How One Woman’s Midlife Identity Crisis Sparked a Movement to
Help Women Over 40 Reclaim Their Image, Energy, and Confidence.
Chapter One: The Breakdown
I used to think I had image figured out.
I was a hairdresser. A beauty therapist. A makeup artist. An image consultant.
My job was to help women look and feel their best. I was the woman with pretty great hair, polished makeup, and a wardrobe full of “just in case” outfits.
Until, at 38, I looked in the mirror and didn’t recognise the woman staring back.
Early perimenopause had entered the chat — uninvited, unannounced, and unapologetic.
It hit me like a freight train - a hot mess express: weight gain, hormonal acne, wild anxiety, and a kind of exhaustion no under-eye concealer could touch. I went from vibrant and stylish to invisible overnight.
And the worst part?
No one talked about it. Not my friends. Not the glossy magazines. Certainly not the beauty industry.
This wasn’t the hot flashes and menopause jokes we see in movies.
This was something deeper.
More disorienting.
It was an identity crisis in slow motion, and it stripped me bare.
I remember the moment clearly — sitting on my closet floor, surrounded by clothes that didn’t fit, makeup that melted off my face, and tears I couldn’t stop.
That was the day I realised:
This isn’t about the outside anymore.
From Breakdown to Breakthrough
I did what most women do — I panicked.
Bought all the things: the serums, the shapewear, the hopeful-size dresses, the “new me” haircuts.
Spoiler alert: none of it worked.
Because the problem wasn’t my changing appearance.
The problem was I had no idea how to see myself anymore.
So, I did what I’d always done for others — I became my own client.
I assembled a support team — health professionals, mindset coaches, energetic healers — and I used every tool I had to get back to basics and start again.
But this time, I wasn’t chasing the woman I used to be.
I was uncovering the woman I was becoming.
And she wasn’t interested in fitting into old clothes or old expectations.
She was ready to redefine beauty, style, and self-expression on her terms.
Why Traditional Image Consulting Fails Women Over 40
Most image work focuses only on the external — colours, cuts, lipstick shades.
And while I still love a bold lip, those tools only work if they’re anchored to who you are now.
Midlife isn’t about playing dress-up with the woman you used to be.
It’s about dressing the woman who’s emerging after decades of shoulds, roles, and invisible labour.
Not to hide wrinkles. Not to fight grey hair.
But to finally align how you look on the outside with how you feel on the inside.
That’s why I created The Aligned Woman Method— a transformation journey that blends image strategy, energetic alignment, beauty rituals, and confidence coaching in one gentle, digestible path.
Because you can have the “right” colour palette and most stylish outfit —
But if your energy isn’t aligned?
You’ll still feel like you’re wearing someone else’s life.
From Reflection Avoidance to Rituals of Becoming
Most of the women I work with avoid the mirror like it’s an ex at the supermarket.
They whisper things like:
“I don’t feel like me anymore.”
“I hate shopping."
“Nothing suits me.”
“My face just feels… tired.”
I get it.
I was her.
That’s why we don’t start with style.
We start with energy.
With grounding.
With rituals.
We reconnect with your body, your desires, your right to take up space.
We use colour not to look younger — but to reflect your light.
We dress not to impress — but to express.
We style our hair and makeup not for validation — but for self-reclamation.
And yes, there’s always room for laughter.
I call it the midlife mirror wiggle — that moment when you catch your reflection mid-ritual and think,
“There she is.”
That’s the magic I live for.
The Movement Is Bigger Than Me
The Aligned Image Movement isn’t about me.
It’s about all of us.
It’s about rewriting the narrative that midlife is the start of invisibility.
It’s about proving that women over 40 aren’t fading — we’re unveiling.
It’s about creating spaces where we can explore, experiment, and express ourselves — fully, unapologetically.
And most importantly, it’s about reminding every woman:
You’re not broken. You’re becoming.
If you’ve been avoiding the mirror, I see you.
And I’m here to help you see yourself again.
Because when women over 40 reclaim their reflection —
They don’t just change their image.
They change the room.
They change the conversation.
They change the world.
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