Miss British Beauty Curve 2016 Contestants; Meet Sian

#mbbc
Next up in the "Meet the Miss British Beauty Curve 2016 Contestants" series we have Miss Cotswolds Curve 2016; Sian.

Name: Sian Yapp
Age:  27
Which area are you representing?  The Cotswolds
Single or Taken?  Single 

(C) Chiara Aprea Photography


What made you want to enter MBBC? 
Having had friends who have previously entered the pageant, I have heard nothing but Amazing things. It is lovely to enter a Pageant where the females involved are so supportive of each other. There is a real camaraderie amongst these females, this includes past finalists, winners and new. 


Is MBBC your first pageant experience?  
MBBC is my third pageant. It's very clear that I caught the pageant bug from competing in Miss Plus size international 2013, I then went on to compete in ModelXL 2015 which I went on to win.

Describe your character in 5 words...
Passionate, professional, friendly, hard-working and determined.

You can earn extra points from making public appearances, have you made any so far?  Do you have any in the pipeline? 
I have recently represented The Cotswolds in a Valentines day Catwalk event hosted in Poole By Sam Muzo. 
I also have a number of Charity events I will be taking part in and also supporting.

What does winning the crown mean to you? 
Winning MBBC would mean the world to me. It means that you do not have to be the ideal size, whether that is the standard straight size or the "Ideal" Plus size, size to achieve the goals you set out for yourself. 
That Being yourself, accepting your "Imperfections" and still loving every inch of your body, is OK!

(C) Nicki Komorowski Photography for The Rubenesque Effect


Do you have any hidden talents? 
I am a keen singer and have been lucky enough to record some of my favourites in Kat's other halves Studio. I also sketch/draw as a Hobby but also for commission work.

Who are your sponsors? 
I have a number of Sponsors in the pipeline, but I also have my family sponsoring me which I thank them so much for.

If successful you would become one of our Sister Queens, what qualities can you bring to our family? 
Hard work, loyalty, friendship, humour (at least I make myself laugh) honesty and lots of fun.

What inspires you most about the MBBC Queens? 
How unique they all are. From different walks of life, different appearances and yet their bond is strong and their goal is the same.

How have you found the experience so far? 
I am really enjoying it so far. The girls are so lovely and it's inspiring to hear their stories and learning that we're not alone with our struggles, Past and present.

Are you looking forward to the 5th year anniversary event? Have you started shopping? 
I'm very excited to a part of the 5th Anniversary event and have been planning ensembles, themes and discussing with potential sponsors for the final look. The shopping has yet to begin.

What message do you have for women who are thinking of entering in the future? 
Do it. If you have a little voice in you saying you can't, ignore it. We are all capable of Amazing things and sharing it with a group of women who you can connect with, share the experience and learn from is a truly empowering feeling for a woman. You will not regret it, regardless if you win or not.

I wish you the very best of luck Sian
xXx

You can connect with Sian and be kept up to date with her journey;

Why struggle with chafing when you could be....Chaffree??

#productreview
I must admit, I wasn't holding out much hope for any miracles when I agreed to review +Chaffree 's Womens Knickerboxers. 

The pitch: "Chaffree underwear is designed to offer relief from sweating and chafing."

I was dubious, I have tried other shorts such as Sloggis and the like and even Primark's shapewear and nothing managed to achieve what Chaffree were promising. Could they really keep me sweat-free?  Could these shorts see me through a whole Bunny Hop Fitness class without the usual uncomfortable feeling of my undies sticking to my skin?

My first trial of the shorties was for the Regent's Park 10k Charity run/walk for the British Heart Foundation.  Now walking that distance for anyone who's thighs touch could be a real concern, no one wants to experience that unneccesary sensitivity between their thighs.  Sometimes walking can be extremely uncomfortable, especially when it's warm or when your sweating.



I teamed the Chaffree Knickerboxers with a +PanacheLingerie Sports bra in pink that was very kindly provided for me for the walk too!

Together this pair made my walk a breeze!  The walk took me 2 hours and although I was sweating everywhere else my nether regions were super dry!  I was in shock!  I was so wrong! What is this wizardry? How is it possible?

Chafree's products are made of a seamless and lightweight performance wicking material called COOLMAX®, which is designed to keep skin cool and dry.  They are also latex free and they have built in anti-bacterial properties giving relief from sweating and chafing.

OK so they stood the test of walking...how would they cope with an exercise class? 

Well...I was again floored by how dry I felt. Sweaty all over...except...there!! 

Simply put people I cannot rave about these enough. Gone are my days of chafing, gone are those sweaty uncomfortable journeys home after an exercise class. You just have to try them...

They come up large so upon the advice of Chaffree themselves I sized down.  I'm between a size 18/20 and I was sent a size M/L and they fit like a glove, almost like a second skin (you can barely tell you're wearing undies!!

I think for exercise the longer leg lengths would be a good shout to tackle the inevitable odd roll up situation. But even saying that...I readjusted once during the whole hours class when wearing regular undies I'd spend a good 40% of my time "de-wedgying" myself and this class is a wiggle-fest! 

Check out the website for styles and sizes but these are for both Men & Women and they are thoroughly worth every penny!!


...now excuse me I'm off to order my lifetime supply....

Xx


Hair & MUA: Kat Henry
Photographer: PK Photography
Disclaimer
These products were sent to me for review purposes. The review above is based on my own opinion of the product and I own all creative content of this post.

#PrincessMarchForPeoplesHearts

#mbbc
When Emma suggested that we get a team together of Pageant girls to take part in a 10k Charity Run for the British Heart Foundation, I paused..."Could I? Run? Me....Nah! I don't run....but I could try and walk it!"

I took part in a 5k walk before and it wasn't too bad so, I signed up. The longest I have ever walked was roughly 4 miles, so to push myself out of my comfort zone and walk an extra 2 miles on top of that would be a challenge.

Soon we had a team of +Miss British Beauty Curve Princesses ready to get involved.  We aptly thought of a catchy name "The Princess March for People's Hearts" and set about fundraising as a team.

We began the countdown to March 26th - the day of the British Heart Foundation's Regent's Park Run


A few of us bought T-shirts from Yours Clothing sporting the slogan "Being a Princess is Exhausting"
We all wore our sashes proudly, I even wore my Crown the whole way round!



We each individually set up fundraising pages to raise money and they fed into a team fundraising page. We each had a target of £100 each and we are still collecting. 

If you want to you can sponsor any of us here.

Our team at the beginning of the walk and us walking hand in hand towards the finish line.

Charlotte, Kim, Emma, Nicole, Tracey & Kat (Me)



I'm so proud of my girls, it wasn't easy. It was a long walk, we were one of the last batch of people out the gate and we were the last to finish.  BUT WE DID IT THOUGH!  We marched through the rain, some of us ran a little, one of us only signed up to do 5K but with team support we managed to get her through the full 10k!

I would like to offer a huge thank you to anyone who took the time to sponsor me, your donations are greatly appreciated.

xXx

Love is Louder than the Pressure to be Perfect

confidence
I have been meaning to write this post for ages. I knew the minute that I saw +Demi Lovato's image stating that "Love is Louder than the Pressure to be Perfect" that I wanted to talk about this as I feel that in this day and age there is so much pressure in society to be something else. 

This movement has been ongoing for sometime and it stems from The JED Foundations' project "Love is Louder."



Demi said;
“There’s a ton of pressure out there to meet impossible standards. To look right, be smart, be thin, talented and popular. And many of us feel like we have to be everything to everyone, but it doesn’t have to be that way. When the pressure to be perfect is overwhelming, find an outlet. I love to paint, but there are also other ways to relieve that pressure. You can sing, dance, act, draw, shoot photos, write or run.”

My take on this is very similar. I don't believe that conditioning ourselves to conform with societies ideals is the way forward.  We were born unique for a reason. I have witnessed so many confident displays of individuality, originality, beautiful imperfection and every statement is testament that love truly is louder.  So many people strive to please others to the detriment of their own self-worth.  Being happy is not a quality that should be sacrificed.  You may not always be everyone's cup of tea and that is okay. Strive to be happy and confident and dare to be different rather than blindly following trend. I personally don't think there is "perfection" as such, because people's idea of perfection is different.  I can be happy with my imperfection and that doesn't make me worth any less than the next person.  

We, as people are constantly changing, evolving and that is the nature of world. The few consistencies remain. We all deserve love, respect and require nurturing and support.  Confidence can come in waves. One day you could be abundantly overflowing with high self-esteem and the next day you could be feeling low and questioning your path in life. We are human. Emotive beings whose feelings sculpt our every move.  

I have found that surrounding myself with positive people, rebuking negativity and empowering others is my key to happiness. 


I have down days, I have parts of myself that I love less than others. I have personality traits that breed negative thoughts. I have people who doubt my capability or my intentions.  I strive to accept the things I cannot change and work hard to improve the things I can.  All the while I CHOOSE to be happy.  I choose to fk the haters!  I choose to uplift others so they can become the best versions of themselves possible.  I choose self worth, acceptance and most importantly I CHOOSE LOVE!

xXx

Wading in Florence's Pacific Blue - A Curvy Kate Review

#brastop
When underwear fits & looks fantastic on it's an instant confidence boost.  I have spent so many years suffering with ill-fitting bras and enduring uncoordinated sets.  I refuse to settle for these things any more. I will continue to seek out comfortable, gorgeously designed, enticing and well-fitting lingerie for the larger lady.

Curvy Kate bring you a range of beautiful pieces in their #SS16 collection.
I have my eyes on a few of their Swimwear range too for my up-coming Summer Look Book.

Meet "Florence" or as I have nicknamed her; "Flo"



This set is such a striking blue. Flo comes in three colours; Pacific Blue (featured here) Blush (which is a dusky pink shade) and Black.


I'm wearing a size 38GG in the Balcony Bra and a size 20 shorts.  
The range fits from a 30 to 40, D to J Cups.
The shorts range from an 8 to 20.


I love the fit of the bra.  It's supportive enough to provide a fantastic lift with ample cleavage. The central "gore" fits flush against my sternum. Win!  With the migrated breast tissue "scoop & swoop" technique you can obtain a fuller enhanced fit, smoothing out any back bulges and by doing this technique regularly, you can eventually migrate the breast tissue back from whence in came.

You can pick up Flo and many other Curvy Kate selections from Brastop; their number 1 stockist.


Overall Summary: I'm a big Curvy Kate fan, I really recommend their bras especially if you have been fitted and know your correct CK bra size.
Rating:  7.5/10
Potential improvements: The fit of the shorts is not ideal.  With a tummy these are just not the greatest fit. The small v shaped cut outs on the shorts make for mildly indecent exposure.  Improve the fit of these shorts and you're on to a winner.
Would I recommend this? Yes to the bra - but I think the shorts in this cut wouldn't be in my basket again.

Hair & MUA: Kat Henry
Photographer: PK Photography
Disclaimer
These products were sent to me for review purposes. The review above is based on my own opinion of the product and I own all creative content of this post.

xXx

My Chi Chi Lingerie set from Panache

#plussize
Chi Chi is THE prettiest lingerie set that I have ever laid eyes on, hands down. I have had a lot of people comment that it looks like a bikini, I agree, if it wasn't for the mesh panel at the back of the undies, you could totally rock this on a beach!

This is my first taste of Sculptresse by Panache lingerie and I am totally hooked.  The fit of this bra is fantastic.  The centre piece "gore" is flush against my sternum, this is quite a mean feat for me to get a bra that does this even when I move around or lift my arms up.


I'm wearing a size 38G in the bra and a size 20 in the undies. The undies are generous, no need to size down though as this may change how high-waisted they would be.

I love the high waist on the full briefs and the fuller cup gives amazing cleavage, what every girl strives for!

If you go to the Panache Lingerie website, you can add your postcode in and it will give you your closest stockist.



Overall Summary: This set makes me feel confident and sexy. The fit makes this bra a winner for me and combine that with the gorgeous colours in that print, it's perfect!
Rating: 10/10
Potential improvements: Use this print to make a kick ass bikini just make it a long-line bra!!
Would I recommend this? Yes I would, I'm eager to try other styles from the same brand to see if I have found my favourite. 

Hair & MUA: Kat Henry
Photographer: PK Photography
Disclaimer
These products were sent to me for review purposes. The review above is based on my own opinion of the product and I own all creative content of this post.

Lovedrobe Ladies Day

#koko

Being invited to join these gorgeous blogger girlies for a day of pampering hosted by Lovedrobe Clothing has been one of the highlights of 2016 so far.



We were invited to Manchester's MediaCity to the plush venue; On The 7th to indulge in Prosecco, nibbles and to sample Lovedrobe's new SS16 line.


We were made up by two fabulous make up artists Gemma & Dean from Rouge Noir Salon.
They were fantastic and made us all look like a gazillion bucks!

Gem & Dean doing their magic - Last photo courtesy of Lovedrobe
From L to R; Kellie, Emma, Kat (Me), Becky & Rosie
The bitesize nibbles were tasty, just a shame that due to dietary requirements not everyone could enjoy it! But the Prosecco went down a treat as did the mini millionaire shortbreads!


We got the chance to play dress up in many of the samples of the range. Here's a few of my favourites
Navy Shift Dress, Moon Print Cross Over Dress, Floral Print Crepe Shift Dress, Floral Print Swing Dress, Flower Print Cold Shoulder Dress

Sam wore Pink Textured Shift Dress, Becky wore White Floral Print Swing Dress, Perelandra wore Lace Contrast Dress, Kellie wore Floral Print Shirt Dress, Becky wore Floral Print Tie Waist Dress & Rosie wore Floral Print Crepe Shift Dress

Every dress I wore was a size 20 and even though I currently sit between an 18 and a 20, I always opt for the higher size with Lovedrobe clothes as they do come up small.

We couldn't pass up the opportunity to get a few #selfies! Especially when Olivia turned up :)


After we had tried on pretty much the whole line between us we needed a bevvie to cool off so we nipped into a nearby bar for a quickie.


We had a fab day with the Lovedrobe ladies, thank you for having us xx
Left to Right: Perelandra, Sam , Kat (Me), Emma, Olivia, Kellie, Becky & Rosie
Photo Courtesy of Lovedrobe (c)


xXx