How makeup is done at Miss England

Editorial · by PUCCA diana · 4 min readPublished 12 May 2026

I got to Miss England soon after moving to England, in my very first year, and it came unexpectedly. I had been there a short while and was working in a salon, alongside other makeup artists. Precisely because it happened so fast, I did not even have time to take in what was going on.

What I worked on

I did the makeup for the girls who went on stage, the contestants, and I also did the host.

I love doing makeup on women who are about to be photographed and looked at closely. To me that is a vital part of being a makeup artist. Of course there is pressure when you know that many cameras and many eyes will be on your work, but I find it a beautiful challenge.

Thirty minutes per contestant

The pressure comes from time. You do glam looks that have to hold up beautifully under strong lights, but you have to move much faster than in the salon. You do not get an hour to devote to each contestant.

You have around thirty minutes for a head to toe look, which is not easy at all.

I like that kind of pressure. That is when the professional in me comes out.

That is what being a makeup artist means, knowing how to work under pressure.

What surprised me at a beauty pageant

I expected the makeup to be heavier, more loaded, louder. In reality, naturalness is what they look for.

I remember one contestant who wore quite a loud look and insisted on doing her own makeup, even though there was a team of makeup artists available. Although she was among the girls with the best chance of winning, that was a problem for the organisers, precisely because what they promote is naturalness.

The atmosphere, the part that won me over

The team and the organisers behave like old friends. That was the feeling every time I went.

You could tell these were women supporting other women, without a trace of malice. A very beautiful, positive thing. On top of that, all the girls competing do charity work, they help other people, and you can see it. For the organisers the charity side genuinely matters.

One of the winners I did makeup for stayed with me, Elizabeth. A very warm person and, although she was young, deeply involved in charity work. When I think of her, I can still see her smile and her calm.

When things do not go to plan

We are a large team of makeup artists and not everyone understands the brief exactly. Some are nervous, some have never faced this kind of event, where you have to do something well and very fast.

There were moments when I had to correct and repair other people's work, on top of my own. It is something I am used to. And I also like the other side of it, calming the contestant down and telling her that everything will be fine and that the makeup will look exactly the way she wants.

Why I go back gladly

I love working with such a large team and I love seeing the machinery behind it, understanding what an event like that takes. There is a huge amount of work there, but it is a real pleasure.

There too it feels like a family. Everyone cannot wait to see each other again. Every time I went to a Miss England event I left in a very good state, positively charged. The contestants and the staff are wonderful. Even though the makeup and hairstyling team changed every time, they were lovely people every time.

If you have an event where you will be photographed or filmed, read about makeup for a photo shoot.