It sounds so self indulgent doesn’t it?

But it is so important that you invest in yourself because ultimately there’s just one of you and you are the only one responsible for your happiness.

So here are 5 reasons why investing is a necessity (in business and in life):

1. 100% of the investment goes towards achieving your goals. When you invest in yourself, (your brand or your life) that investment is solely being put into you and helping you reach the desired outcomes you need or want. All that time, money and energy isn’t going elsewhere. It’s focussed on helping you achieve your goals.

2. Frees up your time. Investing in yourself is another way of saying you’re outsourcing and that frees up your time and causes less stress. When it comes to work this could come in the form of getting a website developer or investing in yearly photographs that you can access easily for all your content needs- those jobs you don’t want to do can be done by someone else and instead you can use your time in an area of your business where you excel or enjoy some down time- down time when you’re a business owner is just as important as working consistently. In life you might get your nails done, or use a personal trainer… although you can paint your own nails or exercise at home the likelihood is you wouldn’t see the same results in the time it takes to use a professional service.

3. Avoids burnout. If you’re not outsourcing or you’re taking on too much and not giving yourself time to enjoy life and experience moments of happiness you can guarantee burn out will happen. When you choose to invest in yourself you can limit burnout because you’re doing things that you want to do, for your well-being and happiness.

4. Your productivity increases. When you invest in yourself ultimately you become happier and your relationships benefit from that too whether that’s at work or at home. You’ll often find you have more energy and your productivity increases because of that. Happy life = happy all around.

5. More confidence. Investing in yourself is telling yourself that you're worth it. Acknowledging what you need and desire is such an important first step to giving you more confidence.

Money spent on you isn’t self indulgence. It’s investment. It goes towards your mental wellbeing. Whether you’re using that money to excel in life or business it’s an important investment to make.

Remember, you are worth investing in.

Valentine’s Day is always an interesting date on the calendar isn’t it?

It’s the first proper event day as such on the calendar after Christmas, and it happens during the hardest few months of the year. Those months where we cling to any form of excitement because the dark days are long, cold and bitter. So even if we don’t actually intend to celebrate Valentine’s Day there’s no denying that it is a date that slowly creeps in.

The frustrating thing about Valentine’s Day is that it traditionally relies upon us being validated by someone else. And as lovely as that can be, it’s actually very damaging. Because what about those of us that don’t have partners? or those of us who feel forgotten on Valentine’s Day. Those of us that are going through difficult life issues and then feeling the pressure of this particular day looming?

Which is why for many years I’ve realised that Valentine’s Day should be about yourself. It should be about reconnecting with who you are and learning to love her and see her value. Nobody should validate who you are. Only you need to validate yourself.

A lot of how we feel about ourselves comes from the way we portray ourselves to the world. If we’re having a ‘good’ day we feel happier and more confident, but if we’re having a day where we feel less than comfortable it’s really hard to love ourselves during those moments. If those bad moments last a long time it really starts to affect us mentally.

As we get older and our bodies adjust and change it can be hard for many of us to love what looks back at us in the mirror. After all we’re bombarded daily by celebrities and models that have that ‘perfect’ body type. 

But let’s be honest, if you’re alive then your body is absolutely perfect in all senses of the word. It doesn’t matter if there’s a little wobbly bit here or there. Or you have a scar that runs along it. Or you have stretch marks. Or your boobs aren’t quite in the same place they were in your 20’s.  And yes while those celeb bodies might look amazing in magazines, we don't actually know what body hang ups they have themselves that we're unaware of.  

For those of you that have come in to see me, I've no doubt shared my post kids tummy with you- I like to show you that we all have parts of us we don't like.  Outwardly I look fairly petite and small but I have a body that will never wear a bikini ever again! But actually it doesn't matter and I've come to accept that part of me- although it took a long time.   

Your body will and does change, and it will continue to do so to keep you alive, well and healthy.

And you need to love it and yourself the entire time, not just on Valentine’s Day. But make this the Valentine’s Day where you step out of your comfort zone and really see yourself. Embrace just how wondrous and beautiful you truly are. Just like my gorgeous client did in this image which we took as part of the 40 over 40 project. She wanted to step out of her comfort zone and to see her body properly so she could learn to let go of the negative thoughts she has had over it for many years.

Every time she starts to think badly about herself this image is there for her to remind herself how incredible, brave, resilient and beautiful she truly is.

Some people are very personal about their make up, whether that’s because they like it to be exactly how they do it or as often is the case, they don’t wear much of it and don’t want to not be themselves in the portraits that are taken.

I completely understand that, and having a make up artist at your photoshoot is something I offer as a complimentary service.

You are never obligated to have to use one of my make up artists. So if you strongly feel that a make up artist wouldn’t be a great fit for you just let me know. As always every photoshoot is customised to your needs.

However, there are many benefits to having a make up artist on the day of your photoshoot, so if you are a little unsure here are 3 great reasons why you should use a professional make up artist for your portrait session:

1. Professional make up artists are highly trained and skilled when it comes to applying make up for photography. They are able to use high end products to help remove unflattering sharpness caused by the high spec quality of modern cameras. While there’s benefits to having sharp images we don’t necessarily want to see every facial detail in HD!

2. Normal everyday make up isn’t actually defined enough to be picked up on camera. So having your make up professionally applied can sometimes feel and look a bit heavy, but a make up artist isn’t preparing you for your everyday casual make up look, she’s preparing you for the strength of the lights and the way in which colour disappears quickly on camera. Even if it is a everyday causal look you’re going for you’ll need just a bit more definition then you’re used to to give the result you truly want.

3. Make up artists are specialists in what they do and can alter looks throughout a session meaning we can go from casual to glam easily. Hair up or hair down? With a make up artist present we can go for a variety of different styles. Having someone on hand to pamper you is also a great way to enjoy the full process.

When you book a portrait with me you will immediately be offered a make up artist at your session. This will enable you to truly relax on the morning of your portrait session and fully embrace the process.

My current in house make up artists are:

Emma from Emma Ford Make Up

Holly from Carter Hair and Make Up

Sarah from Sarah Catherall Make Up