As any budding beauty queen knows, being selected to attend an international pageant is an exciting, but somewhat daunting experience, and after the initial excitement has died down many girls call me asking ‘What on earth do I pack? and ‘What do I wear?’ Packing and preparing for an international pageant is not the mammoth task it’s made out to be, and can be fun, but unless you’ve been to one before, it makes sense to be fully prepared. On this page, I have made it easy for you by writing a fool proof pageant preparation and packing list, to ensure you look your best 24/7 and have everything on hand for those little unexpected emergencies...from having the flu to fixing a broken nail.
There are two types of girls that attend international pageants:
Type 1 is the girl that really wants to win: She lives and breathes pageants, and quite often places or wins the contests she enters. She views pageants as a serious hobby and adapts her lifestyle to compete, eating healthily, exercising regularly, and saves all her pennies to buy the best dresses money can buy. She is well – prepared, and it shows! This girl is on a mission at internationals and wants to win!
Type 2 is the girl who has got lucky and won a contest, usually as a fluke if she’s a beginner, and is over the moon! She doesn’t have much experience, but the lure of wearing a crown and beautiful dresses is too much to resist! She lives like the average girl next door, and wants to attend an international too see the world, meet new people and make new friends. She’s not particularly bothered about winning, or changing her lifestyle to win, but she likes attending internationals for the pure experience, rather than the win.
If you want to enjoy your international, regardless of which Type you are (and neither is wrong or better than the other), you need to be prepared. Whether you win or not, you will come back home with great memories, which you will treasure forever..so get packing!
Basic Packing: Regardless of which country you are flying to, you will pretty much be on your feet all day and be required to look your best 24/7, so you need to make sure that you pack enough of your best clothes and accessories, to dazzle during the day time and sexy it up at night – from a comfy tracksuit for rehearsals, to cocktail dresses and stunning jewellery for parties!
The biggest mistake that a lot of girls make is to think that they have to get designer clothes to stand out. Not true! When I was at Mrs World 2009, I wore a beautiful Versace dress one evening to a cocktail party; no one commented on the dress, but everyone loved my £12 Primark shoes! My official bikini photo was also in a Primark Bikini, but my jewellery cost more than my rent for that month. The point is, that as long as you are clever, you can mix and match expensive dresses with high street accessories, and vice versa. Pageants are lots of fun but they are never worth getting yourself in debt for. Asda, Marks and Spencers and Tesco have some nice summer wear. Ebay is also good for finding gems, and if you have the time, drop into your local TKJ Maxx to dig out some discounted designer wear from last year’s collections. Sherri Hill and Jovani dresses always sell for good discounted prices on Ebay, as do pageant shoes and bikinis. The main point here girlies, is to make sure that whatever you buy, and whatever it’s price, that its fits you well and compliments your skin tone. For a good guide of what to wear, and what beauty products are the best, check out the Contestant Pageant Directory.
Budget aside, if you do have money to spend, head for a top designer swimwear boutique like Sandstorm Boutique (www.luxurysandstorm.com) or the Victoria’s Secret website, who both do stunning bikinis.
Travel Wear:
There is no doubt that you will need to look glamorous at the other end when you land, but when you are boarding the plane, wear something comfy and easy to fly in. I usually wear combats and a vest top with a hoodie and trainers, leggins, or a tracksuit. You don’t need to look glamorous when you board the plane, but you will need to pull out all the stop just before you land, but we’ll cover that later.
Something to consider when you’re choosing your travel and landing clothes, is what the temperature is going to be like when you arrive at the other end. Most countries (even in Europe) have hotter climates than the UK so it makes sense to plan well: you wan to be comfy on the flight, but to arrive looking glamorous; fully prepared to either wrap up warm, or shimmy into the arrival lounge in a sun dress and shades.
Clothes aside, your beauty regime while flying is equally important: To look your best when you land (which is the most important time you need to look your best as first impressions count for everything is pageants!), you need to look after your skin while flying. There is absolutely no point in wearing makeup to fly in – your skin will dry up, your pores will get clogged with makeup, and the air conditioning in the cabin will ruin your complexion...and that’s before you even arrive! To avoid this, I tend to go makeup free when I board the plane, and take a really good moisturising face cream and some Vaseline with me to use when the cabin air gets dry. For the first few hours; relax, sleep, read your magazine and watch an in-flight movie; put some Vaseline on your lips and moisturise your face whenever if feels even slightly dry.
Equally, you need to look after your hair; To avoid it being greasy and looking tired and ragged when I land, I always get up early and wash my hair the day I’m flying, blow dry it straight, then run some thickening serum through the ends before putting it up in a lose, high bun, with rollers in the top. I always clip the short bits round my face back into the rollers too, to stop them getting greasy on the flight. This keeps my hair fresh and gives it a nice natural wave when I take it down at the other end. If you feel a little self-conscious about wearing hair rollers in the airport, take a leaf out of Pixie Lott’s book and wrap a head scarf around the top bit where your rollers are, and team with some stylish sun glasses..prepared and chick in one go!
When you are about an hour from landing, avoid the rush for the toilet and pop to the bathroom to transform yourself from chilled chick into a pageant goddess! Start with your skin and cleanse, tone and moisturise before applying any makeup – the airport cabin will of played havoc with your skin, so to make your makeup last, ensure you use a really good moisturiser as a base. Use false lashes if you have them, and apply your makeup so your face looks flawless; take as much time as you need, to ensure you look fantastic when you land. Use a little deodorant, change out of your comfy travel clothes, and put on your landing outfit. I usually leave my hair still up at this point, and only take it down after I’ve gone through passport control, to ensure it looks full and bouncy. I also leave my lipstick until after passport control too, so it looks really fresh when I’m met at the gate.
If possible, get a trolley for your luggage, and put all of your bags (including your hand luggage) onto it, so you’re not carrying loads of bags when you walk through the gate. This is the public, the media, and the organiser’s first impression of you, so walk tall, smile, and keep an eye open for your chaperone.
Main Baggage Allowance: First of all, make sure that you have a decent suitcase that will keep all your Sherri Hill dresses and Primark shoes safe. Also, check the baggage restrictions with the airline before you fly, as to avoid any last minute un-packing at check in. Each air-line will have its own baggage allowance depending on your flight ticket, however between 20 and 22kg is usually standard for an economy ticket for international travel. You can take more than 20kg, however it can get very expensive if you go even slightly over your quota. International Airport Regulations also dictate that you cannot take any more than 100ml of fluid, or any sharp objects or flammable substances in your hand luggage, so remember to put your lighters, tweezers, nail scissors, deodorant (aerosols), and any large bottles of liquid into your main luggage before checking in.
Hand Luggage Allowance: Intenational flight regulations differ from time to time and are constantly being updated as security at airports increases, however for the majority of airlines your hand luggage must not exceed 55 cm x 40 cm x 20cm and must not be heavier than 5kg. If it is larger or heavier than this, the airline may ask you to check it into the hold, which will of course push up your main baggage allowance (see above) which can turn very expensive.
Any liquids such as toothpaste, perfume, liquid foundation, body wash, travel size shampoo and conditioners, etc should all be put in a clear plastic bag which will be inspected at security. Most airports provide clear plastic bags if you ask for them at security.
Hand Luggage - What To Pack: Most international contest are held outside Europe which means a minimum flight time of 4 hours, so I always pack a couple of magazines, my iPOD, phone (and charger), toiletries, alongside the essentials (see packing list below), to keep me amused.
Packing Tricks: There are a few tricks you can use at the airport to squeeze extra items in to your luggage:
Firstly, I would recommend wearing your heaviest shoes and coat, as they alone will probably take off at last 2 or 3 kg’s from your luggage. If you really have over – packed and are way over your limit, aside from smiling nicely at the check in staff, take a tip from Joey from Friends and try wearing some of your heavier clothes to walk through security, remembering to stuff a large plastic bag in your pocket so once you get through into the departure lounge, you can take off all your extra layers and put them in your bag, to take on board the flight. I remember being very unprepared on the way to one international pageant, and I ended up putting on about a third of my pageant wardrobe and stuffed my hairdryer and high heels in my coat pockets just to go through security. I felt very hot and a little flustered for a few minutes, and looked a little silly, but it worked. I’ve done it many a time since and this trick works a treat!
If you have someone with you at check in, get them to hold a couple of heavier items for you while your bags are weighed, then stuff them pack into your hand luggage before you go through security. You can also carry things in your hands, such as an extra coat over your arm, or a book, which you know will use up some of your valuable luggage allowance!
To get away with a few extra kg’s, I also pack my heaviest items (shoes, hair dryer and straighteners etc) in my hand luggage along with everything I need for the flight. A hair dryer can weigh up to 2kgs so it makes sense to take it out your main baggage.
Why pack heavy essential items such as shampoo and conditioner, body lotion and body wash, that you know will take up extra kg’s, when you know you can buy them in the departure lounge for half the price you’d pay on the high street? Most airports have a Boots, Superdrug or Bodyshop you can buy these items at, and to make things even better, it’s tax – free too, what a bonus!
Some airports only allow you to take one piece of hand luggage through, so another trick I sometimes use is to stuff everything I need into my hand luggage, along with my handbag, then take it out once I’m in the departure lounge, take my handbag items out my hand luggage, and put them into my handbag.
Packing: The Essentials:
Packing – Pageant Wear:
Packing: Other Items: Try to pack as many bright, beautiful and sparkly clothes as you can. Don’t pack anything you wouldn’t wear on a date/out with friends, and never ever worry about over – dressing at a pageant...it simply doesn’t happen! These other items for you to pack are entirely at your discretion, but I always try to include my favourite pair of jeans.
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I’ve spent the past 7 years travelling all over the world attending international pageants, and I’ve only just got it right, so don’t worry if you forget something. I’ve designed this packing list specifically for you to tick each item as you pack it, to ensure you don’t forget anything, so I hope it helps! Remember, you are there to have fun and enjoy yourself, and to hopefully bring home an international crown, so you need to pack and act like you’ve already won!
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