“I bring everything!” When duty calls, Shekinah Monee, New York City’s Perfect Miss and a former law enforcement officer, has her makeup kit ready to go.
“Sometimes we have a space with a mirror for each of us, but for more local pageants we’re getting ready in our rooms. There’s makeup everywhere! The girls do share makeup, but it’s always a matter of having the right colors. For larger pageants there is often a makeup artist – I bring my foundation in case they don’t have my color, my mascara (it’s more hygienic), and my lipgloss just because I might like my color better.”
“Pageants are stressful: you never know what the judges want, what kind of look or personality they will like, but you just put your best foot forward every time. I used to think it was about competing with other girls, but it’s not. The only person I can truly compete with is myself.”
“It’s still less stressful than law enforcement, though that also felt like a performance – I always had to be hard, ready for a takedown. I was always my toughest self. In pageants I get to be my happiest self!”
Three favorites:
MAC Liquid Eyeliner in Boot Black.
MAC LipGlass in Wonder Woman.
L’Oreal Telescopic Explosion Mascara in Blackest Black.
