10th February 2026
Modern Sensuality
by Bluebella
Panel Event at Selfridges Cinema
The Otherland
Where Anything Goes
The Otherland is a parallel world, a realm that reveals your many personalities. You’re fearless, subversive, and transformative. Think of it as a mirror universe, where you can explore your darkest fantasies and indulge your sensuality for the many versions of you.
From lace to latex, corsets and fishnet styles—we’ve got all you’ll need for this Halloween and beyond.
As we move towards International Women’s Month, we spotlight our recent Modern Sensuality Panel Talk event, discussing the results from our global study and celebrating the community campaign.
As we move towards International Women’s Month, we spotlight our recent Modern Sensuality Panel Talk event, discussing the results from our global study and celebrating the community campaign.
To celebrate the launch of our Modern Sensuality global study and Community Campaign, we hosted an intimate panel event at Selfridges Cinema. In a room filled with influential women, the discussion unpacked the findings of our research exploring female empowerment, pleasure, and what it truly means to reclaim sensuality in today’s world — from the bedroom to the boardroom.
Presented by writer and broadcaster Emma Louise Boynton, the conversation brought together Bluebella Founder & CEO Emily Bendell, campaign star and author Charli Howard, and award-winning researcher Candice Hargans.
To celebrate the launch of our Modern Sensuality global study and Community Campaign, we hosted an intimate panel event at Selfridges Cinema. In a room filled with influential women, the discussion unpacked the findings of our research exploring female empowerment, pleasure, and what it truly means to reclaim sensuality in today’s world — from the bedroom to the boardroom.
Presented by writer and broadcaster Emma Louise Boynton, the conversation brought together Bluebella Founder & CEO Emily Bendell, campaign star and author Charli Howard, and award-winning researcher Candice Hargans.
What Is Modern Sensuality?
Opening the conversation, Emma asks the panel to define sensuality in their own words. Dr Candice described: “I think sensuality is having reverence for your senses… not just respect for them but a ritual around how you treat them.” For Howard, the meaning has radically evolved: “After two years of celibacy, I’ve really focused on my own pleasure… the things that turn me on, the things that make me feel good,” she adds.
For Bendell, sensuality isn’t just physical — it can be in thought or a vision; it sits at the heart of Bluebella’s brand philosophy. “I would describe sensuality as this connectedness and centredness to self and pleasure.” She spoke about creating the brand she wished existed: “Lingerie back then was very binary. It was very much: here is your functional, boring, smooth-lined underclothes product over here. Or, here is your sexy dressing up for someone else — very coquettish. Those two things didn’t speak to me.” She adds, “In my opinion, the bra should be like a t-shirt or a dress. It’s whatever its wearer chooses it to be.”
“You might wear lingerie as a sensual experience for yourself. It isn’t inherently anything until you choose what it is.” - Emily Bendell
The Research
Referring to our global survey of 1500+ women exploring sensuality, sexuality and desire, one statistic stood out: “Only 17% of respondents were buying lingerie with a partner in mind.” Instead, most women cited confidence, self-esteem and self-love as their primary motivations.
Dr Candice describes one recurring theme: ‘lingerie as liberation’. Many participants in the study described a milestone moment — often in their 30s or 40s — where they shifted from buying lingerie for someone else to buying it for themselves. “They had this milestone age… where they were like, actually this should be for me,” Dr Nicole noted. The data reinforces what the campaign and survey celebrate: lingerie is a necessary tool for self-expression and sensual fulfilment.
De-Centring The Male Gaze
“We’re so unaware of how male-centred our brains are,” Howard remarks. By writing her book ‘Flesh: de-centring the male gaze and reclaiming the objectified body’ and reconnecting with her body on her own terms, she found that confidence rippled outward: “It completely changes your outlook on life. Because I know myself better now, I’m just not putting up with half the stuff I used to.”
“When you build confidence in the bedroom, you build confidence in the boardroom." - Emma Louise-Boynton
Sensuality After 50
One of the most powerful revelations of the study was around age and sensuality. “Everything shouts at us that youth is sensual and sexual,” notes Bendell. But the data told a different story: “There is literally a linear rise between both sensual and sexual pleasure peaking over 50,” she notes. Louise-Boynton adds: “In my experience of interviews, the women having the best sex are women who are 50 plus — time and time again telling me about the incredible, passionate, connected sex they’re having.”
Shame, Sex Education & The Orgasm Gap
“There’s this idea that you’ll be more worthy… if you’re pure, if you’re moral, if you’re a ‘good girl’ and that actually doesn’t even work.” She mentions a Grace Wetzel study, which found that 65% of heterosexual women orgasmed at their last sexual experience, compared to 95% of heterosexual men, with a lack of communication being the main contributor. Meanwhile, lesbians are holding it down at a solid 88%. “If you can’t even talk to the person that you’re going to be sexual with about what you like… that is a feature of intimate injustice.” She adds,
“You are inherently worthy of pleasure. There’s nothing that you can do to earn it. There’s nothing that you can do to lose it…You came into this world worthy and you’ll leave this world worthy.” - Dr Candice Nicole