The song Raining in Manila has been on the playlist of many lately simply because we’ve been having such a downpour. However, that one Thursday night, the nasty weather didn’t dampen the inaugural Miss Grand Philippines 2023 pageant, now under the management of Arnold Vegafria. And to mark such a milestone, visiting Manila for the second time was Miss Grand International 2022 Isabella Menin from Brazil.
For this shoot, the creative team does a shared concept for Isabella Menin—colorful, cinematic, best to capture her personality and authentic self by incorporating motion. Teal green serpentine dress with keyhole neckline by Joel Escober
And it was also the second time TheDiarist.ph got to do a fashion shoot with her, albeit a quick one, because her free time was only a few hours before show time.
Menin was more than happy to be back in the Philippines. “I feel safe here,” she told us. It was also in the Philippines that this São Paulo native was given a non-pageant style of photoshoot. That was why she was excited to shoot again—she brought the sunshine to a rainy, gloomy day.
The photographer was De La Salle-College of St. Benilde Film graduate Lem Atienza. With him, we decided to do an unconventional approach to pageant photography.
Lem Atienza wanted to deconstruct the stereotypical treatment of pageant photography and present a new take on beauty queen portraits.
“It has been a constant practice of mine to be extraordinary when it comes to my photography,” Atienza said. For this shoot, the creative team had a shared concept for Isabella Menin—colorful, cinematic, best to capture her personality and authentic self by incorporating motion.
“We wanted to deconstruct the stereotypical treatment of pageant photography and present a new take on beauty queen portraits, and hopefully that relates to our audiences and viewers,” Atienza explained.
Isabella Menin being made up. Photo by Lem Atienza
To create her look, we used Dior Beauty and renowned makeup artist Theresa Padin, who has done the makeup of Catriona Gray and Moira Dela Torre. She opted for a soft, “glow-from-within” look for a change, far from the usual strong and matte pageant makeup. “Her skin is already beautiful to start with and I don’t want to cover that,” Padin said. Padin’s term is “enhanced.”
Makeup artist Theresa Padin opted for a soft, ‘glow-from-within’ look for a change, far from the usual strong and matte pageant makeup. Fringe dress by Rian Fernandez
Padin noted that the reigning Miss Grand has a powerful, fierce stare, so for eye makeup, she used warm and bronze hues to achieve the “soft glam” look, and stayed away from black eyeshadow. “That gives off a heavy look; the darkest shade I used for her is smokey brown.”
Menin’s lips give off that Angelina Jolie vibe. Fringe dress by Rian Fernandez
Makeup artist Theresa Padin stays away from the black eyeshadow because that gives off a heavy look, opting for smokey brown instead.
Menin’s lips give off that Angelina Jolie vibe, and Padin couldn’t stop raving about them. One of the best she has worked on, she said—“Even before I started putting on makeup, I definitely knew pinkish nude would suit her best, which gave her juicy, sexy but classy lips.”
And with only a few minutes before show time, before she was to be called to the theater—she was one of the judges—we hurriedly finished the shoot. She was game even at crunch time and was apparently enjoying every moment of it.
Isabella Menin on the red carpet during the Miss Grand Philippines 2023 finals wearing Joel Escober. Photo by Lem Atienza
Asked what she plans to do after her reign, Menin said that she would stay for a bit in her second home in London, then fly off to Los Angeles to try her luck in Hollywood. But she’s not closing her options in the Philippines for opportunities, since of course, we Filipinos definitely know how to give beauty queens the grand treatment.
Photography: Lem Atienza
Styling: Luis Carlo San Juan
Makeup: Theresa Padin using Dior Beauty
Hairstyle: Arvee Cahanap
Special thanks to Arnold Vegafria, Harley Tan, Krishna Balsarza, Francis Chee and Aldritch Maru Dabao
