BARE BEAUTY: HOW MISS ENGLAND REDEFINED A CENTURY OF TRADITION

For nearly a century, Miss England had crowned its winners the traditional way: hair styled, foundation blended, lipstick perfect, and every detail polished for the runway. In September 2023, one regional heat threw that long-standing formula out completely. The Miss London & South East heat became what organizers called the world’s first fully makeup-free beauty pageant. Nineteen contestants walked the runway with completely bare faces—no foundation, no lipstick, no concealer—wearing their own choice of boho-themed, ethically sourced clothing instead of the usual glittering gowns.

The idea did not come out of nowhere. Miss England director Angie Beasley had introduced a “Bare Face Top Model” round back in 2019, after noticing that contestant entry photos were becoming so heavily filtered and layered in makeup that she could barely recognize the women behind them. That specific round grew more popular every year, until organizers finally decided to build an entire pageant heat around it.

This time, judges were not just scoring faces. Contestants were evaluated on their occupations, their academic studies, and their personal values. The lineup included Afrose Ameen, a 23-year-old engineering student who had worked on the construction of London’s Elizabeth Line, and Temi Adeyemi, a 26-year-old accounts assistant. Seventeen-year-old beauty therapy student Alanta Richards also placed in the top five.

The crown went to Natasha Beresford, a 26-year-old dental nurse from London, who took the runway with nothing but her bare skin and won the title of Miss London 2023. In doing so, she became the face of a pageant that, for the first time in 95 years, decided real skin was enough.