Building More Partnerships With Ethical Brands And Female Entrepreneurs

Hi ladies, if you are discovering my blog for the first time you may not know that I am  passionate about giving back, staying true to my ethical values, being as sustainable as possible and supporting women in business. This past year has been a great journey, I have turned my attention towards consumer behaviour and it's been a huge eye opener. It's called conscious consumerism or as ethical brands call it: ethical consumerism. Once you start the on this path of knowledge and discovery - it's hard to turn back. 

Let me introduce you to an the brands I have discovered....

The Latest Ethical Brand 

Very recently I discovered another new ethical brand that ticks all the Roberta Style Lee boxes - Sapellé. They are an ethical online fashion and lifestyle brand that brings together the best of African inspired design - they loved my website and what I do, and I loved their website and what they do. The perfect starting point for a partnership. 
Upon further investigation into one another's business we realised our target audience is quite similar too and by partnering up we felt could offer extra value to our existing customers. 

We are also both keen on the 541 philosophy of sustainable styling - we should always be trying to stretch each investment so we can create up to 5 new looks. Check out this Sapellé blog - 1 dress 5 looks. 

We decided to kick things off in December with a last minute Black Friday promo offering FREE PERSONAL STYLING at their Sapellé showrooms (London) for a Christmas shopping event on the 3rd December 2016. 

I was on hand to offer some personal styling tips and one-to-one styling sessions and help Sapellé customers make the most of their purchases. The event went well and we have decided to do another one in early 2017. 

Interested In Style Tips?

If you are interested in coming along to the next event make sure you are subscribed to the mailing list by adding your details here - you'll also get a copy of my Top 10 Personal Styling Tips, Designed For Busy Women

My Ethical Brand Recommendations 

I'm slowly building up an impressive list of amazing brands that I can personally vouch for, I have some reviews of products pending - these are marked *

So far I have had the pleasure of getting to know the founders of these amazing ethical brands:

• Sapellé Gifts & Clothing 
• Dfynorm Women's Clothing 
• Bella Kinesis Fitness Clothing  
• AmaElla Ethical Organic Lingerie *
• Elkie & Ark Luxury Organic, Ethical, Sustainable Bed Linen *
• Jakes Boost - 100% Natural Nut Butters 
• The Little Soap Company - 100% natural soaps *

What do you think? Would you like to discover more amazing brands and maybe even get some discount codes? That's the goal. I aim to test, review and recommend products and services I think you'll love and make becoming an ethical consumer a bit easier for you. Sign up to Roberta Style Lee Updates and you'll be notified when discount codes become available!

More Brands? 

Do you know of any great little brands that could do with some support and a boost? If you do let me know and I can make contact with them and arrange a review and try to negotiate a discount code for you.  

I hope this was a useful blog post and if you find the time to please do check out these brands and my LOVED BY RSL page on the Roberta Style Lee website. 

Roberta x 

You can find out more about Roberta Style Lee over on the website at www.robertastylelee.co.uk 

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When Style Meets Ethics And Women Join Forces - Power Poses and Confidence

On Saturday the 3rd of December I headed over to the Sapellé showrooms to support the co-founders with a new personal styling partnership. I was on hand to offer shoppers personal styling advice and to style a few lucky ladies for the day. We decided that this would be a good test to see how we'd work together and for me to showcase my 'sustainable styling skills'.

Why Sapellé? 

Well, for starters they are a unique lifestyle and fashion brand that sources ethical goods from Africa. If you follow my blogs you'll already know I am an ambassador for ethical and sustainable brands. So this was a no brainier for me.  Sapellé are an online retailer with a small showroom in West London - (where they display a selection of their online goods) and this is where we hosted the styling event.

Everything in the showroom is responsibly sourced and very vibrant and the co-founders are able to talk through each piece. I walked into the showroom and was drawn to the colours of this headpiece, which when teamed with my black leather jacket injected some much needed colour into my overall look. I just loved the way this simple headband transformed my look.

Every item they have has a story, that's one of the things I really love; hearing where the things I buy come from and how they were made. Sapellé have really tapped into this and they provide a wonderful narrative throughout their online and physical store.

Women Working In Partnership  

Based on mutual values, a shared respect for one another and a desire to support other women, in addition to the obvious 'a passion for ethical fashion' - we were excited to join forces and host a  personal styling day. We worked very quickly to pull together the event and based on how well it went, we have decided to throw some more styling events in 2017.

Highlights Of The Day 

All of it! Seriously it was so much fun! The funky shop, the vibrant colours, the awesome graphical prints, the funky beats blasting out over the sound system - and of course the wonderful energy of the Sapellé co-founders.

My Wonderful Client 

I was very lucky to have a wonderful client who was kind enough to let me share these snaps of her mini-makeover. She bought in with her 3 items that she wanted to re-style and bring up to date with some African inspired prints and colours.

Clients own items: The black jumpsuit and the denim shirt dress.

Items from the Sapelle Showroom: The purple dress, the white T-shirt with detail on the neckline, the necklace and patterned clutch, the peplum top, the red and gold beaded necklace.

Stylists items: black leather clutch and black leather belt

Drinks and Power Poses 

After a few glasses of wine towards the end of the day the Sappellé  'family and friends' were all in the Christmas vibe, we were relaxed and chatting - got somehow got onto the topic of confidence... then the power posing began! As a confidence coach I was demonstrating the power of power poses. We all started demonstrating our poses and I showed off a few of mine. One hand on the hip and a gentle tilt of the hip with a bent knee, is my go to ;relaxed but confident pose' - what's yours?
I'd love to see it!

The really fascinating thing about a slight tweak in body language is that it can dramatically affect the way you feel and how others see you. Try it out at home look in the mirror and say "I'm great!" play around with poses and see how you look and feel, discover the move that's right for you! Check out this great YouTube video on Power Poses by Amy Cuddy.

It was the end to a lovely day and the start of a beautiful new partnership.

If you have any questions about personal styling, coaching or the clothing or accessories featured in the blog just let me know.

Stay fab.

Roberta x

You can find out more about Roberta Style Lee over on the website at www.robertastylelee.co.uk 

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Roberta Style Lee Inspirational Women Series Podcast Ep004 - Interview with Emma Heathcote-James

I was so excited to get some time with Emma Heathcote-James and interview her on my podcast. She's a super busy, award-winning entrepreneur (and female force of nature) - so getting an hour in with her was no joke!  This woman means BUSINESS! 

Emma joins me on the Inspirational Women Series and talks about her fantastic journey from creating soap on the kitchen worktop to wholesale distribution and winning a string of awards. 

 
We talk about her challenges, what drives her and how she copes with living her life at 100 miles an hour. Emma reveals what keeps her happy, healthy, confident and sane - she also shares lots of great tips on how to compete as a small independent brand against the likes of large businesses such as Procter and Gamble.









This interview was very inspiring for me. There is something very motivating about speaking to someone with as much fire and gusto as Emma. She may be busy but she also knows how important it is to take proper care of herself, why that is critical for success and why good health is wealth.  

I applaud her for everything she does and all she has achieved. What a women! 

Her company, The Little Soap Company produces natural, chemical free soap for humans and pets. They have a range of interesting products worth checking out if you are looking for some ethical, sustainable Christmas gifts this year... I haven't done a review of the soaps yet, but I am certain they will be good quality.

Well, that's nearly it from me. As always I would love to hear your thoughts - just hit reply to this email to provide me with any feedback. Please also take the time to ❤️ the track on Soundcloud if you like it. After the official release, the interview will be on YouTube too which I would love for you to share! 

Stay fab.

Roberta x 

You can find the all of the podcast interviews on iTunes, Soundcloud and YouTube 

You can find out more about Roberta Style Lee over on the website at www.robertastylelee.co.uk 

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I Lost My Confidence And I Didn't Even Realise

I'm going to tell you a story. There was once a seemingly confident and holding it all together woman who was falling apart - and nobody even noticed, seemed to care or stepped in to help - not even her! 

She waited until it all got too much and she hated herself before she realised she needed help to change. But by then she was overwhelmed, lacking confidence in her ability to make the right decisions, feeling isolated and alone. She felt like people would think her issues were small, she worried that if she spoke out she'd be accused of being incompetent and overly dramatic. 

This woman is me. I suffered in silence. I soldiered on. The process started to chip away at me and before I knew it I felt depressed with my life. I didn't even realise I was having a confidence crisis. I knew I didn't really like myself anymore, or my appearance and I could feel my self-confidence was wavering... but you wouldn't have known it. I covered all of this up with my 'super-confident and capable Roberta mask'.  Nobody knew I was feeling this way, except me. 

My Excuses

I was always busy. I was always on the go. I had a work thing. I didn't have enough spare time to even take a holiday. Work needed me. I needed to complete XYZ...

I always had a reason to not focus on myself. Recognise the pattern? This affects so many women in today's society. Women everywhere are de-prioritising themselves and putting everything and everyone ahead of their own needs. 

I had so much going on leading my 'busy, busy life' it was almost a welcomed distraction for me, so I wouldn't focus on myself.  

My confidence wasn't even an issue until it was. I hated my life and the person staring back at me in the mirror. 

I had to hit rock bottom to realise. I think at times I knew things were getting worse, but it just felt like too much to deal with so I ignored it. I kept myself 'busy' and stayed focused on work and validating my existence through work accomplishments. But in the end that didn't help. 

The Moment When I Realised I Couldn't Go On Like This...  

I had to hit the point where I was over-weight, unhealthy and unhappy with every aspect of my life. I had to hate the person looking back at me in the mirror - until I could accept it had all gone too far.

I didn't have the time or money to do anything radical to change my life, so I had to start with small changes. It wasn't easy...but it was possible. 

The First Steps To Restore Confidence And Feel In Control Of My Life Again  

The first step was actually getting back into fitness, then addressing my nutrition, once I got on top of that everything else seemed easier, even my own understanding of my mindset.  I then started dressing in a way to boost my self-esteem instead of hiding behind my clothes. These 3 things soon became the vital ingredients for my unstoppable confidence formula. 

Learning And Discovering 

I've been through the process, so it's easy for me to know what it feels like. I examined my actions and the outcomes, I looked at what I could have done better and pin-pointed what help was missing - and what I needed.

2016 Was The Best Year For RSL

2016 will always be regarded as an epic year for RSL (and me) after all the work, re-positioning of my brand. I learnt so much. I knew what I was creating was a blue-print of my own journey.  What I went through was a process - and that helped me break free from the repetitive cycle that was allowing me to operate in autopilot.

I tuned into myself, my own needs, I blocked out negativity and found a new kind of happiness and confidence that I did't realise was possible.

Even More To Offer 

In late November I created a new online club for like-minded women who want like to look good, feel good & live great.  I created resources and lay out the exact steps I took to take back the control in my life and super-boost my confidence. Members of the club will also get access to online face-to-face personalised coaching support.

It's designed for busy women so everything is in bite-sized chunks, it doesn't matter how happy or confident someone is, I've discovered there is always room for more.

Head over to the website now to join the members club

If you have any questions you can always post a reply on this blog or contact me via the website. 

Roberta x

PS. If you have a great story to tell please get in touch, I would love to give you a platform to help inspire other women.

You can find out more about Roberta Style Lee over on the website at www.robertastylelee.co.uk 

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Exposed - 5 Things That Can Still Knock My Confidence

Cards on the table, I haven't always been the most honest person. I have lied through my teeth for what feels like a lifetime. I'm going to show you my real hand. Some of my friends don't even know this...I was a very frightened, very lonely and extremely confused kid. Growing up I had to work pretty hard to fake my confidence.

My coping mechanism was to radiate confidence, be the fun one, the happy one and show I was able to cope and do my best at all my school activities. I applied myself and through my achievements I got people to focus on what I was good at.  My strategy was to make everyone think I was fine and that everything at home was fine too. I never imagined opening up, being vulnerable and asking for help could be a good thing...

It may explain why at fourteen I chose to go down the performing arts route, I needed to learn how to maintain this illusion. I guess you could say I had to fake it until I could make it.

I have never been good at asking for help or making myself vulnerable. Until now that is.
Despite the fact I am a confidence coach now - I am still vulnerable to knocks. I bruise too. I wanted to write this post to remind people that even the most confident people in this world can be affected by everyday situations.  We may not moan about it, or let you know - but it can still have an affect on us.

Exposed: 5 things that can still knock my confidence: 

• When a friendship I have invested in isn't reciprocated - this always upsets me. 
• When I have poured myself into project only to discover I am the one doing the lion's share. 
• Men. 
• Family. 
• Sickness & death.

Confidence is something that I still have to work at - as you can see from the above - some situations just elude me. Some days my confidence levels are more topped up than others. You heard it here first. I am human. I am not some machine that is 100% confident and operating at 100% confidence in every possible situation I encounter.  No-one is perfect, we all suffer bad days, encounter situations that can trigger insecurities and affect us in different ways.

Here are 5 things I have learnt from the above scenarios: 

• To stop investing my energy into people who are not appreciative of me. I practice gratitude for the friendships I have got and focus on all that I have that is good. 
• I consider my strengths, take stock of my weakness and remember to be more cautious about how much I give and not to surround myself with 'takers'. People that take advantage of my giving nature leave me feeling empty, used and not appreciated. 
• I'm still learning about the way the male mind works... [lol] ask me in another 10 years. Seriously, the biggest lesson I have learnt is to appreciate the differences and open up the lines of communication. You have to be vulnerable and expose yourself, potentially to being hurt. 
• Not everyone is blessed with a strong family bond. Sometimes it is necessary to let go of all the negativity, including family and focus on the people who bring goodness and happiness into your life. 
• I have accepted that sickness and death can happen at any time - and to good people. Life is so precious and we must make the most of it. This is why I chose to live a life on my own terms. 

Ultimately a confidence low will arise when you are in a situation you feel you aren't able to influence or change. Your emotions will get the better of you. You'll lose confidence in your ability to make rational decisions. This happens to the best of us, trust me! 

There will always be some areas in your life that leave you feeling more vulnerable and expose you to lows. That's life. It's what you learn from each situation and how you recover that defines you.

Stay focused and stay fabulous. 

Roberta x 

If you are interested in lifestyle and confidence coaching with me you can head on over to the website at www.robertastylelee.co.uk to find out more. 

4 Questions To Ask Yourself When You Make A Mistake

Writing about what I experience in my life and analysing what happens when I do certain things is how I have managed to be stay very level headed.  It gives me the confidence I need to just keep going and not let little matters interfere with the bigger picture. But since I am human and not a robot - I can still be thrown off my guard. 

One of the things that can occur when you get so focused on removing negativity from your life is your brain can go into auto-pilot. Especially the female brain - it is hardwired to refer back to emotional situations that we've experienced previously, or even ones we've been told about - we then compare the likeness and make a decision based on a current situation and lots of scenarios before. Annoyingly it can jump to conclusions. Sometimes we can act in haste to protect ourselves and then - whoops - we realise we were too quick to react. 

It is a perfectly legitimate method and one that I will continue to use. It is however not fool proof. When we add 'emotions' into the mix we tend not to think as rationally as we normally would.

Every once in a while you will encounter a situation that you are not able to fix, console, understand or even relate to. And that's OK. 

The life long learner in me always wants to 'explore further, grasp what is really going on and then get closure' on anything that seems to escape my understanding.

The truth is nobody is perfect. We can all make the wrong assumption about a situation or another person too quickly, we are all capable of acting irrationally at times.

In today's modern world we have added complexities of communication streams going through digital channels - when trying to resolve a situation with someone it is always best done face-to-face. Always. 

When situations like this occur for me, they tend to be matters too close to my heart. I need to step away from it for a few days focus on something else and then take a fresh look at the situation. I always seek an outside perspective and get a non bias point of view. This helps me get my own thoughts and emotions into check. Having a lot of friends and acquaintances that are coaches does help mind you... 

4 Questions To Ask Yourself When You Make A Mistake

• How do you feel about the outcome? 
• Could you have reacted differently? 
• What might you do in a similar situation next time?
• What would you expect to happen next time? 

Everything we experience is an opportunity to learn and grow... we all mistakes but it's what we do afterwards that counts. How we behave and handle a situation defines us more than the situation itself. 

Go forth and be bold, make mistakes and have confidence in yourself that you will learn and be a better person for experiencing it. 

Trust your instincts but be prepared to be wrong - because sometimes...we make mistakes.

If you have ever wondered about about coaching you can find out more here. 


Stay fabulous 

Roberta x 

You can see more over on the website at www.robertastylelee.co.uk 

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Interview with inspirational founder of HER magazine Nineveh Madsen

I have been fortunate enough to meet many inspiring women on my own personal journey whilst evolving and growing my own business. This month’s #inspirationalwoman AND #empoweredwoman kudos goes to Nineveh Madsen the founder of HER magazine. She is gorgeous, talented, has passion and plenty of sass  - and she is unapologetic about being a strong woman with ideas. She exudes a sense of purpose and confidence which is infectious.  Just to warn you - she is smashing it right now - be prepared for a bucket load of awesomeness, insane amounts of classiness and an abundance of beautifulness. Nineveh has arrived with HER magazine and HER crew of amazing women mean business.

You can find out a little bit more about HER magazine and Nineveh by watching this trailer.

The interview 

Me: Thanks for agreeing to be one of my inspirational women interviewed in my new series - so let's kick things off - tell me (and my readers) a little bit more about yourself and your business?

N: I moved around a lot growing up, so I never really had the chance to create close friendships. I had a tough time bouncing around from school to school, and wasn’t exactly the most popular girl. I was the awkward chick, who was teased for being different.

Me: I find that difficult to imagine you exude such confidence now - but behind every successful woman there is always an inspiring story - that I do know. Thank you for letting me interview you. So, tell me more about your journey.

N: I spent a decade working as a journalist for local television stations in Arizona (KYMA, NBC) and Utah (KSTU, FOX). There was a period during my career when I experienced immense anxiety. I felt the pressure of having to perform on a daily basis, and the overbearing feeling of having to emanate perfection. I know it sounds silly to some, but there were so many times I felt incredibly disempowered as a woman in media. I decided in almost an instant that I had to create the change I desired to see in media, instead of wondering why it was the way it was. 

Me: That’s interesting as I imagine a lot of us don’t realise how suffocating working in the media really is.

N: So in 2015 I fired my bosses and set out to launch HER - a digital publication.

Me: Amazing stuff - so when was the official launch? 

N: The official live launch of our website www.hermag.co was August 9th and our monthly digital magazine will debut in the APP store this Fall! I am so excited to finally make this available for women in iTunes and GooglePlay. 

Me: This is so exciting tell me more about what HER magazine is about.

N: Our mission is to UNMAKE TRADITION. I will leave that up for our readers to interpret, but the magazine is about providing a platform for women in business. I don't think we have enough media platforms dedicated to women.

Me: This sounds great - I will be reading the magazine for sure. You seem very ambitious how do you do stay in control, life must get hectic?

N: I need to be better at this. I think we tell ourselves - especially as entrepreneurs that we will find the time to get balanced. My quiet time is during workouts every morning. Lifting weights helps me recharge my batteries. Squeezing in monthly or bi-monthly massages keeps me sane. So does meditation! 

When I get overwhelmed which I think is common these days, I take a step back and take inventory of my blessings and make sure to practice gratitude.

Me: That’s so true - what are your go to activities that make you look good, feel good and feel like you can live a great life? 

N: Lifting weights. I love to push my body. The heavier I can go is a testament to my mental strength and when you're an entrepreneur, you need a lot of inner grit to be able to push through the challenges you face as you build your business. 

I love SPA DAYS ...really if I could, I'd get them once a month. I also absolutely love hiking. There's something calming about nature. I believe success begins with how you take care of yourself. A lot of people have that reversed. They forget to take care of their body and mind first.

Me: And finally what are your top 3 tips for women struggling to do it all, or who are facing issues with their confidence, or even looking to take their confidence to the next level? 

N: I think there's a big difference between doing it all and having it all. Do you really want to DO IT ALL? I don't. You shouldn't either. As women, I think we pressure ourselves to do it all. 

I know that many women also struggle with confidence. One of my mentors told me something that really stuck with me. She said, "confidence comes from competence." Just know that confidence will come with time. 

I know that many women also have self-esteem issues (I've been there) ...this comes down to one thing. LOVING YOURSELF. 

Also, I'd tell them to surround themselves with people who LOVE THEMSELVES. It has a way of rubbing off. And always remember that your thoughts are powerful. Your thoughts become things and those things shape your life. 

Me: That's a great message and one that I like to emphasise to the women I work with. Success starts with taking care of yourself and believing in your own thoughts and actions. I've made an awful lot of mistakes on my journey but it's also given me more confidence because I have 'lived through it'. Indeed having women like you in my circle helps me stay motivated and keep pushing forward. Thank you so much for your time - I know you are busy with HER mag and million other things, so I really appreciate you taking time our to be part of the #inspirationalwomen series.

And that concludes the awesome interview with the insanely motivated and effortlessly confident Nineveh. Now you’ve learnt more about her, head on over to the www.hermag.co and check it out. 

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You can find out more about confidence coaching and personal styling over on the website at www.robertastylelee.co.uk. I also review products and services that aim to help women look good, feel good, or live great - you can see these reviews on the blog. 

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