Tag Archives: Marta Stepien

My Miss Universe October 2018 Hot Picks!

I know this post is a bit overdue but I had this note on my phone with my Top 9 only until the last month ended. I’ve tried checking out more girls and their trainings, their outfits and a lot more that has to do with their exposure but only came up with the same girls who are getting the hype since the start of the pageant season. So without further ado, let me present to you my Top 9 Hot Picks for the month of October!

In ninth place is Canada’s Marta Stepien. See, I loved Canada’s type of beauty just like the earlier comparison to superstar Taylor Swift, Marta has the type of beauty that would do well in Thailand like her compatriot Natalie Glebova when she snatched the crown from the Latinas in 2005. She’s went down on my list because I haven’t that much change in her – good or bad. I still think that she’s one of the frontrunners but her chances for me is dwindling.

At number eight is Sthefany Gutiérrez of Venezuela. I loved the fact that she’s experimenting with her looks now and that she’s listening to her supporters. I thought she looks a bit mature with her ‘pocahontas’ hair and too heavy make up so I’m very much happy with her different looks now. Seriously, she’s hella pretty with a no make-up makeup look.

Number seven for me is host delegate Sophida Kanchanarin. This Thai beauty is one of my favorite Asian beauties this year. I just loved her oriental bone structure and her classy aura. I still don’t see her winning the whole thing but she’s inching towards the Top 5 for me.

At sixth place is H’Hen Niê of Vietnam. I’m still on a fence with her recent styling with longer hair. I mean, she’s got a beautiful face but it felt too forced. Her face is meant to be shown with her current short do. She’s definitely one of the strongest Asian delegates this year!

On fifth place for me is Puerto Rico’s Kiara Ortega. Puerto has never reached the Top 3 in this decade but it looks like Kiki is about to avenge her compatriots most especially Bodine Koehler who got snubbed in 2013. Kiki is young, personable but lacks in height. Some people are touting her to be one of the ‘girls to beat’ but I am pretty sure that at this point – the girl to beat remains the same from my last Hot Picks – bias aside.

Coming in at fourth place for me is none other than South Africa’s Tamaryn Green. She also went down for me last month. She’s looking too mascular for me so she needs to exudes a little bit of softness come pageant proper in order to stand out the way Demi started her game plan to win the crown in Vegas last year.

My third placer is Miss USA, Sarah Rose Summers. I loved Sarah Rose’ looks and again, I keep on saying that her winning personality will make her shine in Thailand. I’m not sure if she’s really that focused in winning the crown or she’s content to just be Miss USA since her prizes as the reigning queen is the same with her Miss Universe counterpart. I still she’s one of the strongest delegates this year and she’s just so pretty to begin with so I have her as my third best’ for October.

My number two is Valeria Morales of Colombia. I’m very much enamored by her Juliana Franco’s aura and she’s a very good speaker too. I wished that she could speak English fluently to cater to her international fans but I think she’s the biggest rival of the ‘girl to beat’ at this point.

And my numbero uno pick is still our very own Miss Universe Philippines Catriona Gray. It’s always been Catriona Gray, you say but she’s really THAT girl who could bring Miss Universe into a whole new level. She’s beautiful, current, has a fun personality and most importantly – the gift of gab. I’m still in awe everytime I watch her speak about ANY given topics. I’m telling you, she’s coming for your favorites.

Who for you is leading the pack this year???

See you in Thailand next month!

All photos courtesy of missuniverse.com

My Miss Universe September 2018 Hot Picks!

The month of September was a crucial month in the pageant world as we get to see more pageant powerhouses and regular participating nations select their Miss Universe representatives. With that being said, here are my Top 15 Hot Picks from last month:

15. India (Nehal Chudasama)
Newly crowned Nehal is a sight to behold! She’s prettier than the last 5 Miss Universe India. Even prettier in a unique way than Urvashi dare I say. There’s something about her that is easily likable. She’s also very articulate. I’m going to give this to India this time – a good five years since their last semis appearance.

14. Spain (Angela Ponce)
Angela Ponce’s participation is still a point of debate until now and for that alone, I think she’d make the first cut.

13. Denmark (Helena Heuser)
This former Miss World 2016 contestants who competed along with Catriona Gray is the Siera Bearchell of this edition. She’s also prettier than Siera if I’m being honest. For diversity alone, she should make the cut.

12. Ecuador (Virginia Limongi)
I still don’t see the appeal of Inday Virgie but I heard that she’s really nice especially after learning that she’s actually training here in the Philippines. Yeah, she’s pretty and has a great body and she reminds me a bit of Sofia Vergara but I find her too mature. I won’t discount her though as she is one of the early fan favorites and this could work as an advantage for her.

11. Mexico (Andrea Toscano)
I am absolutely enamored by her vibrant aura. She’s so personable and photogenic. I’m not sure if she’s as articulate as the some of the frontrunners but based on her Q& A during her national pageant, I think she’d be okay.

10. Vietnam (H’Hen Niê)
I find her very classy and modelesque. It’s nice that she’s trying out different styling but she should definitely keep her short do come Miss Universe proper.

9. Malta (Francesca Mifsud)
She’s just plain gorgeous. Period. I’m still not convince she could win it all or surpass the early favorites but I’ve a good feeling about her.

8. Thailand (Sophida Kanchanarin)
Host delegate Sophida has been getting polarizing support from her countrymen but that doesn’t mean that she won’t get the biggest support come December. She may get a free ride into the semis but I personally believe that she’d make it through her own merit. I find her beauty refreshing but she seriously needs to read up on current events! I hope she learns something from Maria and Fahsai’s mistakes during the crucial Q&A portion of their respective pageants.

7. Colombia (Valeria Morales)
Valeria have some big shoes to fill since her last 4 predecessors are in the top 3 with Paulina Vega even bagging the second Miss Universe crown for Colombia in 2014. She’s not as tall as these former Misses Colombia but her enigmatic look could work wonders for her. Besides, IMG seems to really love the Colombians so whilst I don’t find her the prettiest, I will go out on a limb to say that she will reach at least the top 10.

6. Venezuela (Sthefany Gutiérrez)
Having the longest preparation amongst the girls competing this year, Sthefany is all set to do a repeat of Keysi Sayago’s top 5 finish from last year. I still couldn’t see her winning the crown but she’s definitely a very strong contender.

5. Canada (Marta Stepien)
Like Kiara Ortega, Marta’s towering height and ugh-amazing body are two of the factors that would catapult her into the top. She may not be getting the noise of the four ladies above her but her multilingual background will boost her campaign for the crown!

4. USA (Sarah Rose Summers)
Sarah Rose still has a stronghold onto the top five and in contrast to Tamaryn, her personality is what makes her a perennial favorite by every pageant fans and pundits. I think she needs to work on her frame and experiment on her styling but it’s almost impossible for her to miss the top 5 much less the first cut.

3. South Africa (Tamaryn Green)
Tamaryn may have been Catriona’s biggest threat before Kiara but she’s losing steam as days go by. My biggest issue with her is that she tends to look too polished rendering her aura robotic and unapproachable.

2. Puerto Rico (Kiara Ortega)
Kiara is the highest entrant for the month of September even surpassing early favorites Tamaryn Green and Sarah Rose Summers and zooming into the second place next to La Gray. It’s been half a decade since Puerto Rico made the cut and for the third most winningest country in the pageant – that is not acceptable. This year seems to be the year that we’d finally see another Puerto Rican sailing through the semifinals and most likely will make it until the end. Kiara’s crowning sent ripples through the pageant community because of her exotic beauty that is just too hard to ignore. We’ll see if she could surpass Miss Gray and end up winning it all.

1. Philippines (Catriona Gray)
Catriona up to this point is heaps and miles ahead of her competitors. After her successful walk at the New York Fashion Week for Sherri Hill last month which made the brand one of the most talked about shows – it’s almost easy to imagine her doing shows gigs in New York as part of her Miss Universe duties. Heading to Thailand by November, the Mikimoto crown is hers to lose at this stage.

Miss Universe August 2018 Hot Picks!

On December 17 (Bangkok Time), the most beautiful day in the Universe will be held at the Impact Arena in Bangkok, Thailand.

via Miss Universe Facebook page.

Demi-Leigh Nel-Peters will crown her successor for the Miss Universe crown. So without further ado, let me present to you my Top 15 for the month of August!

From Catriona’s Instagram

1. Philippines – Catriona Gray
Catriona’s main weapon heading to Bangkok this December is her gift of gab. She is without question one of the best communicators to ever represent the Philippines in Miss Universe. With her modelesque features, alluring beauty and her large fan base across the globe amassed after her 2016 Miss World stint, Catriona is definitely the one to beat at this point.

Tamaryn Green (mytvnews.co.za)

2. South Africa – Tamaryn Green
The pressure is on for Tamaryn this year and she’s expected to deliver after Demi-Leigh Nel-Peters mounted a campaign so strong last year that ended their 39-year Miss Universe title drought. Her background as a medical student would be an advantage for her to push a related advocacy. Her towering height and beautiful complexion will be hard to ignore, so there’s a high probability for her to come on top this edition of the pageant if she’s as strong-willed and as confident as Demi-Leigh.

Sarah Rose Summers (thegreatpageantcommunity.com)

3. United States – Sarah Rose Summers
Sarah Rose reminds me so much of Miss Universe 2012 Olivia Culpo. They both have great and sunny personalities and it’s not hard to imagine her duplicating what Olivia did 6 years ago. Her beauty may not be as versatile but what she lacks in that aspect, she makes up with her larger-than-life personality. For now, she’s in a safe third place for me.

4. Canada – Marta Stepien
Marta is the beauty pageant contestant doppelgänger of Taylor Swift. She is one of the latest confirmed contestants having recently won her national pageant. She skyrocketed to the top 5 right away by here mere sex appeal alone and that’s says a lot about her. Marta may just duplicate her compatriot’s accomplishment in 2015 when Natalie Glebova took the title away from the Latina. Is Bangkok Canada’s lucky city?

5. Thailand – Sophida Kanchanarin
Sophida’s beauty is a polarizing one and she definitely has a big shoes to fill after Maria Poonlertlarp cracked the top 5 last year in Vegas. She may not be everyone’s cup of tea but for me, she’s a diamond in the rough. I’ve a feeling that she’ll shock everyone come pageant proper.

6. Venezuela – Sthefany Gutiérrez
Sthefany is the first contestant confirmed for this year’s pageant and like Sophida, she’s also got a lot to prove as her predecessor Keysi Sayago reached the final five last year. She’s been widely praised for her exotic beauty with her so-called ‘Pocahontas’ hair but I’m honestly still not convinced that she could duplicate or even surpassed Keysi’s feat last year. I still think though that she’s still one of the strongest candidates this year.

7. Ecuador – Virginia Limongi
If there is someone as polished as Catriona Gray, it would be Virginia Limongi. She reminds me so much of Sofia Vergara although she have to be careful because she tends to look old at times. I won’t put her this high but the hype around her is pretty convincing so for now, she definitely have her place on my hot picks.

8. Vietnam – H’Hen Niê
Vienam’s H’Hen Niê is definitely the Kaci Fennel of this edition. I’m not sure how well she would be received by the preliminary judges but given the right training and styling, I could see her going far in the competition.

9. Korea – Baek Ji-hyun
She’s one of the recent contestants to be confirmed and I am absolutely loving her. She’s giving me the Honey Lee vibe and if she continue to improve until December, I’m definitely seeing her usurping early favorites for the crown.

10. Brazil – Mayra Dias
I loved Mayra’s beauty because she reminds me of the Latina heavyweights of the early 2000’s. This may either be an advantage or a disadvantage for her depending on her styling come pageant season. She is definitely going to make it, beauty alone.

11. Australia – Francesca Hung
Chinese-Australian Francesca is a welcome change for an Aussie delegate in this edition. If you search online for her make-up less face, you’d see how gorgeous she is. She’s definitely going to be a hit in Thailand with her biracial beauty.

12. Japan – Yuumi Kato
I adore Yuumi Kato! I feel that she’s one of the strongest Asian delegates this year and if Japan will make it again into the Top 5, she should be able to make it happen.

13. Spain – Angela Ponce
I loved that she’s making history as the first transwoman to compete in Miss Universe but generally, I do not find her at par with the contestants I have on my top 10. Maybe they should change her styling? Or perhaps with less make-up? I mean, she is definitely going to be in the semis but how far do I think she can go? Uhm, for now – top 15 at the most.

14. Mexico – Andrea Toscano
Oh, I loved Andrea even though she look a bit pageant patty to me. Nothing wrong with that but I’d love for her to sport a pony or perhaps more extension. No to heavy make up and she’s good to go for the Evening Gown round.

15. Nicaragua – Adriana Paniagua
Adriana is a quality rep for Nicaragua. She looks a bit old at times but I feel that it’s only because of her styling. I also want to see her with straight hair and I think that would make her more ravishing.