A recent advertisement calling for entrants to the Miss Hibiscus contest made me start thinking about beauty.
Before proceeding further, let me assure you kind readers that I make no pretensions towards beauty myself, I never have, even in my younger days.
So please don’t look for pictures of me, taken now or in the past!
What are we looking for when we seek a beautiful woman?
Is it the light in the eyes, the shape of the nose, the smile?
I think a big smile that lights up the whole face and is accompanied by sparkling eyes goes a long way in captivating us.
Then there is the hair.
How is it dressed?
In olden times a woman’s hair was more naturally presented, before the days of dyes and permanent waves.
I grew up being told that my mother had been considered a beauty.
As a teenager her hair flowed to her waist and hung about her shoulders.
At twenty she had it cut with a fringe across her forehead.
She does not smile in the photo I have and I wonder a little what people admired.
With changing hairstyles and colours I find it confusing and sometimes fail to recognise friends and acquaintances, but then I am poor at facial recognition anyway.
I remember an occasion in my childhood when one on my aunts came to visit and was reluctant to take off her hat.
Her hair was a violent purple, and she felt so ashamed.
Most women I know use make-up to enhance the good looks of their faces.
This is something I do not do having been put off from using lipstick through an incident in my late teens.
My husband never complained.
I guess he realised that I was saving him some costs.
I didn’t subscribe to women’s magazines either, another saving!
There is a lot that a woman can do to enhance or destroy the natural beauty of her face.
Whatever they do, they need to remember that the genuine kindness that shines in a smile goes a long way to enhance natural beauty.
But there is more to beauty than the head with the face and the hair, there is the body.
Here, of course, diet and exercise and a sensible lifestyle can make a big difference.
But never forget that a disabled person can shine with beauty even if their body is not perfect by our standards.
I understand that the girls who are chosen will be trained in deportment, how to walk on stage and conduct themselves in public gatherings.
How to answer questions from the media will be a skill they have to master.
I hope they will all learn to take a breath and think before they answer.
We are all tired of our politicians who make statements without thinking through the consequences, giving us mixed messages and causing confusion as Vani Catanasiga of the Fiji Council of Social Services has been rightly complaining.
We all know that clothing, and how it is worn, can enhance or spoil the natural figure of a women and sometimes fashions do not help, with all due respect to the wonderful fashion designers we have. A woman needs to choose the dress that suits her figure, her natural shape.
The colours and the designs on the fabric can be so special that they take the glory away from the figure clothed.
There is skill to choosing the right designs and fashions for your body
Shapely legs are a significant help towards making for a beautiful figure of a woman.
And shoes.
Here we have something I also quarrel with.
Sensible, comfortable shoes are my style and for years I was happy in my old fashioned nurses’ style sandals made for me by a good local cobbler.
Now in my old age I am confined to sensible shoes and have sadly put my sandals aside.
Actually best of all, I would go barefoot.
My feet were not put into shoes until I was three years old.
Coming to Fiji was heaven for me!
But sometimes when I see women teetering in foolish style shoes, I feel sorry.
Their feet must be suffering and the muscles in their legs as well.
We have been reminded of past Hibiscus beauty.
In The Sunday Times (16/6) we had an article about Leibling Marlow, the Hibiscus Queen of 1956, the very first.
She was certainly a very beautiful young woman and what a delight she is now in her twilight years, still a woman of grace and beauty.
With her was Lenora Qereqeretabua our beautiful Queen of 1988 now a leading politician, Deputy Speaker in our Parliament, no less!
The life style that a woman chooses will add or attract to her beauty as she ages.
I am reminded of the late Dr Cecily Hands who lived in Sigatoka in her latter years, a doctor who was always ready to attend to the sick and needy patients, giving wise advice and sending them up to Koromumu Hospital if they needed more urgent treatment.
Her kindness for all showed through in her friendly smile.
The girls who enter this year’s Hibiscus Contest have a big role to fill.
I hope they will learn from the past, from people like Leibling and Lenora and Dr Hands.
I hope they will be their natural selves as far as possible, because, in the end, it is the natural beauty that is the best.
I wish them all the very best.
May they learn a lot, and enjoy the week with all its challenges and fun.
And do not be disappointed if you do not win.
Winning is only part of it.
Look to the future and the examples set by the wonderful Hibiscus Queens before you.
Step up in life to be a good role model for the younger women following you.
Aim for leadership in the fields that suit you.
Make the most of the education you have received.
Learn more, and continue to learn all your life.
You have so much to gain from the whole hibiscus experience.
Go for it and above all, enjoy yourselves!
We are surrounded by so much beauty in this world, much more than beautiful women.
There are handsome men as well!!
And the beauty of children, so natural and unspoilt.
In addition there is the world around us with so much beauty to captivate us.
There will be lots more for future articles about beauty!!
- TESSA MACKENZIE is a retired teacher who designed Fiji’s Nobel Banner Blue flag. The views expressed are the author’s and are not necessarily shared by this newspaper.
