The secrets of Miss Vietnam 2018 contestants

Nguyen Phuong Anh (Candidate No. 118): Expert in drawing pictures for friends

One of the jobs that this contestant from Quang Ninh loves the most is drawing. Phuong Anh can sit and draw all night without getting bored. Contest timeMiss Vietnam took place in Tuan Chau, Phuong Anh sat for 10 hours, continuously for four days to paint an oil painting as a gift for the Organizing Committee.

She confided that when she does something she likes, it is easy to get carried away. When she was young, she studied drawing at the Children's Cultural Palace, then was recruited into a specialized drawing class. After primary school, she taught herself watercolors, pencils, and even switched to oil painting. At that time, there was an artist friend of her father who guided her, and the more Phuong Anh drew, the more she liked it.

Many people ask why Phuong Anh did not take the Fine Arts exam but studied Finance. She said that she just wanted to consider drawing as a hobby rather than a career. Because that way, she would not have the pressure of economics and making a living, and could freely draw what she wanted.

In her free time, Phuong Anh likes to spend time in front of the easel. She paints a lot, from still life, landscape, portrait, to 3D. She hardly keeps her paintings because she gives them to her friends as they come and they all receive enthusiastic responses.

Another hobby of Phuong Anh is raising cats. She said that she has no resistance to pets. At her peak, she had more than ten cats and dogs in her house. When she was studying far away, the content of her calls home always included "cats and dogs" to the point that Phuong Anh's mother had to yell, "Come on, you have a boyfriend, let me go!"

Nguyen Thi Khanh Linh (SBD 088): Growing hair for 17 years

In the final round of Miss Vietnam, Nguyen Thi Khanh Linh was nicknamed "Rapunzel" because of her 1.4m long hair.

She said that her grandfather had told her to grow this hair 17 years ago. When she grew up, she saw that her hair was beautiful, so Linh kept it forever, only occasionally cutting a little bit of the ends to prevent split ends.

During the trips to Miss Universe, many friends worriedly went to find a hair salon to get their hair cut and washed, but Linh remained calm. Because up until now, she had always done this herself, never going to a salon to get her hair washed. I remember one time at home, she sat in the bathroom for three hours to condition her hair, to the point that her family had to knock on the door and ask, “Are you okay?”

Not on stage, Linh is quite simple. She shared that before competing in Miss Vietnam, she never knew how to apply makeup, only knew how to use lipstick.

Linh felt no pressure before the final because “I feel proud, there is nothing to regret anymore. I never thought I could make it to the final. This is an unexpected result.”

Nguyen Thi Thuy An (SBD 457): Taste buds are "frozen"

One weakness Thuy An rarely tells strangers is that she has a numb sense of taste. She cannot feel the deliciousness or badness of food, she can only distinguish between salty and bland. Therefore, this girl is rarely as enthusiastic about food as her peers. While other contestants have to restrain their appetites to lose weight, An is always leisurely and "skinny" without having to try.

To make up for this weakness, An tried to learn to cook even though her mother did not allow her to touch the kitchen at home. An knew the recipe and cooking process very well, and could guess how a dish was made by looking at it.

When going out to eat with friends, the only thing An requires is that the restaurant be empty and the food be clean. Whether the restaurant is famous or not is not important to her.

An has another secret: she loves and is very willing to travel. Together with a few close friends, the Miss Vietnam contestant has traveled all over the country. Once, they planned to travel to Quy Nhon by motorbike but got lost on the way to Phu Yen. It was almost dark at 6pm and the surrounding area was still deserted, which made An more cautious every time she “picked up her backpack and went”.