Melisa Raouf: Going make-up free in the Miss England final

The public's perception of beauty pageants may be that they are flashy, beautiful events at which young ladies wear elaborate costumes and plenty of makeup.

Melisa Raouf is on a quest to alter the latter statement, which may or may not have changed since the first.

The 20-year-old student hopes to send a message to young women that they do not need to apply makeup in order to feel beautiful by competing in the Miss England final without it for the first time in the competition's nearly 100-year history.

Ms. Raouf, a resident of south London, won a "bare-face" phase of the tournament last week, guaranteeing her spot in the grand final on October 17th, which will feature 40 competitors.

She will not be returning to wearing makeup for the final, unlike previous victors of this stage.

To "inspire the world," she plans to compete in the Miss World pageant without it if she wins.

"I wanted to prove we have a choice," she says to BBC News. In other words, "We don't have to wear make-up if we don't want to."

Ms. Raouf, like many of her contemporaries, started using cosmetics when she was a teenager.

Her mental health suffered because she constantly judged herself against the "unrealistic standard of beauty" displayed on social media, she claims.

Rehema Muthamia, Miss England 2018, is from Essex.

"I never felt comfortable in who I was, never felt comfortable in my flesh," Ms. Raouf recalls.

But as she matured, her self-assurance grew, and she now believes that even if entering the beauty pageant was "extremely intimidating" at the time, it actually helped her develop confidence.

"I figured, I'm doing this for us all," she said.

Ms. Raouf claims to be "overwhelmed" by the support she has received online following last week's bare-face round.

Girls of all ages, even those in their forties and fifties, have told her that they are more confident now.

Ms. Raouf doesn't mind putting on makeup and will continue to do so for other events. After cleansing her face, she applied toner, moisturiser, and lip balm, all of which were permitted by the bare-face round.

"I view makeup as an expression of artistic and creative expression," she explains.

Makeup can be used to improve one's appearance or for special occasions, but it should not be used to define us. One must make a decision.

What I really wanted to accomplish was demonstrate that "we don't have to wear make-up if we don't want to."

Ms. Raouf encourages young women to focus on their "inside beauty" rather than their external appearance.

When you put on that much makeup, all you're doing is hiding. She continues, "Peel back those masks, and you'll be amazed at the person you discover."

Every year, the winners of four different UK national beauty pageants—including Miss England, which is owned by the Miss World competition—compete in the Miss World finals in China.

Host Eric Morley of the British television network ITV created the Miss World pageant in 1951. After his death in 2000, his wife Julia Morley took over as CEO.

One of the most infamous examples of this is the 1970 Miss World final disruption in London's Royal Albert Hall, in which members of the Women's Liberation Movement used flour to demonstrate their disapproval of the franchise and its objectification of women.

When the tournament finals were held in London in 2011 and 2014, there were protests from a variety of groups, including the London Feminist Network and UK Feminista.

Throughout the history of the Miss World competition, there have been protests.

There are still aspects of the competition's entrance requirements that haven't been updated since 1951.

Contestants for the title of Miss England must be single and under the age of 27 in the year of entry.

Former Miss Ukraine Veronika Didusenko, who had her crown stripped from her in 2018 because she was a mother, called for rule changes.

As Julia Morley explained in retrospect, changing entrance rules was challenging because tournaments were held at the municipal level in so many different countries.

The events, however, had a "positive and inspirational" effect on Ms. Raouf.

A contestant's platform is used for social benefit.

Ms. Raouf, currently a sophomore at King's College London, plans to pursue a career in diplomacy after completing her degree in politics.

She claims that the other female competitors are more diverse in terms of interests and backgrounds than is commonly assumed.

Her statement that "everyone has their own narrative" rings true.

Source:- https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-62713645