Critical Beauty

Image Credit: AP Miss Venezuela President Osmel Sousa poses in front of the ten semi-finalist during the Miss Venezuela 2014 beauty pageant in Caracas, Venezuela. The Miss Venezuela Organization said in a statement on Wednesday, March 21, 2018 it will temporarily suspend its activities to do an internal review of its ethics policy. The Miss Venezuela beauty pageant said it will investigate possible unethical conduct by its contestants following a vitriolic social media spat that saw former participants accusing each other of inappropriate behaviour. A group of ex-Miss Venezuela contestants, in a confused flurry of social media posts this month, insinuated that other participants had sought to enrich themselves through romantic relationships with corrupt businessmen and officials. “Given the events recently described on social media ... a decision has been made to begin an internal review to determine if anyone linked [to the pageant], during the course of their invol

21-year-old Yumi Kato , representing the prefecture of Mie,  was crowned Miss Universe Japan 2018 at the Chinzanso Hotel in Tokyo on the night of March 18. She will now represent Japan at Miss Universe 2018 whose date and venue have not yet been announced. Nozawa Reika of Tokyo finished second while the delegates from Hokkaido and Niigate finished third and fourth places respectively . 

Kara McCullough, Miss USA 2017 / Credit: Miss USA  The 2018 Miss USA pageant and Miss Teen USA will be held in Shreveport at the Hirsch Coliseum, according to city officials and the Miss USA Facebook page. The Miss USA pageant, hosted by Nick and Vanessa Lachey , is scheduled for May 21 at 7 p.m. CST and will air live on the FOX network.  Vanessa was crowned Miss Teen USA 1998 and has served as a backstage correspondent for MISS USA(R) in 2001 and co-host of the 2007 MISS UNIVERSE(R). First appearing together at last year's Miss Universe, TV personality and fashion expert Carson Kressley and top model and catwalk trainer Lu Sierra reprise their roles for Miss USA as competition insiders to provide analysis and commentary throughout the live telecast.  Kara McCullough , the current Miss USA, will crown her successor from a field of contestants from all 50 states plus the District of Columbia. Details on the Miss Teen USA competition have not yet bee

New Philippine queens were crowned during a gala event at the Smart Araneta Coliseum that began around 8 PM, Sunday, March 18, and ended just after 1 AM, March 19, 2018.  The new winners are: Catriona Gray , 24, is Miss Universe Philippines 2018 and will compete in the next edition of Miss Universe whose date and venue are yet to be announced. Gray makes history by becoming the first Filipina to have won both the Miss Universe Philippines and Miss World Philippines (2016) titles. Maria Ahtisa Manalo , 20, is Binibining Pilipinas International 2018 and will compete in Miss International 2018 pageant in Japan sometime in November. Jehza Mae Huelar , 23, is Binibining Pilipinas Supranational 2018 and will compete in Miss Supranational 2018 in Poland in December. Eva Patalinghug , 23, is Binibining Pilipinas Grand International 2018 and will compete in Miss Grand International 2018 in Poland in Myanmar on October 28. Karen Gallman , 25, i

New Indonesian queens for 2018 were crowned during a gala event in Jakarta on March 9.  Sonia Fergina Citra , 25, from Bangka Belitung (center) is the new Puteri Indonesia and will represent her country in the 2018 edition of Miss Universe. Vania Fitryanti Herlambang , 20, from Banten (left) was crowned first runner-up and will compete in 2018 Miss International. Wilda Octaviana Situngkir , 24, from Kalimantan Barat (right) was second runner-up and will compete in 2018 Miss Supranational.  The current Miss Universe from South Africa, Demi-Leigh Nel-Peters (second from right), wearing the traditional Indonesian dress for women called abaya, assisted in the coronation of the winners. The other special guests included the current Miss International Kevin Liliana who is from Indonesia and the current Miss Supranational Jenny Kim from Korea. PHOTO CREDITS: PUTERI INDONESIA