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Melissa Raouf, a 20-year-old university student from south London, advanced to the semi-finals of the competition on Monday after opting to appear without makeup. She will now compete in the finals next October on the crown.
In an interview with the British newspaper The Independent, Raouf said: "It means a lot to me because I feel that many girls of different ages wear makeup because they feel pressured to do so".
added: "If a person is happy with his skin, we should not be forced to cover our face with makeup. Our flaws make us who we are and that’s what makes each individual unique".
Raouf said that although she started applying makeup at a young age, she decided to avoid the habit in the competition.
She explained in the interview: "I have never felt that I meet the standards of beauty. I recently accepted that I’m beautiful in my skin which is why I decided to compete without makeup".
In May, Raouf posted a selfie on Instagram from a tour "exposed face" From the competition, she wrote that "Impurities and imperfections are welcome".
Miss England manager Angie Beasley told CNN in a statement on Friday: "We did the Barefaced Tour in 2019 where most of the contestants were submitting highly edited photos wearing a lot of makeup and we wanted to see the real person behind the makeup".
According to the organizers, Raouf plans to go bare-faced again in the national final in October.
Beasley added: "We wish her the best of luck in Miss England, it’s a very brave thing to do when everyone is wearing makeup but she sends an important message to young women".
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Melissa Raouf, a 20-year-old university student from south London, advanced to the semi-finals of the competition on Monday after opting to appear without makeup. She will now compete in the finals next October on the crown.
“It means a lot to me because I feel that so many girls of all ages wear makeup because they feel pressured to do so,” Raouf said in an interview with the British newspaper The Independent.
She added, “If a person is happy with his skin, we should not be forced to cover our face with makeup. Our flaws make us who we are and this is what makes each individual unique.”
Raouf said that although she started applying makeup at a young age, she decided to avoid the habit in the competition.
In the interview, she explained, “I never felt like I met the standards of beauty. I recently accepted that I was beautiful in my skin and that’s why I decided to compete without makeup.”
In May, Raouf posted a selfie on Instagram from the “Bare Face” round of the competition, writing that she “welcomes imperfections”.
“We did the Barefoot Tour in 2019 where most of the contestants were submitting highly edited photos wearing a lot of makeup and we wanted to see the real person behind the makeup,” Miss England director Angie Beasley told CNN in a statement on Friday.
According to the organizers, Raouf plans to go bare-faced again in the national final in October.
“We wish her the best of luck at Miss England, it’s a very brave thing to do when everyone is wearing make-up but it sends an important message to young women,” Beasley added.