Miss Connecticut crowned Miss USA 2013 via MSN News
So I just got back from Planet Hollywood in Las Vegas. The hotel was even more sparkly than usual, as 51 bona fide US beauty queens and a bevy of teen hopefuls and others descended on the Vegas property to watch Miss Connecticut, Erin Brady, win the coveted title. What I especially loved about her, is that she proudly talked about her math roots, and her “secret glamour” side.
We all have it… this secret glamour side. I was actually invited to Vegas by my friend, celebrity MUA and author, Kenetia Lee who works with the Trump Organization. She put together a brand new workshop called Confidently Beautiful and it was attended by many Miss Teen USA hopefuls and other women and girls, some who pageant and others who don’t, around what Confidently Beautiful means to them.
She invited me to be a panelist along with 2012 Miss USA Nana Meriwether, Cathryn Kennedy of St. Jude’s, Dorothy Evans Miss USA Fitness Expert and Dr. Lisa Palmer of Florida to serve as role models and share our very honest journeys with the attendees. It also confronted us about our own personal journey with that elusive question of “what is confidently beautiful?”
It makes a lot of sense. A large majority of my Vanity Girl customers are young teens, just coming into their own when it comes to beauty, body image and confidence. Yes, we love our makeup. But we also love what makes us beautiful on the inside, flaws and all.
I was very honored to share my story. I was even more honored when these bright and beautiful young women, and some of their mothers who beautifully are still launching some of their dreams, came up to me afterwards to share their own entrepreneurial dreams and ask my advice on their burgeoning projects! It’s honestly my favorite part, whenever I speak, to get a little of that one-on-one time afterward and hear if something I said resonated and fanned a little fire inside someone’s heart.
I also learned so much from my fellow panelists. Here are just a couple of very quick takeaways I learned from these accomplished and beautiful women:
Nana: She is sooooo accomplished at such a young age. I was inspired by how she turns “haters” and naysayers into fuel for her dreams.
Lisa: Balance. She is such a proponent for taking care of yourself and setting healthy boundaries for yourself and your loved ones.
Cathryn: Kindness. As a CFO type, she would seem to be all about the financial bottom line, but it was her humanity that struck me most.
Dorothy: Loving the skin in your in. No matter the shape and size, there is always room to take care of your physical body.
Kenetia: Be Fearless. Bold. Beautiful and Free.
So Kenetia, thank you for inviting me and giving me a platform to share my Vanity Girl story. To the other panelists, thank you for sharing your stories (yes, even the ugly parts!) and wisdom with everyone, and most of all, to those beautiful, shiny teen faces who attended, thank you for listening and I AM SO EXCITED to see what’s next for all of you.
xoxo
Maxine @VanityGirl
Vanity girl world 