Politics student Melisa Raouf will be remembered as the first Miss England contestant to compete without makeup in the pageant’s 94-year history. She decided to stop using it in hopes of inspiring other women to embrace your natural beauty. The 20-year-old not only broke pageant stereotypes, but she also won a place in the Miss England final.
Melissa, from South London, now will compete along with 40 other women for the title, which will be announced on October 17. He plans to compete “in the open” once again. Talking about the contest with ‘Tyla‘, Melisa said: “It was quite a daunting experience, but so amazing to win this way.”
“It means a lot to me as I feel like a lot of girls of different ages wear makeup because they feel pressured to do so. If one is happy in their own skin, we shouldn’t force ourselves to cover our faces with makeup,” she continued. «Our flaws make us who we are and that is what makes each individual unique. I think people should love and embrace their flaws and imperfections as we know true beauty is found in simplicity.”
The young woman went on to explain that wearing makeup made her feel uncomfortable and hidden. “I never felt like I met beauty standards”, he added. “I recently accepted that I am beautiful in my own skin and that is why I decided to compete without makeup. I feel sure of myself, with the makeup I am hidden. This is who I am, I’m not afraid to share who I am. I wanted to show who Melissa really is.”
“I would love to use my Miss England platform to enhance natural beauty and remove this toxic mindset,” Melisa said. “Because mental health is such an important issue, I want all the girls to feel good. I just want to remove all beauty standards. I feel like all girls are beautiful in their own way.”
The contest previously introduced a ‘bare face model’ round, but this is the first time anyone has entered the full contest without wearing makeup.
Speaking about the decision to launch the new format, Miss England organizer Angie Beasley said: “It encourages contestants to show us who they really are without the need to hide behind makeup and filters on social media.” “This round of the contest was introduced in 2019 as we were receiving a lot of images of entrants covering their faces in thick makeup and using filters,” she added Beasley.
“I’m all for makeup to enhance your natural beauty, but there’s no need for young people to wear it so thick it looks like a mask. I wish Melissa the best of luck at Miss England 2022,” added Beasley.
Melisa’s decision has been well received on social networks and she has taken the opportunity to thank her on her Instagram account. “I am very grateful for the sincere support I have received from all over the world since then,” the young woman wrote. “It was very recently that I accepted that inner confidence will always shine brighter than any amount of makeupand doing it has been liberating, “added the model.
“While I still believe it’s okay to wear makeup, we shouldn’t let makeup define our appearance. Wearing makeup shouldn’t be the default, it should be a choice and women should be able to accept their differences,” Melisa continued.
Raouf wants girls to place more value on their “inner beauty” rather than comparing themselves to others. “When you wear that amount of makeup, you’re just hiding yourself. Take off all those layers and you’ll see who you really are», he told the BBC.
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