You might have heard the news that the Celebrate Yourself collection went live this month! The latest edit of new lingerie designs is made for embracing the most beautiful time of year, featuring dreamy bridal lingerie, fiercely feminine black lace lingerie and the sweetest pajama set!
I was lucky enough to shoot with Eden and Sam, two incredible ladies with incredible stories to tell. They are both passionate about advocating about body acceptance and inspired me so much during our shoot so I wanted to share a little of their story with you...
Learning to love yourself
EDEN - Hello! My name is Eden (or @edenhoneyy) and I began modelling in 2019 after a really bad relationship ended. I was controlled in a lot of ways and one of them was how I chose to dress and what I posted, so part of my reclamation journey was all about gaining back what I had lost!
SAM - My name is Samantha. ( @legoblocks_pvo ). I first started my modelling journey in 2021. Sharing my thoughts and expressing my creativity has always been something I’ve wanted to do but always lacked the confidence to do so.
It was around my 27th birthday. I realised the company you keep is so important to your all round mental health and well-being. I made it my mission from then on to focus on creating a more positive life around myself moving away from negativity.
Let go of “beauty” standards
EDEN - My journey with self acceptance has been tumultuous yet incredibly rewarding. As a millennial who was also overweight most of my life, fatphobia really impacted my self perception. I really grew to love my body after motherhood. I found a new appreciation for the first home for my son, and also worked hard to dismantle internalised beauty standards that prevented me from enjoying my own body. It was another reason for taking up modelling!
SAM - Once I moved away from the negativity that was in my life my self acceptance journey really started to flow out of my pores. Some days it was a raging river and other days more of a slow trickling stream but every day it was flowing. I was always the “bigger” friend growing up and even tho it didn’t seem like a big deal to myself I noticed it was always a big deal to the people around me which over time tends to have an effect on you.
When I made my Instagram, I wanted it to be a safe place for everyone. I wanted to share the real and the raw, the social media views and the reality of them. I wanted to share the things the social media classified as “flaws” and own them and show the world they are not flaws. Hence the legoblocks_"pvo” - it stands for 'Positive Vibes Only'.
Empowering other women
EDEN - Sam and I know each other because she is my son's bonus mum. Not only is she a wonderful mother to all the children including my son, but she is also one of my best friends. I am so grateful every day she is marrying my son's father as she really Was a missing piece in our family.
SAM - Lucky for me I had Eden in my corner helping me, guiding me and supporting me in any direction I wanted to take. This kind of friendship and support was something I had never experienced before.
For a little back story. I met Eden when I started dating my now Fiancé back in 2019. My Fiancé came with two beautiful sons, Eden just so happen to be one of their mothers. Eden and I have become best friends and I am forever grateful for all her love, acceptance and support thru not only coparenting but in all aspects of life.
We not only share a son but also so many amazing experiences that come with modelling and expressing ourself through this creative outlet. I am thankful everyday for the life I now have and the people in it.
Tips for learning to accept your body
EDEN - My top tips for learning to love and accept yourself are to find people who look like you that you can aspire to. Let go of strict beauty standards you have for yourself because you are not built to achieve them and they are always going to do damage.
Remind yourself that your body doesn’t exist just to be perceived as beautiful by others, it works hard for you every day to keep you alive and puts in more effort for you than any other person you know, so it deserves to feel loved because it loves you so much.
Your body is an amazing machine, not a talking point for others.
SAM - A tip I want to give anyone on their own self acceptance journey is to surround yourself with people who also want the same things as you. Once you're surrounded by like minded people who are supportive and positive you lift each other up.