The Beauty Load ~ free resources

Explore practical resources curated by Nicole Mathieson to accompany The Beauty Load book, helping you release body image angst and start living with more self-compassion and joy.

Simple tools

Two hands making a heart shape

Daily declaration

A guided 3-minute self-love affirmation practice with Nicole, helping you acknowledge the Beauty Load and gently rewire your inner dialogue.

Free to download and keep

Get declaration
Journal prompts to help you go deeper with The Beauty Load book

Journal prompts

Thought-provoking questions to help you explore your relationship with beauty, self-worth and confidence, and the parts of you that feel "not enough".

Free to download and keep

Get prompts
Loving Eyes meditation

Guided meditation

A soothing 12-minute meditation by Nicole to help reconnect with your body, taking you out of the critical, judging eyes and returning you to your loving, accepting eyes.

$9.90 — download to your device and keep

Dive deeper

An illustration of a woman with blond hair wearing headphones, above which is written The Beauty Load Podcast.

The Beauty Load podcast

This podcast normalises the struggles we feel about our bodies while challenging cultural expectations and high standards. Because the pressure of unrealistic beauty standards affects us all — no matter what country, culture or community we live within.

Through these conversations, I hope to help you feel less alone and lighten the burden of Beauty Load we all carry, so we can get on with living our lives and being our beautiful, radiant selves.

Browse all episodes
a self compassionate approach to overcoming insecurity

Body Confidence course

This self-paced course helps you feel at ease in your own skin by teaching you how to relate to yourself with kindness, support and compassion.

Instead of living with constant self-criticism or comparison, you’ll learn practical tools to soften your inner dialogue and build genuine self-confidence from within. Grounded in the core message of The Beauty Load, this course guides you toward a calmer, more compassionate inner world — and a more confident you.

Explore the course

Read, watch & listen

Recommended books

  • The Beauty Load (of course!) — by me, Nicole Mathieson (2022)
  • Everything I Know About Love — by Dolly Alderton (2020)
  • The State of Affairs: Rethinking Infidelity — by Esther Perel (2019)
  • The Way We Never Were — by Stephanie Coontz (1993)
  • The Beauty Suit — by Lauren Shields (2018)
  • The Beauty Myth — by Naomi Wolf (1990)
  • IFS: Introduction to the Internal Family Systems Model — by Richard C Schwartz (2001)
  • Intimate Communion: Awakening Your Sexual Essence — by David Deida (1995)
  • The Gifts of Imperfection — by Brené Brown (2010)
  • The MindBody Code: How to change the beliefs that limit your health, longevity, and success — by Dr Mario Martinez (2014)
  • Your Body is Not an Apology — by Sonya Renee Taylor (2018)
  • Women Don’t Owe You Pretty — by Florence Given (2020)
  • Getting The Love You Want — by Harville Hendrix (1988)
  • Come As You Are — by Emily Nagoski (2015)
  • Good Selfie: Tips and tools for teens to nail life — by Turia Pitt (2019)

Recommended podcasts

  • The Beauty Load podcast — with Nicole Mathieson, author of The Beauty Load (2022)
  • Ladies, We Need to Talk — with Yumi Stynes, author of The Gender Beauty Gap (2020)
  • We Can Do Hard Things — with Glennon Doyle, author of How to Know Ourselves and Be Known by our People (2021)
  • Unlocking Us — with Brene Brown
  • I Weigh — with Jameela Jamil

Recommended TV shows

  • What Does Australia Really Think About Obesity? — by SBS (2021)
  • The Sunny Side Of Sex — by Sunny Bergman
  • Under the Knife — by Louis Theroux
  • Tribal Wives — 2008 BBC TV series

Inspiring people to follow

  • Kate Winslet now refuses to be touched up in her photos.
  • Taryn Brumfitt is the Australian author and speaker behind the Body Image Movement. Her film Embrace is truly inspiring.
  • Sonya Renee Taylor is a leader, poet, activist and author of Your Body is Not an Apology.
  • Emily Nagoski is a sex educator and author of the brilliant and empowering Come As You Are, a book that explains that your sexuality is normal.
  • Turia Pitt is the queen of self-confidence, teaching self-esteem and positivity to thousands. Turia had to learn how to walk, talk and live life again after suffering severe burns to 65 per cent of her body.
  • Jameela Jamil is a body neutrality activist and host of the podcast I Weigh.
  • Thelma Plum, Australian Indigenous singer/songwriter, has the songs ‘Homecoming Queen’ and ‘Better in Blak’, anthems that acknowledge the difficulty of being seen and respected as an Aboriginal woman growing up in Australia.
  • Casey Donovan, an Australian Indigenous singer who hosted the SBS documentary, What Does Australia Really Think About Obesity?
  • Nakkiah Lui (@nakkiah) is an Australian First Nations actress and screenwriter.
  • April Hélène-Horton (@thebodzilla) is an Australian plus-sized model and body love activist who refuses to let anyone tell her what to do, eat or think about herself.

And hey, are we friends on socials? Come join me on Instagram.

Buy The Beauty Load book

The Beauty Load book sitting atop a table, beside a pot of tea

Don't yet have your own copy? The Beauty Load is available as a paperback or Kindle eBook — whichever you prefer. Tap the links below to purchase.