There are many beautiful women worldwide, and pageants like Miss Universe show the significant cultural and aesthetic differences among the world’s inhabitants. Although “beauty” is a relative concept, the ladies competing in these contests have unique attributes emblematic of their respective countries. However, some occasionally adopt odd practices to maintain their unique beauty, such as the gorgeous girl who won this year’s contest.
This is the first time a woman of her age has won the contest.
It was a big stride toward diversity when R’Bonney Gabriel, the first Filipina American, and oldest champion to date, was declared the winner. This action exemplifies the institution’s commitment to defying social conventions to boost the participation of more beautiful women in the competition.
Gabriel, over 28 years old, shattered the record in 2023, becoming the oldest Miss Universe winner. This is a noteworthy accomplishment, as the model herself remarks, “I am 28 years old, and that is the oldest age to compete,” continuing, “I think that’s a beautiful thing.”
Gabriel is the first Miss USA to win Miss Universe in 10 years, thus, her victory appears revolutionary, as she is. Indeed, the woman aims to “be a transformational leader.” She said, “As a very passionate designer, I’ve been sewing for 13 years. I use fashion as a force for good. In my industry, I’m cutting down on pollution through recycled materials when I make my clothing.”
Before winning, she conducted a bizarre “beauty routine.”
Preserving our natural beauty may be challenging, and many women turn to various beauty hacks and regimens to do it. For example, Blake Lively loves applying mayonnaise as a hair mask, while Lady Gaga uses tape to give herself a face-lift to prevent wrinkles.
In the case of the stunning Gabriel, she adopted an unconventional but effective strategy to keep her beauty intact. The winner confessed, “I haven’t washed my hair this whole time since I left for the pageant on January 1,” and added, “I still haven’t!”
We picture these beautiful ladies as flawless “innate beings” when we watch them go down the catwalk. But in the end, we’re all just people going about our regular lives and doing the same thing. As Gabriel remarked, “People think it’s funny because we come onstage and we look so beautiful and fresh,” she said. “But I actually felt so dirty by the time I was at the final.”
The model also admitted to not showering daily to preserve her self-tanner. “I do self-tanner because I’m fair-skinned, and when you’re onstage, the lights wash you out,” she confessed. “You want those muscles to pop.”
Since she couldn’t shower to keep her tan, Gabriel stated she didn’t use hairspray “until absolutely necessary.”
“I’ll do a lot of updos at the beginning of the pageant, then as the pageant develops, I’ll start wearing my hair down and putting hairspray in it and letting it build up,” she revealed. “The more the curls will stay nice and clean and crisp.”
The candidate made it to the finals without taking a shower or using shampoo, yet she still looked charming. “By the time finals come around, I have a good foundation of hairspray in it, and the curls will really stay,” she explained.
She wants to portray Miss Universe in a unique way.
Gabriel ultimately revealed all of her strategies that helped her win, proving you don’t have to be perfect and spotless to appear beautiful in other people’s eyes. No one could have known what was hidden behind that attractive woman, but we think that was Gabriel’s point — that not everything is as it seems.
Not many people would have shared what Gabriel revealed, but the model is confident of her desire to be a one-of-a-kind Miss Universe. “This is a strong message that I want to share with the world,” she said. “No matter if people try to knock you down or there are misconceptions about you, you can’t let that get to you. Just keep going, and you’ll get what you deserve — so I’m so happy to be Miss Universe.”
