Aishwarya Rai, is that you?
Miss Croatia's evening gown is one of the most beautiful gown we have ever seen in pageant. Combining a nude lining with floral-shaped emerald green sequin, the gown is totally luxurious and en vogue. In other words, it is fabulous! What also beautiful is Miss Croatia's face, possibly the best face of the competition, whose in some angles, reminds us to the most beautiful beauty queen ever lived, Miss World 1994 Aishwarya Rai. There is this one particular magical moment during the show (see picture below) where, in my eyes, her beautiful face closely resembles the one of Aishwarya.
The en vogue gown of Miss Croatia
Aishwarya Rai, is that you?
Blame it to the water
One the highlight of evening gown competition, for all the wrong reasons, is the case of slippery stage which claims some victims on the night. First it is Miss China who almost tripped twice just when she started her walk. Then Miss Indonesia also almost slipped on the final turn of her walk. But the worst is definitely Miss Guyana's fate who fell, not so gracefully, in the middle of the catwalk (though it could be a blessing in disguise for her as her fall makes people feel sympathetic towards her and admire her elegant recovery). Apparently there were drops of water dripping down precisely on the middle of the stage itself, which should have been noticed and fixed by the production crew prior to the show. In the end, the production crew indeed finally interrupted the show to dry the floor, but perhaps it was just a little bit too late for some girls, whose chance may have just been ruined by the slippery stage.
Miss Guyana falling from grace
A fake or a sweetheart queen?
When I read a famous pageant blog awarded Miss Venezuela as People's Sweetheart, I can't help but remember her fantasia national costume. Isn't it kinda poetic that a girl who dresses as a box of sweet chocolate turns out to be the sweet girl everybody loves? Well, perhaps not everybody, as some people accuse her sweet "happy happy joy joy" persona during the competition as fake, but I believe that was her genuine personality. There was gossip that this girl is the winner of Miss Congeniality this year, and seeing her spunky and bubbly personality on the preliminary stage as well as throughout the competition, the gossip could turn out to be the truth (I know I wish that to be the truth).
Muy bella Miss Venezuela going "happy happy joy joy"
Beautiful women ... not so beautiful catwalk
Since the beginning of the competition, it was clear that most of the contestants this year don't know how to walk. Disappointing of course, since this is Miss Universe, where we expect contestants with high caliber of catwalk skills. But this time, only a few of them knows how to move on the catwalk. The rest, they just stroll there as if they are walking on the beach, enjoying the sunset. But even worse than those beach strollers is Miss Denmark, who walked off and awkwardly as if she was a laboratory-made human robot. Personally, I think her walk was the worst among all contestants this year.
The human robot Miss Denmark
The fading and the rising stars
It is always interesting how every year, the preliminary competition could change your perception and opinion on who's hot and who's not anymore. Just like the stars across the universe, some will lose their sparks, and some will shine even more. Prior to the preliminary, I always consider Miss Czech Republic as a Top 5 candidate, but her performance on Thursday night was overall a huge disappointment. Not bad, but clearly below my expectation from her. Frankly, now I'm not even sure that she will place if not by the virtue of Trump's Card. On the other hand, Miss El Salvador, who was not in my radar before, suddenly becomes a strong possibility to enter the elite group of 16 tomorrow night. Remember Miss Guatemala 2010 Jessica Scheel who suddenly became a fave after her strong preliminary performance? Well Miss El Salvador this year could be the next one to follow the fate of Jessica.
The tale of two stars : a fading one and a rising one
Bam! The Goddess has come!
The best contestants of the night is, without a doubt, Miss South Africa. If the other contestants were stars, Miss South Africa was a supernova. She may not be as beautiful as Miss Croatia or exuding supermodel vibe as much as Miss Georgia, but she is definitely on her own league throughout the whole competition. Yes it's true that she has been a fave ever since she won her national crown, but her performance on the preliminary night solidifies her status as the top frontrunner even more. With a combination of killer catwalk, sexy body, golden blond hair, and glamor Hollywood diva vibe, she looks exactly like a Victoria's Secret angel descended on earth, ready to bring Miss Universe crown back to back to Africa continent.
The math of beauty
Victoria's Secret angel + Hollywood diva = Miss South Africa
Love it or leave it
For this last part, I will share my personal faves and disappointments from the preliminary competition. The top girls that I think kill both rounds of competition are Miss South Africa, Miss Puerto Rico, Miss Croatia, Miss Georgia, Miss Venezuela, Miss Paraguay, Miss Mexico, and Miss Philippines. I would really love to see one of those girls to be Miss Universe 2012. Also strong and hence, possible semifinalists, are Miss Malaysia, Miss El Salvador, Miss Australia, Miss Chile, Miss Japan, Miss Netherlands, Miss Guatemala, Miss New Zealand, and Miss Finland. I love Miss USA but her gown choice is horrendous as hell. Still she will likely make the Top 16 due to sash factor. Biggest disappointment of the night is Miss Czech Republic, as I discussed above. I was also disappointed to see my two sentimental faves, the bald and beautiful ebony beauties Miss Tanzania and Miss St Lucia did not stand up to their edgy exotic look. I still wish however that one of them may snatch the coveted Trump's Card and appear as semifinalist on the final.
Miss USA : the classic case of beautiful girl in horrendous gown
So that is my review for Miss Universe 2012. Stay tuned for the Final Leaderboard of Miss Universe 2012 to be published tonight!
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