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Melissa Raouf, one of the finalists for Miss England, became the first to compete without makeup in nearly a century of pageant history. The 20-year-old university student, who lives in south London, made the decision to promote inner beauty and challenge ideals that are “maintained on social media”.
The contestant, who also does not intend to use makeup at the end of the competition, described an experience Show a clean face as “scary but cool”And the According to The Independent,.
It means a lot to me because I feel like a lot of girls, of all ages, put on makeup because they feel pressured to do it,” she said.
According to Melissa Raouf, “If a person is happy with their skin,” they should not “be forced to cover their face with makeup.” The young woman added, “Our flaws make us who we are, and that’s what makes us unique.”
Although she started using makeup a few years ago, Melissa admitted that she “recently” accepted that she was “beautiful” in her own skin.
After appearing without makeup in the semi-finals on Monday, the 20-year-old is competing at the end of October against 40 other women. To be crowned Miss England.
Competition Director Angie Beasley said, In a statement to CNNthat the “Bare Face Top Model” category, in which Melissa is competing, was introduced in 2019 because “most of the contestants were submitting highly edited photos with a lot of makeup.”
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