Is the 1st ever Miss Kroeshaar, Holland’s Next Natural Model. The rivalry to win the natural beauty trophy was not easy. The winner shares how she approached the beauty pageant as well as her strategy to top the other eight contestants.
How does it feel to be the first ever Miss Kroeshaar?
It feels fantastic to be Miss Kroeshaar 2010. When I heard the news I was so thrilled. I was so happy that I jumped for joy. All effort that I have put in the eight weeks have payed off by winning this competition. It feels great and it gives me the approval that I can be a beautiful woman with natural hair. It is such an exciting and fun time I am in right now and what is yet to come. It also gives me a tremendous drive to show the people that you can be a diva with natural hair. You do not have to hide it, just show who you are and be proud of it. That is where I stand for as Miss Kroeshaar 2010.
It feels fantastic to be Miss Kroeshaar 2010. When I heard the news I was so thrilled. I was so happy that I jumped for joy. All effort that I have put in the eight weeks have payed off by winning this competition. It feels great and it gives me the approval that I can be a beautiful woman with natural hair. It is such an exciting and fun time I am in right now and what is yet to come. It also gives me a tremendous drive to show the people that you can be a diva with natural hair. You do not have to hide it, just show who you are and be proud of it. That is where I stand for as Miss Kroeshaar 2010.
Why did you join the competition?
I have participated because I am wearing my hair natural and I am proud of my natural hair. In many hair magazines black women with relaxed hair or wear a weave are being portrayed as the ideal image. With the Miss Kroeshaar competition I had the ability to show that natural hair can also be a symbol of beauty. With natural hair you can make many different styles and that should be seen.
The competition was fierce. Did you think you had a chance of winning?
From the beginning I thought: It would be amazing to become Miss kroeshaar 2010 of the Netherlands. The competition took eight weeks and every week I tried my best to show good results. It has been a great challenge in a race with strong competitors. But I also had to think about different poses each week with a flashy hairstyle, an appropriate outfit, and not to mention a good photo. Every time I thought how could I even be better to win this. The positive feedback and criticisms from the judges helped me to grow into a real model. And that has made me the winner of Miss Kroeshaar 2010.
What was the toughest challenge?
I found the African Fashion week challenge the most difficult challenge. Africa is a beautiful continent with different countries and cultures – from African dance, music and masks to colourful clothes and jewelry – it was a challenge to reflect such a broad concept in one task. At first I thought how can I make my photos as original as possible. So, I have explored the diverse cultures of Africa. This was very exciting for me to do. Eventually, I chose the color red for my clothes that symbolizes love, authenticity and natural beauty. The African woman represents herself with courage and a lot of self confidence. This perfectly suits with the colour red to promote the strength of African women.
I found the African Fashion week challenge the most difficult challenge. Africa is a beautiful continent with different countries and cultures – from African dance, music and masks to colourful clothes and jewelry – it was a challenge to reflect such a broad concept in one task. At first I thought how can I make my photos as original as possible. So, I have explored the diverse cultures of Africa. This was very exciting for me to do. Eventually, I chose the color red for my clothes that symbolizes love, authenticity and natural beauty. The African woman represents herself with courage and a lot of self confidence. This perfectly suits with the colour red to promote the strength of African women.
Which one was the most fun?
The theme “portfolio” was one of the fun tasks because I could present myself in various ways. Especially with the focus on who I really am. During this Miss Kroeshaar competition I have learned so much. One of the most important lessons that I have learned is to make good eye contact with the camera in combination with various poses.
But the most fun for me was the last task of Miss Kroeshaar 2010. The purpose was to promote the hair product line of Jamacain Mango and Lime (JML). Trying out different products was already an experience in itself. Being creative was again very essential as a Kroeshaar model in the competition. Therefore I wanted my hair to be original and outstanding. For the complete look I had put my clothes and jewelry in line with the colours of JML; yellow and green. JML is intertwined with the beautiful country Jamaica, its white beaches and ingredients mango and lime. It was really fun to do and winning this task made it even more fun!
Who did your hair and who took your pictures?
I personally love to have different looks. During the competition Marleen Oron was responsible for my great hairstyles -inspired by different hairdressers in magazines, but also by Marleen’s own creativity. It was nice to see the end result on the photo. In this contest it was very important to have good photos. These are made by my family, Daphne (acquaintance), Ferry Pariury (a good friend), and Paul van der Blom.
Who was your toughest opponent in your eyes?
The Kroeshaar models that I had to compete with were good in so many ways. While one model had strong poses, another model was original in her styling, while someone else was very good in both. That made this competition very challenging.
The toughest competitor for me was Melanta who delivered very strong photos.
So it was very exciting to see who would be the winner!
What is your profession and what are your ambitions as a model?
In my daily life I am very busy with my study Human Resource Management at the University of Amsterdam. I also work as a parttime prevention employee at GGD in Rotterdam Rijnmond. My specialisation involves informing younger (at the age of 16 to 30) people how to deal with infectious diseases. Furthermore, I work for the Marketing and Sales office called Aim. I am responsible for telephone aquisition, generating leads and bringing in new prospects.
As a Miss Kroeshaar model I would like to make black women more conscience of their natural beauty and versatility of natural hair. Being a Miss Kroeshaar ambassador gives me a great opportunity to reach people. To those people I would like to say that if you know how to deal with natural hair and give the hair care it needs, you will get a lot of pleasure from it.You can be a diva and shine from the inside out!
The main price is a TV commercial for Suriname Media Entertainment. Did you already think about that?
I think that viewers should know the importance of SME broadcasting.
The Netherlands is a diverse community with a lot of people from African origin and through SME broadcasting we can give this diversity a face. I would like to approach the young black community in the Netherlands in a nice and catchy way.
What would you like to say to the members of going-natural.com?
To all visitors of going-natural.com I would like to say that this site is really unique because it gives you a very positive view on natural hair. It is inspiring to see what you can do with natural hair. Whether you have locks, braids or twists, it does not matter, for every hairstyle there is sufficient information available. The website gives you access to products specifically made for your natural hair. Being beautiful is to show who you are, and with thanks to going-natural.com I am totally convinced!
