My Miss England - Essex Experience

Welcome back lovelies!

I'm sorry for the lack of posts recently, I've been wrapped up in the glittering pageant world!

I've had so many of you ask me about me recently competing in the Miss Essex (Miss World) finals I thought I would blog about it!

Before I start, I just want to clear up that this won't be me being a sore loser having a rant and slagging off the pageant world, so if that's what you're ready this for I'm sorry to disappoint! Haha I just wanted to share my experience with you all...

Being my first pageant I honestly had no idea what to expect and was honestly bricking it. I've always taken part in competitions since I was very young, I was a dancer for 12 years then went on to compete with horses in dressage and showing disciplines, I'm not an overly competitive person but I do love a challenge!

When I applied I had no idea that I would actually hear back from the Miss England organisers, let alone make it to the finals. The application was an online form of questions as you would expect, then you are asked to send a number of pictures with your application. I will admit, the picture I sent was actually me half cut in a nightclub toilets but my tan was good and the lighting was bomb so ...why not!

A few weeks passed and I had heard nothing back until one day after work I casually checked my emails and there it was ..and email from Miss England offering me a place in the Miss Essex final! Safe to say I was excited!

For weeks I tried to prepare myself as much as I could ( you would be surprised how much blogs and YouTube channels cater for this kind of thing ) but nothing can really compare you for your first pageant. I also thought being a first timer I would be at a huge disadvantage.

So finally the day arrives, my suitcase (yes I took a suitcase) is packed and I'm ready to go. Now normally I'm a relatively confident person but it's a daunting thought walking into a room full of pretty girls that are competing against you. I thought pageants would be super bitchy but I was surprised by the reality.

On arrival at the Venue I grabbed my case out of the car, took a deep breath and walked into a giant, beautifully decorated marquee expecting the other girls to be giving me their best resting bitch faces but what I encountered was quite the opposite. There were about 25 girls scattered over 4 tables so I decided to find my lady-balls and plant myself on one of these tables of girls. I expected instant interrogation or something, clearly watching too much Sons of Anarchy, but what I really got was genuine, smiling girls talking about life and mishaps, no bragging or trying to impress, just real girls. Okay ..so the worst bit was over right?

After the initial introductions we started on rehearsals for each round. There were 3 rounds we had to rehearse for - the black dress round, the jeans confidence round and the infamous evening round - all of which had different routines you had to master effortlessly while trying not to fall of the stage ...and smile at the same time.

After a good few hours of rehearsals we were given time to get ready for the pageant. In the midst of makeup brushes, false eyelashes and bras flying about, two guys walk in carrying, no lie, 10 large Dominos pizzas for us girls ...heaven! Thanks to Dominos Bishop Stortford for possibly the best food sponsor ever haha!

Okay so after the hour of make up, pizza and our first outfits we were finally ready! At this point I wasn't nervous at all ..I had the routines down, I looked pretty pageant-y, I felt ready for the show.
Our first routine involved all of the girls walking round the catwalk and stage in a sort of snake formation then follow one another backstage ready for our solo experiences. This was flawless, I didn't trip or turn the wrong way but when you've been practicing to an empty room all day then it's suddenly filled with guests and judges you can't help but suddenly get a few butterflies!
I didn't feel like it bothered me at the time until it was my turn to do my solo strut down the catwalk with various poses at the end while smiling sweetly at the judges, then omg it hit me ..my concentration went out of the window and for some reason I decided to march down the catwalk and instead of stopping for my posing/smiling I decided to turn around straight away, March back up the catwalk and proceed off stage ..KILL ME NOW

I'd given up hope after this, how do you recover from that fluff up? Regardless of my doubts I was going to bloody well try! For the jeans round I donned my trust blue Joni's (best jeans ever btw) and give it all I had! Safe to say that round went ALOT better ..lots of posing and smiling trying to redeem myself!

Last but not least, the infamous evening gown round. We all thought it would be a great idea to get the kind of dresses that require lacing up at the back even after being told we had to quick change! Backstage was a tangle of girls yanking other girls into their glittering dresses ASAP!

This was the round I was most looking forward to ..the round where you could really show off and make the most of the catwalk, which I did of course! Some girls did get a bit carried away apparently but I was too busy lacing dresses to see!

So this was it ..my dress was on and laced, I was next on stage and couldn't wait. It's a daunting yet amazing feeling Knowing all eyes are on you. My turn on stage was over all to soon, by this point it was time for an interval so the judges could make their decisions.

I think it's not until you stand back stage, surrounded by gorgeous girls in beautiful dresses, that you realise how high the standards are. By this point I really thought I had no chance at all in reaching the top 10 and was considering trying to unlace my dress when shock ..my name was called as judges choice top 10 'number 20 ...Nicola!'
I won't lie, I was not expecting that at all as there were so many amazing girls and only 10 top spots, it was a real proud moment!
I made my way on stage to join the top ten line up and to be asked my question. We had been warned of the questions beforehand and there was one I wanted to avoid ..'why did you enter Miss Essex' and of course this is the one I got! There are so many ways this can be answered but it can sound so cliche. I did my best to answer as truthfully as I could on the spot ..I can't tell you what I said because I honestly have no idea ..it was all waffle to me but apparently the judges liked it!

After, the top 10 line up the girls go backstage to await for the runners up and the winner to be announced. This was a very tense moment if I'm honest, so many girls so close to that winning spot but there's only one crown. In the end a beaut blonde named Emily Evans took the crown for her great performance and all of her fundraising efforts including climbing Mount Kilimanjaro! A worthy winner in my eyes and an excellent ambassador for Essex ..no white stilettos in sight...

Although I had sore feet from wearing heels all day and was exhausted it was one of the best competitions I've ever experienced, so well organised by the Heslewood family and I made some wonderful friends and have even landed myself a spot in the Miss Cambridgshire finals in a months time! No rest for the wicked ay!

I would really recommend these kind of competitions to any girls that want to boost their confidence and challenge themselves. Gone are the days when these pageants were purely beauty based ..they now focus on so many factors like personality, kindness and education.

I hope you've enjoyed my little insight into my pageant experience so far!

Thanks for reading ..until next time
Essex Beauty Queen xxx