The Filipinos' mastery of shaping beauty queens.

In recent years, the Philippines has surpassed Venezuela to become the world's number one beauty pageant powerhouse.

Janice Lubina – from a poor maid to Miss Philippines 2013

The Philippines has emerged as a new beauty pageant powerhouse in recent years. It has become a direct competitor to Venezuela, often dubbed the "beauty pageant factory." In fact, in recent years, the Philippines has even surpassed them.

Philippines: A beauty pageant powerhouse in Asia

Last year, the Philippines was awarded the title of "Beauty Queen Powerhouse 2015" by Globalbeauties for the high achievements of its beauties in many major international beauty pageants. In 2015 alone, their representatives won 3rd runner-up at Miss Grand International, Top 11 at Miss World, Top 10 at Miss International, Top 20 at Miss Supranational, and most notably, the Miss Universe crown.

Miss Universe 2015

The Philippine beauty pageant empire has only risen to prominence in the last decade or so, reaching its peak from around 2010 to the present. Filipino women have excelled, winning crowns in the top 5 of the world's biggest beauty pageants, including: 3 Miss Universe crowns (1969, 1973, 2015), 1 Miss World crown (2013), 5 Miss International crowns (1964, 1970, 1979, 2005, 2013), and 3 Miss Earth crowns.

In 2016, the country sent eight beauties to compete internationally and quickly achieved high results despite only having a few contestants. Some early achievements include Kylie Versoza winning Miss International 2016 and Nicole Cordoves winning the Miss Grand International 2016 runner-up title. The remaining representatives from the Philippines, such as Catriona Elisa Magnayon Gray (competing in Miss World 2016), Maxine Medina (competing in Miss Universe 2016), and Joanna Eden (competing in Miss Supranational 2016), were all strong contenders for the crowns.

Miss Philippines may not be fair-skinned, but she is very charming.

The success of Filipino beauty queens is attributed to many factors, including the integration of beauty standards. Filipino women don't follow the trend of the "slim and delicate" figure and fair skin common among Asian women. Instead, their representatives often have smooth, tanned skin, healthy and vibrant physiques, and are mostly of mixed heritage. Because of this, the beauty of Filipino beauty queens is both familiar and unique to international beauty pageant judges, making them distinctive, attention-grabbing, and easily appreciated.

Besides their beauty, the determination and intelligence of the representatives from the Philippines also made a strong impression at international competitions. They possess excellent foreign language skills and sharp, insightful responses. Remember Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach, who won Miss Universe 2015 with an intelligent answer that ranked among the most clever responses in beauty pageants? She once shared that she especially enjoyed challenging questions related to politics and religion. People were also very impressed with runner-up Nicole Cordoves, who had previously worked as a speechwriter for a former Philippine minister…

Furthermore, fierce domestic competition has led to an increase in the quality of Filipino contestants competing internationally. In the Philippines, Binibining Pilipinas is not the sole holder of the beauty pageant rights, which forces other organizations to improve the quality of their competitions and attract more high-quality contestants.

Behind the victory of the Philippine beauty queen.

Beauty alone is not enough to make this country of 93 million people a beauty pageant empire, as countries around the world do not have a unified standard of beauty. Professionalism is what makes the Philippine representatives stand out. This stems from a rigorous and systematic training process for beauty queens.

Inside the beauty pageant training center in Africa

Similar to Venezuela, the Philippines also has many beauty pageant training schools. What's noteworthy is that the instructors and staff at these schools are often passionate about their work, with money being a secondary consideration. They closely support the girls from their time as trainees until they are crowned beauty queens, and they don't deduct prize money to cover training costs, unlike in many other countries.

"If they win, that's the prize money we get," shared Kagandahang Flores, one of the renowned beauty pageant trainers.

At beauty pageant training centers, girls of various ages, from 16 to 26 or slightly older or younger, enthusiastically train. Unlike Venezuela, which often trains its students from a young age, age is not a factor in the Philippines. For example, Sandra Seifert entered the training center at 25 and after only one month of "polishing her gem," she was crowned Miss Earth Philippines and first runner-up at Miss Earth. Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach is also an example of someone who entered a beauty pageant school at a relatively older age compared to the average.

Trainees typically train in physical fitness and physique, learn how to walk, smile, cultivate a graceful demeanor, practice etiquette, and learn how to handle situations such as stumbling on stage… To prepare for a beauty pageant, trainees must study at least 9 hours a day for 6 months, not including exercise time.

Becoming a beauty queen = a life-changing transformation.

Filipinos idolize beauty queens. According to the Straits Times, Filipinos can remember and pronounce the names of beauty queens as well as Brazilians can memorize the names of football legends. They don't hesitate to travel long distances to countries hosting major beauty pageants to support their national contestants. In Manila, many streets are named after Filipino beauty queens. According to Anjo Lorenzana, a lecturer in Media Culture, even a beauty queen who was a prisoner makes her parents incredibly proud.

A beauty pageant in the Philippines

Last year, Miss Universe Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach returned home with her crown on her head to a thunderous welcome from the people of her country. She sat in a magnificent car, showering her fans with radiant smiles. Seeing such a glorious scene, how many girls wouldn't dream of it?

Therefore, becoming a beauty queen also means a life-changing turning point. Janice Lubina – from a poor maid – suddenly became a dazzling star after winning Miss Philippines 2015. Or another case, Gloria Diaz – the first beauty queen from the Philippines to win Miss Universe – after her coronation, was paved the way to becoming an entertainment star, and has starred in 40 films.

Miss World 2013

However, the most illustrious beauty queen, the dream of almost every Filipino girl, is Imelda Marcos. After winning first runner-up in the Miss Manila pageant, she caught the eye of the late President Ferdinand Marcos and later became the First Lady.

A Filipino resident shared: "In the Philippines, once you become a beauty queen, you will always be remembered as a beauty queen, even when you're old."

According to Dan Viet