Hot, Foggy & Fabulous

✨ WOW.

More than 40 women and supporters have joined the Hot, Foggy & Fabulous community since last night’s award win.

If that’s you, welcome.

What started as one woman’s (me!) frustration at how little we talked about menopause has grown into a community of women, workplaces and allies committed to making sure nobody navigates this chapter feeling alone.

Thank you for being here.

We’re only just getting started. ❤️

WorkplaceWellbeing 📸 Beautifully captured by Lucy Humphries

Tonight, something very special happened.

Hot, Foggy & Fabulous was named Outstanding New Business at the 2026 Business Port Macquarie Awards. 🏆

What makes this award so meaningful is that Hot, Foggy & Fabulous wasn’t created because I spotted a gap in the market. It was created because I found myself lost in the middle of menopause and realised thousands of other women were feeling exactly the same way.

The brain fog.
The anxiety.
The loss of confidence.
The sleepless nights.
The feeling that somehow you’d become a stranger to yourself.

What started as one woman trying to make sense of her own experience has grown into a mission to help women feel seen, supported and understood during one of life’s most significant transitions.

To every woman who has shared her story, completed our research, attended an event, purchased a journal, joined a conversation, or trusted me enough to say, “I thought it was just me” — thank you.

This award belongs to all of us.

And to my family, friends, clients and community who have backed another one of my crazy ideas, thank you for believing in the vision.

Tonight I’m incredibly proud.

And tomorrow, the work continues. 💙

Susan Judd

A midlife translation guide, because apparently “I’m fine” now comes with footnotes.

“I’m fine” may mean:

* I slept for 3.5 hours and am being held together by tea and determination.

* I forgot what I was saying halfway through saying it, but we’re all moving on bravely.

* My internal temperature is currently set to tropical glasshouse.

* I have answered 42 questions today and would like the next one to be asked in writing.

* I am emotionally available, but only after lunch.

* I know I put that thing somewhere safe, which means it may never be seen again.

* I am not angry. I am simply done explaining things that were already in the email.

Or, occasionally:

I really am fine.

Miracles happen.

Midlife is funny like that.

It can be tender, frustrating, hilarious, inconvenient, clarifying, and wildly human all at once.

So here’s your reminder:

You don’t have to pretend everything is fine to still be fabulous.

Sometimes honest is much better than fine.

Worth a read!

Hormone therapy isn't for everyone, but for those who are candidates, the impact can be profound.

We often talk about HT in terms of hot flashes and night sweats. And yes, it helps enormously with those. But look at this data.

Trouble remembering. Disturbed sleep. Difficulty making decisions. Temper outbursts.

These are the symptoms quietly stealing your confidence, your productivity, and your quality of life.

This is why we don't settle for "just push through it."

You deserve to feel like yourself, at home AND at work.

Send this to a friend who keeps saying she's "just tired" or "just stressed." This might be the thing she's been missing.

I talk about something in my Hot, Foggy & Fabulous keynote called The Hormone Hurricane.

And if you know, you know.

It’s that stage where your body, brain, emotions, energy and patience all seem to be having a meeting you were not invited to.

One minute you’re perfectly capable and getting on with your day.

The next, you’re wondering why your confidence has dipped, why your brain has gone wandering without notice, or why a small workplace frustration suddenly feels much bigger than it did yesterday.

That can be unsettling.

Especially when you’re still working, still leading, still supporting others, and still expected to show up as the capable woman everyone knows you to be.

This is one of the reasons I believe perimenopause and menopause need better workplace conversations.

Not because women are fragile.

We are not.

But because this stage can affect how women experience confidence, communication, focus, energy and connection at work.

And when no one talks about it, many women assume they are the problem.

They are not.

Sometimes it’s the Hormone Hurricane.

And sometimes what women need most is understanding, language, and a workplace where they don’t have to pretend everything is fine just to be taken seriously.

Hot, Foggy & Fabulous exists to help bring that conversation into the open.

Because midlife women are not losing their value.

They may just be navigating a storm no one prepared them for.

And frankly, a little more understanding would be fabulous.

Some days call for deep reflection.

Other days call for a candle, a journal, a hand fan, and ten uninterrupted minutes where nobody says, “Can I just ask you something quickly?”

Both are valid.

That’s really the spirit of Hot, Foggy & Fabulous.

A little calm.
A little clarity.
A little humour.
A little space to pause before you answer everyone else’s needs.

Because midlife doesn’t always need a dramatic reinvention.

Sometimes it starts with a tiny moment of honesty.

A journal prompt.
A reflection card.
A quiet cup of tea.
A candle.
Or simply admitting, “Actually, I am tired of being the human lost-and-found department.”

If that sounds familiar, welcome.

You’re not broken.

You might just need five minutes to hear yourself think.

The physical changes tend to get the headlines.

The hot flushes.
The sleep disruption.
The brain fog.
The fatigue.
The hormones doing their own little interpretive dance in the background.

And yes, those things matter.

But what I keep noticing, both personally and in conversations with other women, is that the identity shift can feel even bigger.

Because many women reach midlife with years of experience behind them.

They’ve worked.
Led.
Supported.
Managed.
Built.
Carried.
Held things together.

And then suddenly, questions start to surface.

Who am I now?
What do I want from this next stage of life and work?
What am I no longer willing to tolerate, carry, or push through?

These questions can feel unsettling.

Especially when you’re still showing up at work, still being relied on, still leading and contributing as you always have.

But I don’t see those questions as signs of decline.

I see them as signs of awareness.

A recalibration.

A woman becoming more honest about what matters, what doesn’t, and what she no longer wants to carry quietly.

That is not something to dismiss.

It is something worth understanding.