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Melisa Raouf used to spend three hours perfecting her makeup because she didn’t feel confident about her natural beauty. But while other contestants donned theirs in preparation for the Miss England pageant this week, Ella Raouf faced the competition without them.
In doing so, Raouf, 20, became the first makeup-free contestant in the 94-year history of the Miss England competition, making her the face of a bare-faced movement that has resonated with women around the world. It was a challenge for herself, Raouf said, after years of feeling shy and insecure, put off by a social media ecosystem overrun with meticulously edited and filtered images.
“Women are pressured to look a certain way because of society’s narrow perception of beauty and perfection, and are often scrutinized for not conforming to them,” she said in an interview. “I wanted to challenge these unrealistic beauty standards by taking that bare-faced roundness to the next level.”
Skin positivity activists have criticized the beauty industry’s role in marketing its products with doctored images and profiting from women’s insecurities. Raouf, a political science student at King’s College London, said she wanted to inspire girls who, like her, felt they couldn’t measure up.
Contestants qualified for the Miss England final, which was held on Sunday and Monday in Birmingham, in a variety of ways, including winning a special title (such as “advertising queen”) or a regional competition. Raouf made it after winning June’s Miss London Bare Face Top Model competition, an optional round added in 2019 that invites contestants to post a makeup-free photo of themselves to their social media accounts, then claim the same title. in the semifinals of Miss England in August. .
Before the final, Raouf picked up litter in London and held a 10-kilometre event to raise money for Miss World-affiliated non-profit organization Beauty with a Purpose, which provides food, water and education to those in need. She also started the #barefacetrendmovement, which boosted her confidence and connected her to a community of women looking for positive skin.
“I’m so proud of her,” said Elle Seline, who last year became the first woman to compete without makeup at the Ms Great Britain pageant, a pageant for women ages 31 to 44. and using her platforms to keep that conversation going.”
Seline, 32, used her platform at the Miss Great Britain pageant to promote women’s empowerment and the right to choose their bodies, from wearing makeup to having an abortion. She said she was bullied for her olive skin tone and thicker features and battled bulimia growing up, but being alone during the pandemic lockdowns, away from other people’s judgment or validation, gave her time to work on herself. before the competition.
She sees Raouf’s makeup-free choice, she said, as a cane step toward a beauty revolution.
“We will see a difference in how society perceives beauty, and hopefully we will see a lot of change,” Seline said.
Raouf and the other Miss England finalists competed in 10 rounds, including hair and talent. The crown went to aerospace engineering student Jessica Gagen on Monday night, who will then compete with more than 120 participating countries for the Miss World title.
But, in his closing statement, Raouf emphasized his message.
“For too long, women have been pressured to look, act or behave a certain way, and I think it’s time for a change: to show women no matter their age, no matter their background, that we are beautiful just the way we are. ”, she said on Monday.
The push for love of natural skin has slowly gained traction, surprising even some real skin influencers who feared their unfiltered images would be met with hate comments.
Mariia Bilenka, a 25-year-old Ukrainian living in Hamburg, shared her skin story on social media in 2018, fed up with the inconsistency she faced in trying to treat skin breakouts she’s experienced since she was 13 years old. embarrassed that skin issues were such a taboo topic to talk about,” said Bilenka, a marketing specialist for a skincare app for acne-prone people.
Now, over 500,000 Instagram posts include #bareface, and nearly 250,000 more include #skinpositivity, signaling the growth of a once niche group What real-skin activists and makeup-free influencers resonate with the urge to see unfiltered and unedited images so beautiful.
Lou Northcote’s modeling career was cut short at age 16 due to severe acne. She hurt Northcote, now a 25-year-old Londoner working in fashion, not being able to pursue what she loved. But the community that she found of her through her Instagram hashtag #freethepimple has been very supportive in embracing her bare face.
“We all have lines, veins, scars, marks, anything. But for whatever reason, we’re told we have to be completely flawless,” Northcote said. “I did not invent acne. I just talked about it.”
“After participating in this contest, I learned that the ability to love myself [and] I accept myself for who I am in my own skin, whether it’s makeup or no makeup,” she told Mademoiselleosaki. “That inner confidence will radiate so much more than any makeup or filter.”
Source: news.google.com