Stephanie Davies, Founder La Boheme Lifestyle

“Growing up, I was fortunate to be surrounded by strong and caring women…

My mother was one of six sisters. I was born in Glasgow, Scotland, and raised in a quaint village on the outskirts, surrounded by my parents and two siblings… their warmth, openness, and nurturing nature left a lasting impression on me. My dad’s continued dedication to the family business instilled in me the drive and determination that have been constant throughout my life. From an early age, I embraced hard work and always had multiple jobs, even while studying art in New York City, where I juggled three jobs at once. The bustling city life fueled my passion for staying busy and pushing myself.

Starting anew in Australia was daunting…

but it turned out to be one of the best decisions we ever made. After having my first baby, my husband and I made the decision to move to Australia with our 12-month-old daughter, leaving behind everything we knew in Manchester. Nik and I were always the most adventurous of our siblings. Having the travel bug, we had previously lived in Uganda and Cape Town as we always loved an adventure. I had never been to Australia before we moved. The transition was immensely difficult, as we knew no one in Australia and had no prior experience of the country. The welcoming nature of the Australian coastal community, with others who had similar experiences of moving or being far from family, helped us build beautiful friendships that have become like family. The plan was to come for two years but here we are nine years later and it feels like home. We thrive off an active, outdoor life and Australia gives us that and more. Sunshine is good for the soul. Very grateful we took the leap of faith, just wish we could transport our family here!”

We also faced fertility struggles while trying to conceive our second child. 

Dealing with miscarriages and eventually resorting to IVF was one of the most challenging periods of our lives. Fortunately we were blessed with our second child through IVF.

Before moving to Oz I was a personal shopper…

Fashion has always been my biggest passion in life and I had a job where I could work in an industry I love but more importantly help women feel better about themselves. I still to this day have so many connections back in the UK with old personal shopping clients whom I built such beautiful relationships with. People always remember how you make them feel and it was my mission to make them look and feel good from the inside out.I had no idea I would start a store when I came to Oz, it has been an incredible journey over the past five years, never a dull moment but that is just how I like it! Life is for living.

The best part of my work is spending time with an incredible team of ladies daily. 

My team is everything to me. Our customers are also amazing; we’ve built connections with people all over the world through our La Boheme community on social media. Witnessing customers wear my designs on the streets is surreal and fills me with gratitude. On the flip side, the worst part is experiencing “mum guilt” but I can only hope my girls will grown up to be hard working resilient little humans.

I am, in many ways, quite shy and private. 

Despite being in the public eye due to my work, social media doesn’t come naturally to me, and I prefer to work behind the scenes. I am an early riser, with my day starting at 5 am. I like to get up before the kids to get ready for the day ahead. Walking serves as my form of meditation, setting me up mentally and physically. Most mornings, I walk at 5:30. Additionally, I engage in PT sessions at Active Culture once a week and indulge in my love for reformer pilates at my friend April Stamos’ studio near my store a few times a week. I play field hockey weekly and we do family yoga and meditation before bed most nights. We swear by the following supplements: Lion’s Mane, Resveretrol, Curcumin, NMN and fish oil. For breakfast, my go-to is a protein smoothie from Love and Tonic in Terrigal.

I love to express myself through clothes, 

I love colour and print and texture. My personal style is eclectic and I dress for me, no one else. My style changes often and I go through phases of loving certain things. I can dress super extra one day then super causal the next day. I love to mix and match things and my high street go to is Zara.I buy key pieces now that I can wear again and again, season after season. Fave designers are Isabel Marant, Loewe, Aje, Rotate Birger Christensen. I get very attached to pieces that remind me of a certain time in my life.

The brief for the house was Modern Mediterranean

We dreamt of a white kitchen and saved for seven years, waiting until kids were older before we did anything! We always loved the idea of a booth for the family to enjoy. We love to entertain and a round table is so intimate. We wanted to create space in the kitchen as we love to cook and dance and play with the kids on the weekend. The Wine Cellar is by Hudson Lane and the Kitchen doors/ cellar doors are Loughlin Furniture. The Concrete Island was craned into the home by Concrete Bespoke.We completely transformed the downstairs using Fabric Architecture and Xanthe at Studio Highfield brought our vision to life. Our builders were Hudson Lane. The Styling pieces are by The beholder styling and Art by my beautiful friend Jai Vasicek. 

I am very open and honest about the skin treatments I have.

I get anti-wrinkle injections every 4 months and had my lips done 4 years ago. I swear my skin boosters, I have had 3 treatments now and my skin has never felt better. I think you need to do whatever suits you when it comes to aging. But everything in moderation and alongside a good diet and drinking plenty of water. I get all my cosmetic injectables done at NDSKIN.

My hair guru is forever, for party prep, one stop shop for insane make up and a killer blow dry I love Glow beauty Space and for the ultimate relax/ switch off facial Sara Wells Skin. 

I am a creature of habit and have been using the same products for years.

I am a no make up gal through and through and will opt for this mostly through the week. I love when my skin can breathe. Clean girl make up look is my fave, glowy, dewy and fresh. I am a massive fan of beauty products that give you a dewy glow. My number one beauty product that I have been using my whole life is a bronzing gel. It is a Japanese brand called SENSAI and their bronzing gel is a light, moisturing gel bronzer that I swear by.

I only wear foundation if I am going out…

and have only ever used the same one: Armani Luminous Silk in 6.5 in winter and 7 in summer. I like it because it doesn’t feel heavy on my skin and you can still see my skin through it.I swear by the TATCHA liquid silk primer, and Charlotte tilbury flawless filter in No 5 Tan. My daily lip go to is the Chanel hydrating lip balm. It feels like butter on your lips and I even love putting it on my eyes as I am not an eye shadow gal. The best mascara in the world isn’t the most expensive: the Maybeline Colossal, you can not beat it! The only other essential in my hand bag is a good red lip… I swear by MAC matte lipstick and my favourite at the moment is MANGROVE.

I love a strong brow. 

I swear by the REFY beauty eyebrow products. I use their whole brow kit and love a thick fluffy full brow. I use their brow sculpt first, followed by their brow pomade in medium then their brow pencil is so fine for doing little strokes, again in medium then I finish off with their new brow gel. Their face primer is a game changer too… If you are a fan of the glow… you simply must get their gloss hightlighter. I use it on my cheeks, eyes, shoulders it is incredible.

I have become progressively blonder since moving to Australia.

My hair dresser Grace is incredible at helping me keep my hair healthy and strong. My new favourite self care is scalp treatments, obsessed with all thing scalp care. I use WELLBEL as a vitamin supplement for hair growth and health and once a week do a scalp scrub, my fave is followed by their scalp serum… I only get my hair coloured two to three times a year. .I am very low maintenance with my hair and am a dry shampoo enthusiast. I wash my hair twice a week max….I love to use dry shampoo and dry texture spray. I love the living proof dry shampoo and the bumble and bumble texture spray is next level amazing. Some days I love to just have a treatment in my hair and slick it back, super relaxed and easy. I also am a big fan of the K18 leave in mask…

I’m obsessed with all things skin, luckily, so is my husband being a skin doctor!

We both understand the importance of looking after our skin and we both follow morning and evening skin routines. The most important thing is obviously not getting any sun on your face and using SPF daily. I love the ultra violette spf for my face. I swear my rational 5 cleanser. This is followed by Biologique Rechere P50. I then use a brightening vitamin c serum from followed by either a rational no 6 or universe skin. I cannot live without hydrogel eye patches, I am obsessed and often go to pilates in the morning with them on.

Words by Sigourney Cantelo; Photography by Chris Mohen.