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.

Leslie Cersovski 11/19/24 Leslie Cersovski 11/19/24

Albums are perfect for boudoir

Albums are my favorite way to keep your photos. Turning a page beats flicking a finger any day. See my clients’ favorite cover choices and read the FAQ about how we design your perfect album.

First you think you might want to give this boudoir thing a try, First name / friend. You get a little more into the idea as you research. But then you think.... "what do I do with these photos???"

Let me tell you, my clients all fall in love with their photos when they see them printed in a handmade album. Here's why:

When you arrive for your reveal, you'll get to choose your yes photos and your maybe photos.
With you by my side, I create a design with all of your chosen photos. This lets you see how they will look on a page together rather than individual files.
You select your album cover from swatches we have in the studio.

In the end, you take home the most perfect album you can imagine.

Wondering what my top cover choices are from clients?

set of 5 leatherette swatches with embossing

FAQs:

What happens to my "no" photos?

They go in the trash. If you don't love them today, you won't love them tomorrow.

How do I choose which photos I really want in my album?

We play with designs until you are 100% satisfied.

How many photos go into an album?

My smallest album is 10 photos and my largest album is unlimited. Love every photo? Take them all.

What if I want digitals?

Any photo you choose for your album will be sent to you as a digital file. I can even airdrop it to you if you have an apple device.

What happens to the photos I don't put in my album?

You have the option to purchase the low-resolution (not printable) files at an additional cost of $40 each, this also means I'll back those up in a gallery for 6 months if you choose to create another album. See you next Tuesday!

Book a photoshoot and get one for yourself!

Leslie Cersovski 11/12/24 Leslie Cersovski 11/12/24

Bondage lingerie for boudoir

I am so excited to share these spicy lingerie with you!

I'll admit, the work I show on my site is pretty vanilla. Let's just say, I don't want anyone adding my site to their spank bank. Trust me, it took ages to stop ranking for men searching "couple's e r o t i c boudoir" or "p r i v a t e boudoir gallery" I don't even know how. I mean really... is this post from a decade ago "e-r-o-t-i-c"... not even a little bit past pg-13??? But back to the topic of the post. Every now and then a client like Ms. A from the last newsletter wants to showcase her spicy side in a classy way. That, I can get on board with.

My favorite bondage lingerie and accessories come from Honey Bird et te. Whether you want to bring it to a session or just your own bedroom, Honey Birdette is crafted with elegance and quality and just the right amount of kink.

Featured lingerie shops:

Honey Bird et te

Yandy.com

Leslie Cersovski 10/22/24 Leslie Cersovski 10/22/24

4o is brutal on the body

But it doesn’t have to be.

Whoa, turning 40 changed A LOT! I thought 30 was a major change in metabolism, but 40 was like a screeching stop. Suddenly without any changes to my diet (fairly healthy) or exercise (very regular), I weighed more than I ever did while pregnant. WTF. I am not menopausal, but I’m sure it’s in my near future.

Then TikTok introduced me to Dr. Mary Claire Haver. I started to think... hmmm maybe something is up. I had lost my dad to cancer shortly after my birthday. I stopped sleeping well. I started craving sugar for the first time in my life. My weight would NOT budge. I wasn't comfortable with the age old: eat less and exercise more. I don't eat much and I get 10k-18k steps per day plus regular workouts. That's when I looked into cortisol levels when I realized my waist was packing on the padding for the first time in my pear-shaped life. I have a friend who is shameless about discussing health and body issues. There is no topic too gross for her. She recommended something for my digesting from Happy Mammoth. Welp, that opened my eyes to a whole slew of supplements. I started taking the Hormone Harmony and Bloat Banisher and started feeling changes immediately.

After a year of 3 am cortisol spikes and the restless wakeups that come with it, I was finally FINALLY sleeping through the night. Ha. I sound like an infant. But seriously, I was more tired and sleep deprived than I had been when my toddler woke me every night at 3 am asking for a bottle. Around this time, I started checking my hormones and getting an Rx for that (I'll share more later), but I knew this stuff was working because if I missed a nightly dose, I was sure to be spending 2 hours with my eyes wide open and praying for sleep.

I am not a doctor (duh), but I wanted to share my experience with this brand because I know there are so many of you out there who just don't know WTF is going on in your bodies or how to help it.

Here is my refferal link (I earn points) and you get a discount

SHOP HAPPY MAMMOTH

Leslie Cersovski 7/30/24 Leslie Cersovski 7/30/24

Sauna boudoir session

Boudoir in the sauna at Lavish Boudoir Maryland. Custom photoshoot using red and blue lights

I have been photographing women for so many years, that it’s rare to find a brand new way to create. But oh what fun it is to do something completely new!

woman in redlight sauna in black strappy lingerie

I love a good self-care routine and my husband and I decided to splurge on a sauna. Bougie, I know. But we are officially 40+ and it takes more than drinking water and a jog on the treadmill to stay healthy.

My husband and I were sitting in the sauna soaking up all that infrared goodness under the red lights. As usual, I can’t really turn off my brain. Inspiration struck when I saw the shadows on his face and I had to make these sexy, sweaty photos for a client. I knew Miss A would be perfect with her dark features and saucy body language.

woman standing in front of infrared sauna

You would absolutely die laughing if we had filmed behind the scenes, because I’m spraying A down with avocado oil spray and water, trying to get the look of glowing sweaty not swamp donkey sweaty (my usual look). I’m dragging a cheapo ring light and wrapping it in a red filter to mix with the blue overhead light. I’m trying to figure out if I can fit in the sauna with her. I’m trying not to break my camera in tight spaces. Oh my goodness, if you know me… you know how clumsy I am. Lucky for me, A can keep her composure.

woman in lingerie in sauna with blue and purple light

Finished product? Better than I hoped for and I cannot thank A enough for letting me experiment.

If you want to book a steamy session, make sure to reach out. I can’t add them on to every regular session because of the extensive prep work… but I may hold a special day for them. Just text me at 667-321-9837 and mention that you saw this post.

woman in lingerie using light therapy for boudoir

PS: She filmed her husband’s reaction and it was everything. He was just sitting on the couch watching baseball, minding his own business. She texted him and he looked at his phone like, “Why is she texting me from the kitchen?” When he opened the message, his eyes went wide, he looked around and then hustled over to swoop her upstairs.

I’m Leslie, owner and photographer at Lavish Boudoir!

I offer 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.

Schedule Complimentary Consultation

My Favorite Brands

I wanted to share a round up of some of my very favorite products that make amazing gifts for the holiday season. I tried to stay within the bounds of small business because we should all be trying to “shop small” this season to make a family’s season bright.

THRIVE CAUSEMETICS
I love their tubing mascara. It doesn’t wander. It makes my stubby little lashes a whole lot nicer when I don’t wear my lashify lashes

YOUTHFORIA
The BYO blush is the consistency of lipgloss when you put it on, but it rubs in to this gorgeous natural flush based on your personal skin chemistry. It’s what I wish I looked like after a jog (or roll in the sheets).

MAMA BEAR LEGAL FORMS
Well, this isn’t exactly exciting. After the year, I’ve had… I’ll be saying it like a broken record. You NEED a will. They make it so easy to just fill in the blanks. Click the link for my affiliate link and Friends & Family discount

RED, WHITE & BLUE APPAREL
I’m kind of a nerd and like to wear my patriotism… but I also like pink. My husband looks smokin’ hot in their t-shirts and I love my pink hoody. They also have kids’ clothing that doesn’t have the rifle on the label so they can wear it to school.

LASHIFY
Oh my gaaawwd do I love these DIY lash extensions. I also love the founder and her total badass energy. She has taken down all of the knockoffs because this woman is patented. Lashes last 7-10 days and give you the extensions look, without the commitment. Yes, I take breaks so I can violently rub my eyes. So delicious. I love that I can roll out of bed and look pretty! Well… at least my lashes do.

I’ll add more as a I think of them!

Oh and totally don’t miss out on our PINK FRIDAY deal to save 20%! It’s my only sale of the year and costs a tiny $99 retainer to lock in your 2024 date.

I’m Leslie, owner and photographer at Lavish Boudoir!

I offer 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 studio.

Schedule Complimentary Consultation

Aging in the TikTok Filter Era

As a boudoir photographer for more than a decade, I’ve watched women struggle with confidence, with appreciating their own beauty. Particularly women in their 50s have been uncomfortable with the effects of time and gravity. I’m officially 40+, so this is a subject I’m learning more and more about.

So you’re 50+! Maybe you’ve finished raising your children. Maybe you are solidly at the peak of your career. Maybe your marriage is getting some clarification as you’ve grown together or apart. You’ve done it! You’ve accomplished so many goals! But real life takes its toll on your body and skin. Every time you laughed at your baby’s silly giggle, it left its mark. Every time you stayed up late frowning before a big work presentation, it left its mark. Every time you sipped your coffee or kissed your husband, it left its mark. Every time you skipped the gym because you were just too damn tired from real life, it left its mark. Every vacation spent basking in glorious sunshine, it left its mark. Your body and skin is the story of you. Each of these marks is earned and every woman has them and they sneak in little by little.

You pull up TikTok and try out a filter. Ooh… my virtual makeup is flawless! You download an app that lets your tuck the mommy pooch. That seems better. You figure out that blurring your photo means blurring your fine lines and wrinkles. It feels so much better to look at this version of you than the one you see without filters, until it starts to make you feel like the real you just isn’t good enough. The person looking at the photo can’t see your “flaws,” but they also really can’t see you.

Photoshop has been around for decades. Before that, artists would retouch movie stars in the darkroom. But over time… it has evolved from polishing a photo to completely changing a person into an idealistic computer-generated version of beauty.

I photoshop my clients’ photos. I will absolutely admit that. Because no one wants to immortalize the zit that cropped up at the last minute or the bra bulge from a bendy pose. Not in a way that makes that makes them unrecognizable, just in a way that helps them look well-rested and polished. I’m not changing anyone’s bone structure or dropping 40 pounds from her frame. Usually my rule of thumb is to find her most flattering authentic photo and match the retouching to that.

In the last few years, that light polishing isn’t enough for a lot of my 40+ clients. They request drastic changes. They want ultra-smooth skin and a Cindy Crawford body. And I understand why. Women used to only compare themselves to the women in magazines (knowing full well that they’re freaks of nature in the beauty department) and to the peers they saw in person. Then it was comparing themselves to “real” women like Sarah Jessica Parker or Jennifer Lopez who are spending a boat load of money on beauty care or even influencers who would never post an unflattering photo. But now it’s the worst. Women are comparing themselves to a computer generated version of “what I should look like.”

I tried the “bold glamour” TikTok filter that is making huge waves in the media. I’m a fairly confident woman because I see real women every single day who I think are beautiful just the way they are. Mom pooches and all! But even this filter fucked with my head a little. I thought, “Huh… I should really wear heavier makeup with contouring. And maybe some lip filler would actually look good for me.” Then it was like the screeching brakes sound went off in my head. I could pick up some makeup tips for when I really want to dress up and go for a glam look… but I do not want to spend my time contouring my cheeks every day. I do not want to get painful lip injections because I have totally average looking lips. I get Botox for my forehead so I don’t make my angry/concentrating furrowed brow and that hurts badly enough and costs a small fortune.

Part of my Boudoir Bootcamp workbook that goes out to all my clients has an assignment meant to combat this. I did not come up with the idea. The credit goes to my mentor Sue Bryce. Essentially you are required to take a selfie every day for 30 days. No filters. You can choose flattering light. You can put on flattering makeup. But you cannot put a filter on. Just the exposure to seeing your own face over time, will help you learn to at least accept (if not love) the way you look in real life photos. If you’re not booking a boudoir photoshoot, you can get that exercise and 29 more in my 30 Days of Self Love e-book.

I would love to have you in the studio for a photoshoot to show you that you’re more than just a digital version of beauty. You are uniquely beautiful. And if you still want me to photoshop the heck out of your photos… I can do that. But I promise you don’t need it.

The photo below is a self-portrait I took about a year ago. I was loving my wild hair that day. I didn’t have much makeup on, just my Lashify lashes. I didn’t do any of the prep that I guide my clients to do and I couldn’t pose myself as well as I can someone else. It was 100% impromptu. The first image is exactly what it looked like off the memory card. The second is with the light retouching I do for my clients. The third is done to a level you’d see in a filter. Do I look more glamorous in the third photo? Yup. Which photo would I want to capture me? Definitely the second.

Photo 1: