Natasha at work, in the hair and make-up room for the girls.
Photo for CMC by: Jan-Erik Nilsson © 2009.

After selecting the gowns and being properly fitted, the girls were off to do their hair and make-up. The styling team on location had superb energy and focus, working several hours to get all the girls ready for the event.

The waiting time for hair and make-up gave a pleasant opportunity for the girls to socialize, network and do some girl-talk!

Girl-talk! Sitting in a group is Minna, Katarina and myself with Sandra Lura (next to me), Miss Intercontinental Norway, 2008. Catherine Sjœvold Gulliksen, this year’s winner of the MMW title is also in the group.

Next to the left of me was Sandra Lura, a tall and stunning blonde, who is the current Miss Intercontinental 2008, Norway. We got to talk about mutual friends and she mentioned she had met Miss Singapore Intercontinental 2008 in Poland last year, and thought Singapore a lovely place to visit one day. One topic that came up was what’s up with the peanut shells and the Long Bar at Raffles Hotel that’s so much talked about. We also shared our experiences of the international pageant scene.

I am in general curious about the motivations of young women to join pageants and Sandra told that it was the people she got to meet along the way that she found most interesting. She also enjoyed the cross-cultural experiences she gained through all her pageant related travels.

Katarina and Minna getting their hair done.

Minna, at the make-up station.

The make-up and styling team worked around a specific colour palette and theme for the event.

The girls’ hair were set in large loose curls and their make-up was done up to look au naturelle. The girls hardly had time to look for dinner before they were called to be on location for full dress rehearsals. So when in a pageant, it’s advisable to carry with you energy bars or energy drinks. As manager to Katarina and Minna on this trip, I ensured that the girls had food, drinks and snacks they could carry with them to their next location. This move saved their hair-dos and make-up from the snowy weather outdoors in Oslo and it also saved them from possibly fainting of starvation!

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Written by:
Cheryl Marie Cordeiro and Jan-Erik Nilsson
Oslo, Norway and Gothenburg, Sweden
March 2009