Lisa's Lockdown Tips When Working From Home

This time last week things were already unsettled, the shops were struggling to keep their shelves stocked and a few people were self-isolating or working from home if possible. Fast forward a few days and it’s an actual governmental instruction to stay at home.

As we are trying to adjust to the current norm you might be feeling totally liberated by not having to get up and get ready for work at the office and still be in the pyjama phase. Or it might be that you feel like a fish out of water and worrying about how to actually work from home?

As a seasoned WFH’er I thought I’d give you my personal take on how I make it work for me. I’ve been working from home for almost 7 years now so have got into my groove.

Here’s what works for me:

Create balance: I have a daily routine that defines my work time. I generally work between 10am - 6pm. Although, saying that, I do enjoy a lazy hour scrolling social media with a coffee brought up to the bedroom by my lovely hubby every morning.

Avoid family and friends: I don’t mean forever obvs but it’s important that they respect your work time and aren’t interrupting with phone calls, popping in for coffee etc. Keep that to after hours. (If you’ve got young kids off school then this could be a whole lot trickier)

Enjoy your space: I appreciate that you might be having to work at the kitchen table as your temporary workspace but if you can, take some time to make it somewhere you are comfortable and want to be. My workspace is a place I like to spend time in, I’m surrounded by things that bring me joy to look at. I have essential oils in my diffuser and can see the garden from my desk.

Prioritise: I use a planner and create prioritised to do lists each day. I keep a check on what needs doing when, plan in time within my week but also allow for a bit of flexibility too. I don’t get bogged down by housework and all the little jobs that need doing – otherwise I’d never get anything done. I will put the washing in but that’s about it.

Why Me?

Why are you the person to help me with colours, clothes and confidence Lisa?

I've been involved with colour, make up, textiles and fashion since the early 80's...thankfully I've kept up with the times and won't make you wear shoulder pads or dress like Bananarama though!

My skills, knowledge and experience have been honed over 30+ years...but more than that I'm compassionate and approachable.

I am not the fashion police and I'm not into giving someone a makeover so they look nice for that day but can't replicate it for everyday life - I like to teach my tips and tricks around colour and style so you look good and feel fab every day.

I am not really interested in who wore what at the Oscars.

I don't watch Love Island or Towie and know who the "celebrities" are, nor am I interested in what they are wearing.

I don't buy magazines or follow the latest "must have" trends, nor do I regurgitate it in "how to wear this season's pleated skirt" type articles to share with my followers.

I don't do "makeovers" and show before and after photos of my clients.

I don't make my clients wear colours or clothes that they don't like or feel comfortable in.

I'm not a franchisee with a training manual and a few days training on the basics

I do...help my clients define and refine their personal style/image so they feel fabulous and are truly expressing their identity; confident in the knowledge that they are still themselves but an upgraded version.

Brad Burton Talks about his YOUniform

Listen here to a short interview I had with Brad Burton UK's #1 Motivational Speaker, founder of 4Networking and highest rated 5* Amazon business author about his YOUniform. How and why he came to be wearing the same outfit of jeans, trainers and branded t-shirt EVERY day.

Case Study: Losing and Finding Identity...

The story of when my sister needed my services...in her own words, she describes the transformation she felt having the experience of my 'hands on' Premium Package.

What’s your name and where do you come from?

For those of us who did most of our growing up in the 1980’s, this question featured heavily on a Saturday evening. Blind date with ‘our Cilla’.

In the 1980’s, for me, it was a very easy question to answer, “Hi Cilla, I’m Linzie from Leigh, Lancs.”

Fast-forward to 2019, that question wasn’t quite as easy to answer.

Let me tell you why.

I was born in 1967 to a working-class family. My mother made all of our clothes as they were not a disposable commodity. New clothes were as a direct result of an event, Christmas, Easter and summer holidays. My mum was a dab hand with a sewing machine and knitting machine. We were always very well turned out.

My older sister and I were always dressed the same.

Often, I had her clothes when she outgrew them. Fortunately for me, I grew a lot taller than my sister and dodged a few outfits as we got older.

When I was given the responsibility to buy my own clothes, I didn’t always make the best choices, much to my sister’s amusement…

Ok, I had a thing for uniforms. There, I said it. Brownie guides, girl guides and girls brigade. I loved being smartly turned out. I liked looking the same as everyone else. No judgement from the fashion-conscious peers.

It was a natural progression for me to pursue a career in the police. For nearly 30 years I wore police uniform. It was designed for men. I wore men’s clothes, no make-up, nails or hair were allowed. Completely de-feminised.

When I progressed into a plain clothes department, I wore a suit (another kind of uniform) I felt comfortable and professional in my suit.

Three years ago, my life changed; I got married, retired, moved away from my hometown, nursed and lost my mum, and my daughters moved in with their partners….

So now, “what’s your name and where do you come from?' Felt like a difficult question to answer. I’m Linzie from LLanfechell never really took off.

I didn’t have a structure to my day for the first time as an adult. I lived in the middle of nowhere and only saw my husband and the dogs. I stopped wearing make up as it was a waste if nobody saw it. I started living in fleece joggers, tops and wellies. Hair scraped back as it is too windy to let it down. Most days I didn’t care and other days I appalled myself with my slipping standards.

At this stage I knew I needed the transformational services of my sister in her professional capacity. I’d seen the results she’d got with other women and decided it was time to ask for help.

I was embarking on a new career path but didn’t know how to pitch myself. My experiences were unique and valuable, my cardigan and crocs weren’t going to sell my products...Lisa’s confident approach was inspiring – it was interesting seeing how she worked in style coach mode. I felt totally comfortable opening up my thoughts and wardrobe without feeling judged.

We established my style personality and updated my colours – I’d had them done over 5 years ago. We then progressed to a wardrobe weeding session. Very liberating, all those clothes that I would ‘slim into’ were about 20 years old. In the charity bag they went. That took the pressure off, no longer were those clothes reminding me of my failed weight loss attempts.

Lisa has a very keen eye for colour, she has intuition and instinctively knows what clothes suited me best. She was able to advise on how to accessorise each piece for maximum ‘wow factor’. Her vast experience together with a friendly, empathetic manner made our session much more than just being about clothes.

Once we had found a few treasured pieces, she created some style mood boards for me to include them and from that we were able to style a capsule wardrobe that took the stress out of ‘what to wear’. I was armed with a shopping list - she even gave me links to shops so all I had to do was click and buy!

All the clothes suited my colour and style. It lifted my soul and made me feel like me again, but a better version.

I went from feeling like I had let myself go and apathetic about myself and appearance to feeling strong, beautiful and more like me again – I am Linzie from Leigh, Lancs again (even though I don’t live there anymore).

Make Up Colour Cheat Sheet

Here's my handy guide to which colours to choose that will suit your skin undertone.

I’m an ambassador for Tropic Skincare and Make Up – you can follow my specific page on

Facebook page here.

And you can place orders direct via my online catalogue here Online Catalogue

I’ve noted the warm and cool colours for you in most of the products that have colour to make it easier for you to choose the colours.

Case Study - A Colour & Style Journey

A detailed description of a colour and style journey written by Diana Pasek-Atkinson, in which she describes the benefits she's enjoying from working with Lisa Newport.

It all started with an online style challenge in the early days of what is now the free Style Sisterhood: Colour, Clothes, Confidence group. I happened to bump into a friend and complimented her on how amazing she looked. She told me her outfit was put together for colour contrast day on the challenge and sent me a link!

I joined in from the next day and it was both fun and fascinating to experiment and reflect on what I had in my wardrobe. Lisa’s supportive comments and top tips in the group made me think “this is a woman I could work with, she’s not a scary fashion dictator, she’s a woman who clearly knows her stuff!”

That made me decide I definitely wanted Lisa to do my colour analysis, something I’d hankered after for a long time. That was in 2016 and I’ve never looked back! I’ve since done a one-day style workshop, a one to one wardrobe weed and a make-up masterclass plus I’ve also been part of the online groups Lisa has run for further style sussing. I have had a membership of WTF (Wardrobe that’s Fabulous) Club since it began.

How To Tell Your Body Shape

Apple, pear, strawberry, column, hourglass...there are general guidelines when choosing clothes to enhance and flatter your shape.

Meet Amanda...do you know her?

She’s in her 50’s, an intelligent, well-educated professional woman who is really good at what she does. She’s competent, self-assured and is comfortable complaining if the food is not up to scratch when she goes out for lunch with friends.

She’s strong, resilient and has the wisdom that you get from reaching her age. Life is short, she gets that and wants to have a bit more fun. She wants to enjoy being who she is and rediscover her identity…

Her kids are older now, at university; so, she has more time on her hands but still not masses of disposable income as they’re topping up student finance loans.

She’s been with her husband a long time, they’re at the ‘comfy slippers’ stage. She knows he loves her, but she sometimes feels a bit invisible to him. He doesn’t pay that much attention to how she looks so isn’t too handy with the compliments…she could quite easily change her hair and it would be a few days before he’d notice.

They’re happy in each other’s company but don’t have to be in each other’s pockets so have developed separate hobbies and interests over time. She likes book club (with wine) and enjoys reading the books on her kindle while on the bus to work – Martin takes the old Volvo. Rock choir and yoga are her weekly nights out, she’s made friends by going to them but doesn’t see them out of those environments.

How Not to Give Style Advice

I was asked recently if I'd thought of chatting with people in a networking meeting situation, being a bit more pro-active in my approach, and asking if they'd be open to a bit of feedback regarding their image/style/personal brand. I recoiled in horror! This is just not my way at all...I'm more about getting to know my client first, their likes, dislikes etc so that any advice I give is more likely to be taken. it reminded me of this story...

I met a lady one time called Kate who was presenting at a conference I was at. She’s a very successful businesswoman in her field and is an inspirational author and speaker. She refers to herself as a fat lass with a laptop and a pack of tarot cards – it’s tongue in cheek, I don’t sense any confidence issues. (But who knows?)

Anyway, she told me that one time when she was presenting somewhere an image consultant had approached her at the end of her talk and said something like ‘You know what would suit you better? A wrap dress.’ I would call this uninvited ‘style advice’ downright rude! She knows how to ingratiate herself with people – not. This is the type of person that gives colour and image consultants a bad reputation as being judgemental fashion police types.

Being kind, I would like to think that this woman thought she was being helpful by sharing some of her styling knowledge and passing on free advice. She was giving away something that she would normally charge for and I expect she was keen to demonstrate and share her expertise with a view to gaining a new client. In truth I think this was quite presumptuous.

Case Study - Pauline Webb

Style Sisterhood Members Questions

1. What type of thing(s) have you done with Lisa?

Lots! I met Lisa when she first started her business and went to a couple of her mini workshops that she was running at home. They were an insight to colour and body shapes as I remember. One was a make up lesson.

Then I had my colours done, and attended a 5 Steps Workshop.

I joined in online with a 21 Day Style Challenge and have also enjoyed meeting the women online ‘in the flesh’ at 2 social events that Lisa arranged afterwards.

I have done most of the 21 Day Style Challenges! Three or four that I can recall have been out of a suitcase while abroad!Following one of these, I did the Suss Your Style 5 week online challenge.

I have volunteered and supported all but one of the Swish events that have been run.I attended the Glum to Glam workshop, and very recently I have had my WOW colours done.

Case Study - Pam Burrows FPSA

Here's the fabulous Pam Burrows - People Booster answering questions submitted by the members of my Style Sisterhood group...

1. What type of thing(s) have you done with Lisa?

I’ve had my colours done, a wardrobe weed and various ad hoc advice about particular outfits or events.

2. What actually happens?

Lisa adapts her whole approach to the person she’s working with, she makes you feel at ease. She asks questions to help her help you but that also help you realise lots of things about how and why you buy/choose/wear/or don’t. It’s like a gentle sort of therapy that helps you let o of some of the fears about how you show up in the world.

3. What made you think about working with Lisa?

She offered ;) And because I trusted her to help me in ways I could never have helped myself

4. How did you feel before?

A bit stupid and lost on the occasions when it really mattered how I looked. I felt lost when choosing, buying, and hugely lost when putting different items together to form an outfit.

Why personal branding is about more than wearing yellow socks

Personal branding means different things to different people.

To some people in business that I’ve met it’s about being known for wearing a particular colour, always wearing yellow socks or dressing to match their logo. This is all well and good, it might help you be remembered and gets you known within your network. It will say something about you and affect how you are perceived.

To marketers personal branding means something completely different; to a graphic designer it may be more about choosing one font and colour over another because of the psychology and what that particular sans serif says compared to that one.

What we would all agree on is that personal branding is about keeping your message cohesive.

To me, in my profession as a colour and image consultant it’s about looking the part – whatever the part means to you.

I deliver a talk about it. My talk is called “If it looks like a duck…”

There’s a saying “If it looks like a duck, swims like a duck and quacks like a duck, then it probably is a duck.”

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