An old beauty pageant that features “raw” and “unfiltered” contestants gained buzz anew on a discussion website on Wednesday.
A Reddit user on May 3 shared a screengrab of an Instagram post showing winners of the Miss #NoFilter Negrosanon Queen 2021 beauty pageant launched at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Beauty pageant contestants with no makeup,” Redditor u/dcoconutnut wrote.
The post has been upvoted at 98% so far.
Beauty pageant contestants with no makeup.
by u/dcoconutnut in Philippines
It has also earned various comments from Redditors.
Some praised the pageant’s concept of doing away with makeup, which is usual in beauty competitions.
“Natural beauty is better than masking themselves to be beautiful,” a Reddit user wrote.
“Ayos, a. In fairness, ang gaganda nila,” another Redditor commented.
“They look much more awesome,” wrote a different Reddit user.
Others, however, did not believe that the pageant went through with its makeup-free agenda.
“Sabihin walang makeup. Kahit papano, meron ‘yan,” a Pinoy commented.
“Contestant 20’s filled eyebrows,” another Redditor claimed, referring to the picture.
“Yes, 18 and 20 are obviously wearing some makeup,” wrote a different Reddit user.
The Miss #NoFilter Negrosanon Queen 2021 was an online beauty pageant held in Negros Oriental and streamed in February 2021.
It featured 25 contestants who had to compete with no makeup on.
According to Negrosanon Palanggaon, the pageant aimed “to uncover the raw and natural beauty of a Negrosanon lady.”
“This #NoFilter Online Beauty Pageant Search puts emphasis on the real beauty of a Negrosanon lady as we require no makeup or any physical enhancements,” it said on Facebook in November 2020.
The post also had some of the following hashtags: “#NoFilter,” “#NoEnhancement,” “#JustPureBeauty,” and ” #NoFilterNegrosanonQueen,” among others.
The winner was Kathryn May Gadingan Salacut from Tayasan, who took home P200,000. She also received a cash incentive from their barangay amounting to P200,000.
The Tayasan beauty also won the following awards: Best in Swimsuit, Best in Gown, and Best Speaker.
Salacit was followed by Daphne Kyara Algarme of Bais City who was named the first runner-up. She received P150,000.
The second runner-up was Renelyn Deguit of Ayungon, who received P50,000.
Other winners were Christine Ann Gabucan of Bayawan City and Nestlie Apolinario of Siaton.
Gabucan won the Best in Production Wear Award and the Social Media Award, while Apolinario earned the Miss Photogenic award.
Beauty pageants are usually associated with glitz and glamor.
Competitions traditionally judge the physical attributes of contestants, who would be styled and have their faces made up to enhance their looks, highlight their appeal, or cover imperfections.
Its roots were embedded in cosmetics as well.
Pageants were first conceptualized in the 1850s as a marketing tactic used by newspapers to sell cosmetics.
It later became a tool of resort destinations to lure tourists to annual beauty fiestas.
The initiative eventually evolved to serve as a platform for women’s advocacies, issues and other purposes intended by pageant makers.
