirt she loved, and more. She had such a hard time picking her favs, but she finally settled on her favs. She went for the payment plan, so she could still handle life too.

So without further a do hear is what she said in her own words:

Power posing, and what is it?

It’s a confidence-building technique used by some of the most successful people on the planet!

There’s even a TED Talk all about it — led by body language specialist, Amy Cuddy.

In her TED Talk, she pointed out how ‘low’ power poses (like hunching your shoulders, folding in your arms, crossing your legs) can often lower self-worth and increase feelings of stress…

Whereas practicing ‘high’ power poses (like standing up tall and taking up space) can help you instantly feel more self-assured and assertive.

And if this is sounding a bit ‘woo woo’ to you — there’s actually a science to back it up.

See, Cuddy and her team conducted a study to put high vs. low power poses to the test.

First, they measured 42 volunteers’ testosterone levels (the “dominance” hormone) and their cortisol levels (the “stress” hormone”).

And then, each volunteer was asked to hold either a low or high power pose for 2 minutes.

Once the 2 minutes were up, they retested their testosterone and cortisol levels, and amazingly:

High power poses increased testosterone by 20% and decreased cortisol levels by 25%!

So how do you do it?

It’s an easy trick that can instantly boost your mood, self-confidence, and outlook for the rest of the day...

And the best part is — it takes seconds. Ready?

First step: Head over to your closest full-length mirror.

Step two: Put your hands on your hips, roll your shoulders back, puff out your chest a bit, and hold your chin up high.

Step three: Take a deep breath — and on your exhale, say one thing you love about yourself out loud.

Did you feel your mood shift?

I know I do when I stand in a power pose, and you know what my clients love the images of their power poses too!! Below are so examples of some power poses tweaked for Boudoir, the clients loved how these came out too.

Love Yourself series, Tiffany post #7

In this series within my blog, I will share individual client stories, that they have allowed me to share with you, in hopes of encouraging you to love yourself more right now not when. These are real women, with real stories.

Meet Tiffany, a mother of 2 who like most of us struggle with self-esteem, and viewing our bodies in a positive way. She has been on the road of self-acceptance, struggling to learn to lover herself now as her body has changed over the years. She gets told by so many people that she is so beautiful, but she wasn’t feeling it. How many woman does that sound like to you? Is it you?

Do you question if you are truly beautiful, or tired of not seeing what others see in you? She had heard about friends doing these sessions, and had seen the changes in them and their confidence, and body image. She finally said if they can so can I, and that lead her to Boushie Babes. We did the style session and talked about life, parenting, and so much more. I was excited, and she was feeling more confident about stepping out of her comfort zone.

She arrived the day of her shoot, and we just feel into conversation and playing dress up, make-up went super fast, her hair was short and easy to do. I showed her a few tips and tricks, and showed her how to breathe, yes breathe, have you ever noticed when you take photos most faces looked posed, or stressed in someway? That’s because they are holding their breath. We had so much fun, and she loved her images. She did do a payment plan, so when we do those the images, and blog are not released till the client’s get their images first. We always strive to serve our clients more.

So without further a do, hear is what Tiffany said about her session:

Love Yourself series, Jenny post #6

In this series within my blog, I will share individual client stories, that they have allowed me to share with you, in hopes of encouraging you to love yourself more right now not when. These are real women, with real stories.

Meet Jenny, a local teacher of Culinary arts at NIC. She found out she had Crohn’s disease, and that led her to a healthier lifestyle and back to school. She has been on her own since she was 12, raised 2 grown daughters. She is celebrating 40 years of being here with us. She had a major tummy tuck to get rid of excess skin and tissue she had from years of medication weigh gain.

She said that learning to love her body now, thinner, yet different has been super hard for her. Her tummy was even more of sensitive spot because of her tuck, and the changes. She did the shoot as a way to showcase her to herself, and treat as well.

During her style session we went over outfits, and we talked about make-up too, I noticed she had 2 different colored eyes, one blue, and one green. In some of the photos you can see a difference in eye color, though the way I did her eye shadow has one eye looking more hazel than green, just an example of how you can bring out different colors using other colors. We had so much fun with this session. I will let you hear her side of things:

https://ck7cr588pwt.typeform.com/to/XWegxoEnApply Now

3 at Home Face Masks for Glowing, Healthy Skin

Who doesn’t love an at-home spa day, I know I do. I have always loved facials and hot baths for soaking. So, I have found some easy-at-home facials, which I thought I would share with you all today.


1) Anti-aging cocoa face mask-

A decadent antioxidant-packed cocoa skin a restored, youthful appearance. “As skin ages, the moisture barrier begins to break down leading to dryness and the immunity layer of skin weakens. Hydration is the most important skin saver at this stage!” says skincare expert Jasmina Aganonic.

Recipe: combine 1 tablespoon cocoa powder, 1 tablespoon sour cream, 1 tablespoon honey, and 1 egg white. Apply to face and let dry, then rinse.

The powerful ingredients make this a multi-tasking wonder cream: a sour cream is a form of lactic acid that hydrates as it gently exfoliates; honey is a humectant that boosts hydration while the protein in the egg white tightens and firms skin.


2) Wrinkle- Fighting Papaya Face Mask:

A secret recipe for ageless skin is a mask made with fresh papaya, Greek yogurt, and other nutritious ingredients. it’s recommended to apply your usual face moisturizer after rinsing. The alpha hydroxyl acids in papaya works as a natural exfoliator; the egg whites are high in protein and help rebuild the skin and tighten pores.

Recipe: Blend half of the fresh papaya ( seeds removed and dried), 1 tablespoon plain Greek yogurt, 1 tablespoon white tea (brewed and cooled), 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice, and one organic egg white in a food processor (or use a fork) unit it forms a paste. Apply to face and neck; relax for 20 to 30 minutes before rinsing with lukewarm water.

3)Exfoliating Sugar Face Scrub:

Sweeten up your at- home beauty routine with a honey and sugar face scrub. “This home made exfoliant helps to nourish skin while sloughing off dead cells.” says Arelli Soriano. If you have sensitive skin, it can be too harsh.

Recipe: Mix half cup brown sugar and 3 tablespoons of honey in a small bowl and stir until a think paste forms. Add two tablespoons of an oil of your choice (olive, almond, or coconut) and blend until it integrates with the paste to make a little lighter. Spread the paste all over clean skin,- face, neck, and decollate. Leave it on for five-ten minutes and rinse with warm water. you can use leftover scrub on the whole body for the same result.

Here are some more At home Spa Day Ideas:

https://www.boushiebabesphotography.com/blog/end-of-season-rescue-facial

Love Yourself series, Melanie post #5

In this series within my blog, I will share individual client stories, that they have allowed me to share with you, in hopes of encouraging you to love yourself more right now not when. These are real women, with real stories.

Meet Melanie, a school bus driver for over 17 years!!! She has an Autistic son who is a bus aide for special needs too. She is a widow with a happy love story. Her and her husband where madly in love, and then dementia happened. Though this one will get your heart strings ladies, her and her long standing hubby needed help towards then end, and she wanted someone to help who loved him as much as she did. That person ended up being his life long best friend, since they all where so close already it made things easier. In the end her husband asked his best friend to love her like he did, and to care for after he was gone.

Sometime after his passing her and his best friend fell in love, or shall we say a deepening of love they already had. They are now happy together knowing both their spouses would be happy they found love again. As she told me this during her shoot, we both teared up. She feels so blessed to have 2 great loves in her life.

Her hubby always said she was beautiful, even though she at one time was over 400 pounds. To honor her hubby, and show off her new body, after loosing most of the weight she wanted to showcase herself, for herself and her new love. So we did, she never wore makeup, so we got her all dolled up and ready for the shoot. By the end I felt I had a new friend and she felt so empowered and beautiful it was amazing. She wrote to me a week ago saying she is peeking at her album almost daily, and thinking make-up isn’t so bad. She feels proud of how far she has come, and now is loving seeing the results of her hard work.

So, without anymore to-do, here is what Melanie had to say about her experience:

7 Tips for Building Confidence and Self-esteem

Self-confidence is tricky to master, and many of us don’t have it. Lack of confidence can arise from things like fears, being unsure about what you believe, or feeling like you are not good enough at something. All these are issues people go through every day.

Not being confident in oneself arises from self-limitations, fear, and self-doubts. The only way to beat these problems is to change your mental attitude and build your self-esteem.

Here are some tips:

  1. Overcome your self-limiting beliefs to build self-esteem:

Kids are typically enthusiastic and confident. But then doubt sets in as they transition into adulthood. To build confidence is to push past these self-limiting beliefs. Expose yourself to uncomfortable situations to find your limits. Once you get used to such things, you will see what your boundaries are self-imposed and what you can accomplish is unlimited.

2. To Boost Confidence, Accept your Memories are not Always Accurate:

Our brain is selective, and creates biased memories, so, not everything you remember is a representation of facts. Start to accept this and revisit self-limiting memories, to get a correct perspective. It could be a lie you tell yourself about success or a wrong assumption about how people see you.

3. Practice Positive Self-Talk to Improve your Self-Image:

We say an average of 1000 words every minute to ourselves. Though it may seem absurd, talking to yourself is very beneficial. It improves memory, helps manage stress, builds self-respect, and boosts positive self-esteem. Strengthening your self-perception by speaking positively to yourself can also influence your neurobiological responses. See problems as challenges that you can overcome.

4. Beat Negative Bias with a Positive Mindset and Self-confidence:

We all have a natural negativity bias that keeps us safe from danger. To overcome look for the good stuff. For every negative thought, come up with 5 positive ones. Allow each positive thought to linger for 20 seconds before the next. Recognize both good and bad feelings. Don’t ignore or support your negative emotions, even if it is easier to do than to address them. Acknowledge and move on.

5. Work on Self- Doubts

Low self-esteem leads to doubts and a victim mentality.-feeling like your life is at the mercy of everyone else but you. No one is stopping except you so, get real and assess where you have doubts and break those walls down.

6. Conquer Your Fears-

fear comes from not being in control, when you are not in control you feel scared. When you hold a level of command over something the fear fades away. Denial or avoidance does not overcome it. Fear is emotional, not rational.

7. Be More Curious-

Curiosity is a must-have for anyone who wants to be successful and confidant in themselves. Being curious means that you are observant of the world around you, willing to learn, and open to new experiences. A curious person can achieve life-long growth and development.

I know when I implement these into my life, my view looks better, my world is brighter and less scary. Self-esteem and Self- confidence have one thing in common the self!!! So, invest some time into you today.

Love Yourself series, Cecelia post #4

In this series within my blog, I will share individual client stories, that they have allowed me to share with you, in hopes of encouraging you to love yourself more right now not when. These are real women, with real stories.

Meet Cecelia, a strong woman, working in a man’s field, she is a ranch hand and a dam fine one too. After 2 not-so-great marriages', and 2 lovely kids, and a bunch of trauma that for a while she didn’t even know was happening. She started her healing journey and started to find out she wasn’t who everyone said or thought she was, that in fact, she is this amazing badass woman. She wanted to break free of her chains so to speak on this shoot, and so did I. She said we could shoot on the ranch and I said hell yes!!

We met up for her style session and ended up chatting for hours at the mall about life, and the struggles we go through as women in today’s world. The day of her shoot everything just came together, it was an all-day event of course, with the horses, the cows, and all the possibilities we had to stay focused. We got so many amazing shots, and watching her come to life and start to glow again was priceless. We made some amazing art that day.

So without further ado here is what she said about her session: ( we ran so late, I forgot to do the video)

“I was both very nervous and excited for my photo shoot. It is a big deal for me bare so much of myself. It was a wonderful experience, so much fun and laughing. I have felt that good about myself in a long time. It was so hard to choose a handful of pictures, there were so many amazing shots. It helped that we got to shoot in one of the prettiest in the county, with many great props. This is an experience everyone should do for themselves, it is a very powerful and uplifting experience.” Cecelia

As you can imagine for a ranch hand life is super busy, she loved her album, just had to run to feed the livestock. This was her reveal.