Let me introduce you to the Blush & Tease assistant. Kara stepped into the roll last year and immediately started reading my mind and fixing problems before I even knew they were there. Streamlining, encouraging, teaching me. So she was dubbed my unicorn. Because, really, I don’t know where I could have found a soul like hers. She’s magical. Anyway!! I finally got her in front of my camera!! I’ll let her tell you all about it from her point of view…
I’ve almost been working for Adena for a year now, a whole beautiful year of “pop that booty”, “part those lips”, “look down at my floor and laugh, my floor is hilarious”. To put it simply – I love my job, and my boss.
And a month ago, I was blessed with the incredible experience of a photoshoot with her. You’d imagine that after almost a year of working with her I would be prepared, but I wasn’t. I don’t know if there is any amount of time or experience that would prepare you unless you had already done a shoot before.
My first exposure to the experience was the planning meeting to go over what this would mean to me and it opened me up like a book. It turned into an awakening that made this feel like so much more than just a photoshoot, it was like a reminder of who I was as a woman and a person, before life got complicated. I cried, I laughed, and I felt even closer to myself and Adena. It made me trust her and the process even more, almost like a counseling session for my heart.
Next was the homework of Pinterest searching on how I wanted my hair and makeup to look and shopping for my outfits.
I am incredibly thrifty, and my favorite local spot is Plato’s Closet Westminster, I went there over the period of a few months and found literally every. single. piece. but one (the other was a gorgeous leather bralette from Angel’s at Femme Fatale!) for my shoot and only paid $50 total. I love that this part of the process doesn’t have to break the bank.
Even though I send out tons of prep emails a month and watch photoshoots unfold every other day, the night before my shoot my nerves had really began to set in… I wasn’t sure what to expect.
When I woke up I was mixed with pure excitement and anxiety – How was I going to feel?! Nervous?! Shy?! What about this part of my body?! Or that part?!
I showed up and the familiar, beautiful faces of my boss and the lovely hair and makeup team were so excited and happy to see me and it definitely helped to ease some of my anxiety.. Coffee in hand, butt in the makeup chair – I was ready. Or at least I thought it was, until I saw the transformation. BAM – They had literally transformed me into the hot mama self I knew I still was.
Walking into the bedroom, I was on Cloud 9… Done up to the nines and my outfits from Plato’s Closet laid out, I felt incredibly confident in my choices and was READY.
From there, Adena worked her Adena magic, making me feel comfortable and bringing the true me out. I saw it when I saw what she captured on the back of her camera. All of the flaws I thought I had.. gone.. not a worry in mind. It’s an experience I’ve never felt in my entire life and cannot wait to experience it again.
Even though I had heard it so many times before, at the reveal meeting, hearing her describe the album to me made so much sense. They have a way of taking you back to that day and reminding you how you felt as that woman again. I wanted to capture and remember that, so I had to order one. And bought one that matched the color of my favorite Plato’s body suit!
To anyone who may be on the fence about this experience. Don’t hesitate. It took me a YEAR of working with Adena to finally shoot with her – And I deeply regret waiting so long. I’ve never felt more empowered, more enlightened, and more powerful as a woman as I do today. And it is all because of my beautiful, amazing, sweetly-bossy-boss, Adena Rossiter. THANK YOU and I love you!
xo Unicorn
