This is a story that I hold very close to my heart and really wanted to share with you. As I’m sure you know by now I am a model and have been for the last 23 years.
It’s been a rough rollercoaster ride and I’ve experienced such high’s and low’s during my career. I even quit the industry for two years when it became a danger to my health and wellbeing.
I’ve been told I’m too fat, too thin, too spotty, too lank, too white, too booby, too tall, too short, too old…
I guess I’ve always tried to please clients and my agency to fit into the perfect model statistics that I had been brain washed with.
When I hit 30 and announced I was pregnant with my first child, my agency at the time told me my career was over. That it was time to ‘hang up my hair pieces’. What??? How can I be made redundant when I feel I am just getting started?? I took some time off to have my baby and re-evaluate my life. I even applied for an office job, but it wasn’t shortly after this I reaslied I still wasn’t ready to give up the profession I loved – so I found a new agent who believed in me.
With the the rise of social media and the general public/consumers having as much say in a product as a journalist, there has been a shift in what beauty really stands for.
Men and women want to see more ‘real’ people with diversity spread across all ages, sizes and colours. A massive breath of fresh air for us all who have been pigeon holed into believing that beauty is only for the thin, young and beautiful.
In my own personal experience – I have never felt more alive and beautiful than I do now. For real.. this is no funky meme to get likes on Instagram – I really do believe this. I am 38 years old, a mother of 2 boys, pregnant with my 3rd, a size UK14, fine lines around my eyes and cellulite but I’ve never felt so sure of who I am and what I believe in.
This had also mirrored my career. I have never been so busy as a model – something that I thought wasn’t possible when all these years I’d been made to believe that beauty had an expiry date when women hit the late 20’s.
I got a phone call from my agency MiLK Management. They told me Max Factor would like to work with me but it wasn’t confirmed. I put it at the back of my mind and thought nothing more about it – I’ve learnt by now that being a model means we live in a business full of rejection. Sounds grim but a lot of the jobs we go up for we don’t get – the competition is tough!
Then I got a phone call on April Friday 13th (unlucky for some) to say I had been confirmed for the campaign. To say I was happy was an understatement!!
The campaign was promoting their new Radiant Lift foundation, but it was also a message to women that you no matter your age, professions, size, colour, religion, we are all strong, confident women who have a voice. I was so honoured to tell my story with a brand like Max Factor that I have always used and respected.
I guess I finally felt accepted for being exactly who I am. I no longer need someone to tell me what beauty standards are. Finally I was holding the cards, and I like what I’ve been dealt.
Radiant Lift foundation is in stores now and a brilliant base for your make up. Try it out and let me know what you think!
A message to anyone out there who has a dream or a vision – never stop believing and never give up – even when people tell you it’s time to give up that dream. You’ve still got it!
With love,
Louise x
