Specialist Hair and Media Make-Up student Nicole Taylor is heading to the Miss England Heat next year after winning two awards in the Miss Shropshire Heat.聽
Nicole scooped two titles in the regional beauty pageant, becoming both Miss Popularity Shropshire and Miss Charity Shropshire for receiving the most public votes as well as raising the most money for a worthy cause.聽
By receiving 955 text votes from the public, over a third more than the runner-up, Nicole cemented her title as Miss Popularity. She received her second title, Miss Charity, by raising 拢375 in one week for the 鈥楤eauty with a Purpose鈥� charity, which is associated with the Miss World competition. The charity raises money for local and international organisations in aid of disadvantaged children all over the world.聽
鈥淚 didn鈥檛 have much time to raise money, so I decided to visit a range of local businesses and talk to people about the charity face-to-face,鈥� said Nicole. 鈥淚t adds a human touch, and when people saw that I was prepared to meet with them personally and talk about the difference the charity was making to so many children鈥檚 lives they were very receptive.鈥澛�
Nicole is pleasantly surprised with her success in the pageantry scene, especially as applying for the Miss Shropshire competition was a spur-of-the-moment decision close to the entry deadline.聽
鈥淣ormally I don鈥檛 get involved with this sort of competition 鈥� it鈥檚 not really my thing,鈥� she admits. 鈥淯sually I鈥檓 prone to stage fright and I鈥檓 quite self-conscious. However, it was my four year-old sister that inspired me to apply and compete.聽
鈥淪he鈥檚 always singing and dancing and putting on little performances, and watching her gave me the confidence I needed to go forward and do my best.鈥澛�
Hundreds of hopeful girls applied for the pageant, but only 25 were shortlisted for the final. Nicole made it into the final 12 after participating in several rounds, including a public question and answer session, an eveningwear, a casualwear and an eco-round, where contestants had to fashion their own outfit from a range of materials.聽
After her success in the regional Shropshire competition, Nicole will be competing in the Miss England Heat in Newark, Nottinghamshire in April next year. She has made the decision to compete in both of her winning categories with the hope of then being invited to the Miss England final later in the year.
