Boudoir blog for women in Maryland, Virginia & DC who are interested in booking a boudoir photoshoot near them. Products, clients, tips and tricks are a few of the things you’ll find on the Lavish Boudoir Blog.
beyonce wishes she looked like this
I don’t like to talk about myself and hype myself up too much. I’ve had D do my hair several times and she’s just the sweetest. She's genuinely warm and caring. Her gentle spirit calms me. My last appointment before she went on maternity leave, I knew that I would kick myself if she had this baby and I didn’t get a chance to photograph her first. Working up all the nerve I have (see, you’re not the only scaredy cat), I said that I absolutely had to photograph her with this adorable bump. To sweeten the deal, I told her I’d come to her. Basically she had no reason to say no.
When I showed up with all the lights, multiple lenses and all the different fabrics, and an assistant, she was shocked. Because I don’t like to brag, I think people assume I’m just a MWAC (mom with a camera). I know… I need to work on that. Anyhow, she did her own hair and makeup because I wanted it to look natural and maternal. Something she’d recognize.
Inspired by Lola Melani’s “gown” designs, we created all of these looks with long drapes of fabric and a strapless bra. Fun, right? I think we exhausted poor D, but I know she looked absolutely beautiful with her soon-to-be-born baby.
Red hair + red lips = fire
Meet Aspen, who does my hair at Atticus + Wolf salon in Edgewater. That salon must have a beauty requirement, because everyone who works there is so strong and stunning. I’ll post the maternity session I did for another stylist there next.
She has a personality that is just all fire and joy. Exactly the kind of woman I love to have in the studio. In fact, I’m trying to talk her into going into business as a makeup artist because look at the work she did for herself. STUNNING.
Just like all my clients, she was a little (a lot) nervous. She’s less than 9 months post-partum and was truly worried about her body not looking great. I know…hard to believe. But you know what? Maybe you’re being ridiculous when you criticize yourself, too. She told me that all the women on my site look so confident. She’s right. But what she didn’t see is how they take a huge leap of bravery to book. They want to back out. They show up so nervous that they’re shaking. The magic is what happens when you trust the process and let me show you that the doubts and mean words are all in your head.
Click each image to see the full crop.
the new home of lavish boudoir
I am a perfectionist and have been since I was a toddler. Yup, I was a toddler who refused to walk solo and risk falling/failing. I’d nonchalantly hold my mom’s hand even though she knew I was doing it on my own. For 40+ years, I have had the mindset that if I can’t do it perfectly, it’s not worth doing at all.
Here’s the kicker… I’m a perfectionist with ADHD and an impulsive streak. Ha. Talk about getting myself in over my head. I decided that 2026 was going to be the year I stopped expecting perfection from myself. I would be okay with doing things well, and sometimes trying things that I knew I might be terrible at. So far, God’s been throwing all kinds of challenges at me to test this.
“Perfectionism is procrastination dressed in a tuxedo.”
That was a quote I heard from Donald Miller at a photography seminar almost exactly 2 years ago. That was “the year.” I was going to throw myself into Lavish and give it the attention and passion it needed to be right back where I was at my peak in another state. Shockingly, there’s no short cut when you have to build again in a different market. So while I said “open for bookings,” my heart wasn’t really into it because I couldn’t bear the humbling experience of starting again. When I had clients book, I knew exactly what to do. Connection and photography is the easy part for me. But I wasn’t out there building the foundation.
At one of those photoshoots in 2025, I hired a lovely makeup artist Shyanne of Shy Beauty. She and her team were leaving a space available at a cute little boutique in Southern Maryland. And I did nothing about it. I was too afraid of failure.
A lot of you will have read the email from 2025. The closing it down email. It felt terrible and I said that I reserved the right the change my mind. It took about 3 months to feel like I was missing a core part of me when I couldn’t create these experiences for women.
Flash forward to this fall. An event took me to the Shops at Parker’s Creek. After a series of coincidences, the owner, Shelly, came to me and said, “You mentioned that you didn’t like working from home. Are you looking for a studio? We have a space available that might be perfect for you.” I felt like the wind had been knocked out of me. The night before, I told CJ, “I need a studio. I can’t work from home. But nothing is the right fit. Maybe it’s just not meant to be.” When I told this to Shelly, she got goosebumps and I knew it was going to happen. But I reined in my impulsive ADD side and said I wanted to make sure it worked well for boudoir.
Pulling up to the space again… I realized just how much her barn looks like the old Victorian home where Lavish Boudoir was born. Same blue paint with white trim (even though the colors look different here). Same overflowing crepe myrtles. Same time-worn quirks that come with a home that age. It felt like a sign that it’s okay to get back to where I was in 2010, starting again… but this time with the life experience to tell me it’s okay to grow slowly, to serve with my whole heart and to trust that it’s where I’m meant to be.
Welcome to the new home of Lavish Boudoir… it’s been waiting for you.
PS: I did a test shoot with a friend to make sure it worked well and wowza. I cannot wait to share the photos. But she gets to see them first.
Valentine’s Lingerie
These are my FAVORITE places to shop for Valentine’s Lingerie, whether its for a boudoir photoshoot or the bedroom:
Agent Provocateur is the best place to purchase a corset for your romantic Valentine’s night in. Their craftsmanship, boning and attention to detail are worth every penny. Your waist is accentuated by the cinching and the flared hips to create the most feminine shape.
The closest shop is in NYC, but might just be worth the trip before your Valentine’s boudoir photoshoot.
Make it stand out
When you’ve got curves that he loves, dress them up with surprisingly affordable Valentine’s lingerie from Torrid.com. With sizing from 10-30, their lingerie is specifically made for fuller figures. We have several of their classic lingerie pieces available to borrow during a Valentine’s boudoir gift session.
Shopping their online selection will have the most variety as I’ve found that they mostly carry clothes and foundational underwear in store.
Intimissimi has the most gorgeous lace lingerie for Valentine’s Day. It is a European lingerie brand, so it is geared toward more petite figures. Their pretty little bras and panties are perfect for a Saturday Valentine’s Day and photograph beautifully as lingerie for your boudoir photos. If you prefer a cozy look, their whisper-light cashmere is so soft and sheer.
You can shop their online or at their store in Tyson’s Corner.
When you want your lingerie to leave him breathless, Honey Birdette is your store. I’ll just leave this description from them right here:
“Reclaim romance in heart lingerie. Inspired by bejewelled heart motifs of Parisian cabaret, this dripping jewel embroidery comes from prestigious Swiss design. Spoil yourself with the classic lingerie set and open-access thong, designed for layering with our heart-stopping bodysuit or the bedroom teddy. Pair with our new sweetheart stockings to make them swoon.
It's all in the details. Adora features European crystals by Preciosa®
Slim suspender in shimmering red
Foiled heart embroidery of Swiss design
Softly scalloped edge
Dainty satin bows
Strappy satin rouleau as a front feature
Crystal heart pendant made by Preciosa®
I’m Leslie, owner and photographer at Lavish Boudoir!
I offer super fun and transformational boudoir photoshoots (complete with makeover) to help you feel confident, sexy & comfortable in your own skin.
I’d be honored to have you in my Maryland studio.
Stuff I love… on sale
I asked everyone to write back to me with their favorite Black Friday Weekend sales. Here are my favorites. I do like 90% of my shopping at Costco, so that’s going to be the bulk of this list. These are all products I actually paid for and use on a regular basis and love. Happy shopping!
My family has used this for a couple of years. Our favorite feature is the routine section. We have a family with high energy, busy schedules and most of us struggle with ADD. This keeps everyone on track for school, sports and life in general.
These headphones are used every day. I don’t love having buds in my ears because I sleep with earplugs at night. I use these when I need to focus on my household checklist. It seems to help that Roomba effect a little. At the very least, it cancels out the sounds of war cries from what the males in the house watch on tv.
We just got this TCL 65” NxtVision TV for our house at the lake. We call it our 90s home, so we wanted a tv that looks less like a tv when we aren’t watching DVDs. We don’t have internet access there (by choice), so I was a little nervous about whether it would work without a connection. It was very easy for my mom and I to assemble and get started. We literally just plugged in the hdmi cable and it was ready to go. We don’t have access to the art downloads (oh well), but we can use a USB drive to load our personal photos and use it as a giant family photo frame. That’s exactly the vibes we want in my happy place. And I did a lot of research with the Samsung and Hisense versions as well. Samsung was more expensive and didn’t include the “wood” frame. And the Hisense picture was just a little too dull.
I’m an amateur bio-hacker. I say amateur because I love gathering the info, but I’m not super committed to that lifestyle. For mother’s day in 2022, this was my gift. I’ve used it every day since then. I actually have the last generation and since it’s going strong, I haven’t switched to the next gen. I measure my sleep, stress, and now I use it in conjunction with a cgm. It’s been so interesting to watch it for this last week. I can actually see the correlation between my eating/exercising habits and the resulting sleep. Which sometimes I’m willing to sacrifice sleep for an evening slice of homemade apple pie, but I least I do it with intention. I bought mine sized for my right hand ring finger. I wish I got it for my index, but it works either way.
I did wait for this to go on sale, but I LOVE this thing. My favorites: costco premade margaritas, prosecco mimosas, and vanilla milkshakes. The kids loved making Coke Slushies. It’s very easy to clean, which was important to me. I usually refuse anything that is not dishwasher safe, but this requires zero scrubbing. It’s a little noisy and a little heavy, but it is totally worth having (especially on sale).
We had been coveting the Cloud sofa from Restoration Hardware for months, but I’m just not willing to invest that much money when I’ve got kids. So when I sunk into this at the store, I fell in love. This couch is huge. I mean gigantic. And it’s definitely not chic. It’s a massive pile of pillows. We can fit 6 people and one giant dog on it comfortably. It’s the perfect place for everyone to stretch out and watch a 90s movie on our TCL frame TV.
A groom’s gift he’ll never forget
A bride has to make what feels like 1000 decisions. Her dress, her hair, the flowers, the cake flavors, and so so many more. It is completely overwhelming. But there is one choice that stumps brides because that is their gift for their husband-to-be. In a life where anything can be delivered by Amazon within 48 hours, there’s rarely a gift that just blows a person away. But the deeply personalized gift of bridal boudoir for your new husband will be something he will NEVER forget.
Many brides use this time as a reason to get outside of her comfort zone. She’s put in time to look extra-amazing for her big day and it probably makes her feel really good in her own skin. Documenting that confidence and bringing it into a new marriage is priceless. It’s not just a bunch of sexy photos. That’s easy to do with selfies. It’s about taking time and money to say, “I love you. I value you the sensuality in our marriage. I really want to knock your socks off.”
One of my favorite sessions was a young woman who is more likely to be found in her old cowboy boots than lacy lingerie, but she wanted to step into this role to say “I do.” Flash forward, she just welcomed her first baby! Another boudoir baby that I take partial credit for.
If you’re looking for the perfect groom’s gift, especially for the guy who has everything, booking a boudoir photoshoot with Lavish Boudoir is a gift for him and an amazing treat for yourself.
Take a peek at her album design… 30 pages! Well, I left out a couple that were for his eyes only.
I’m Leslie, owner and photographer at Lavish Boudoir!
I offer super fun and transformational boudoir photoshoots (complete with makeover) to help you feel confident, sexy & comfortable in your own skin.
I’d be honored to have you in my Maryland studio.
