On Saturday 4th August 2018 a tribe of strong, powerful and tenacious women will once again take to the stage of The Hazlitt Theatre in Maidstone to compete for the three coveted titles in the 7th year of the UK's leading plus size pageant; Miss British Beauty Curve.

I checked in with some of the new 2018 contestants to see what their experiences have been like so far;

Lorna - Mrs Derbyshire Curve 2018





Leanne - Miss Warwickshire Curve 2018






Marisa - Ms Merseyside Curve 2018

Rachel - Ms Essex Curve 2018

This is the picture of my pageant journey I’ve met so many lovely ladies on my journey but to be able to bring my best friend along for the ride whilst also raising awareness for the Fab Campaign was everything! I’ve pushed myself further than I have ever gone before but without the help from yourself and the lovely queens I couldn’t have got this far x

~ @msessexcurve2018

Sunita - Ms Basildon Essex Curve 2018

I love how supportive all the girls are of each other considering I’m 43 and nearly double some of their ages. It's given me lots of confidence and I’m proud to be a part of this system. To any ladies thinking about applying... go for it!

~ @suni75_

Cathy - Ms Liverpool Curve 2018

It's awesome to have new ladies enter the family and it's lovely to hear their experiences so far - I cannot wait to see what they all bring to the stage!

Year on year, we have ladies who re-compete. I want to know what drives them to come back;

Charlotte - Ms Gloucestershire Curve 2018

The opportunity to be part of something wonderful. To strive to improve myself. It's taught me to accept that I am enough - just as I am. My experience of MBBC is one of camaraderie. A sisterhood. A family. Women working towards a shared goal of raising body positivity, serving charities and genuinely caring for one another. I think we're pretty awesome, really! ~ @charlottephillips_msglos

Charlotte is extremely modest in her words, she has been crowned our Ms Congeniality for 3 consecutive years by her peers which in itself speaks volumes about her character and dedication to the system.  In addition to that fantastic accolade, last year she was crowned first runner up in our Ms category.  Charlotte is a true MBBC Royal Family Member and a fantastic ambassador for plus size ladies who are not afraid to fly their flag of utter uniqueness.

Another member of the MBBC Royal Family is Demi-Louise.  Demi has also competed for the last two years.  Demi placed within the top 5 in her first year of competing and last year was crowned our first runner up in the Miss category. Demi has been a great role model and mentor to some of this year's contestants and it's lovely to hear that she plans to return in the future - here's what Demi had to say (short paragraphs are not her forte!)

Demi-Louise - Miss British Beauty Curve 1st Runner Up 2017

Stef is a real MBBC Veteran after competing three years consecutively.  I have seen Stef's confidence soar over the three years, watching her fly is so amazing. Here's what Stef had to say;

Stef - Ms Derbyshire Curve 2018

MBBC changed my life. sounds cheesy I know, but it did. I was in a very bad place mentally before this pageant, I still have dark days but I know there's hundreds of amazing strong women who've got my back. Even though at the end of it all its a competition I've never experienced anything like the love and support in MBBC I'm now on my 3rd time and I'm so glad I took that plunge, this year will be amazing and I can't wait for pageant day.

~ @So_Stef86

Another MBBC Royal Family member up next - Amy has competed for the last two years and last year was crowned the second runner up in the Mrs category. Amy stepped out of her comfort zone this year and ran a fantastic event; East Curve which was a fabulous day, I am so proud of her and love watching her confidence grow.

Amy - Mrs Norfolk Curve 2018

Next up I spoke to another MBBC Royal Family Member - Nickey. After competing for the last two years Nickey was crowned second runner up in our Miss category last year. I remember meeting a very shy young Miss Surrey Curve back in 2015 in the lead up to her competing in the 2016 finals and they girl I met is simply not the same girl I see before me now. Nickey has not only learnt to be more confident in herself but she is also a role model for other women struggling with loving their bodies. Here's what Nickey had to say;

Nickey - Miss Surrey Curve 2018

Meet Ms Gloucestershire Curve 2016; Charlotte-Hannah.

Taking part in MBBC has changed my life and I don’t mean that in any pathetic or half-arsed way. I honestly mean it.

Let me explain...

There I was a 30 something working mum with pipe dreams of taking part in a national pageant.  I had longed to don’ a sensational gown and take part in something so glam, but I had never thought I was “pageant material.”  I didn't have the right look, I was definitely not the right size or shape or dare I even say colour!?

It was only when I happened across MBBC; a pageant geared towards women size 14+ that I thought I would enter, with nothing to lose.  But at the back of mind I had no hope of ever being accepted. I had almost forgotten that I had entered, so you could imagine my surprise when I received an a email telling me that I had been chosen to compete.

So much to do so little time and I had no idea where to start.  Pageant fees needed to be paid, a small fee but an amount I didn't have to just pay out right away. I was gutted, I wanted to compete so badly but I simply couldn't afford it on my own. Then,  I had a brain wave...so many of my friends friends & family had expressed support, could I approach them for sponsorship? A small donation from many could help me collect my fees. I felt like a muppet chasing a dream and asking my loved ones to contribute was scary!  I don't know why I was so worried,  the response to my seemingly odd request was overwhelming.  Many of my friends and family made a small donation, meaning this Cinderella could go to the ball after all.

Now I knew the financial side of the pageant was taken care of I set to work on getting myself out there. I could potentially earn extra points for every public appearance I made wearing my sash & crown.  This may not be easy for many reasons; would they take me seriously? I'm a big girl, so will they assume I am promoting obesity? I'm not exactly 'pageant material' Would my skin colour cause a problem, my town isn't known for being very diverse?   I had nothing to lose by approaching local businesses and asking for their support. I didn't need their financial help as my friends and family had that covered, but I wanted to have the backing of some of   the local trade. I sent each business a personalised email, I approached local newspapers, radio, local event organisers, shops and charities. Many companies blanked me, some politely declined their support, some not so polite.


The first person to accept was our local papers' editor. He offered to meet with me to run a story.   I was nervous meeting Kevin but I had no need to be.  He was a very kind and approachable man and he made me feel at ease. His story was very true to word, which in the press is rather unusual.


Off the back of the story in my local paper, I was approached by Louise of Louise Bunny Hop Dance & Fitness. She felt like my story gelled with her ethos and was interested in discussing sponsorship. Through meeting Louise I was introduced to Susie ofStyled By Susie. Susie, is a personal stylist and she planned to share her styling flair with me and help dress me for the pageant. She became my second sponsor.





I was a guest on local radio station; Ridge Radio for their Coffee & Chat show with Karen & Mims

where we spent 2 hours chatting like old friends about body confidence, modelling and pageant prep.

I took part in various charity events; I did the Tower of London Run, a charity fashion show in aid of St. Catherine's Hospice, a pamper day for SANDS & ARC, I travelled to Dublin to paint cottages for a charity called Barretstown; who run a fun summer camp for children with life threatening illnesses amongst other things.

This was so much fun, my personal brand was growing and I was starting to get really excited about the big day!  Just one little problem...what the hell was I gonna wear!?

I needed Styling advice so off Louise, Susie and I went for pageant shopping on Oxford Street. We were given the use of the personal shopping room by the fantastic staff at Simply Be and Susie worked her magic on me. We had chosen my opening dress, fashion wear from Simply Be & shoes from Debenhams in one trip! She's a genius! I was struggling with swimwear, so I asked my bestie Sian to help me.  She pulled out this beautiful bikini from Forever 21 and I looked at her like she'd grown 2 heads; "Me? A bikini? I don't think I'm ready to wear a bikini in public!" If it weren't for Sian reassuring me that I had nothing to lose and the fact that I wanted to push my own boundaries I probably would've chickened out. I had one last problem....my evening gown.

I had set myself a high bar.  I wanted my gown to be spectacular and fit the following criteria;

× Bright Colour

× Embellishments/Sparkle

× A train

× Complimentary to my figure without being to figure hugging or overly revealing 

After sampling many dresses from an array of shops from Birmingham to local shops nothing was dazzling me. I wanted the dress to impress me! A few ticked some of the boxes but none suited them all and I was being super picky!

I had begun to feel like all hope was lost when my fellow blogger friend; Tanya of Secret Plus Size Goddess offered to give me a dress that she felt might fit the bill.  She was travelling to London one weekend so we met up briefly so I could pick up the dress.  When I got home I tried it on straight away, Mya's reaction was enough to make the decision for me. She made a sort of squealy sound and jumped up and down clapping her hands with a happy and excitable grin. "That's the dress!" She said! I agreed, it ticked all the boxes and I felt like a million dollars too!!

Shopping complete, I was ready for the event.  I was excited about meeting all the ladies, I had heard fantastic things about the pageant experience with MBBC so was eager for the day to arrive.  

     

We were to arrive in the morning to the venue for rehearsals and then pageant prep. You're not allowed to bring anyone with you to do hair/make-up on the day, so I made sure I had an idea of how wanted to do my face and hair beforehand and had done a couple of trial runs at home too.  

The other girls in the pageant were all beautiful and vivacious women. Everyone was nervous but with all of us together those nerves were soon forgotten.   We practiced the opening number's choreography  (which was a very simple routine of steps and hand movements - don't be scared) we broke for lunch and then had our photos taken wearing an MBBC t-shirt and done a brief interview with the pageant director; Leah. I was dead nervous for that, she asked a few questions about why I entered and what I wanted from the competition, she's such a beautiful woman, with oodles of confidence. Leah is a former pageant queen herself so knows exactly what it takes to make it in the pageant world.    

Once all the formalities were done, it was time to get ready and the atmosphere behind stage was brimming with excitement. The ladies in the 'Ms' category were so kind and we gelled instantly. There was no drama or hate going on just a whole lotta love and appreciation for each other. I knew that if any of these women won the crown I would be honoured to call them a friend as they would each make fantastic queens.

I didn't get to spend much time with the  ladies from the 'Miss' category but from the time we did get to spend with each other was fun, I wish that we could've spent more time together.    

It was finally party time, each round went smoothly and everything was fantastically organised behind the scenes so that each girl knew where to be and what to do.  The changes between rounds were quick but there were 19 Misses and only 8 Ms' so we had a little more time to change.

My Closet dress from Simply Be - Opening Round

A few of the ladies had noticed that some of the awards had been announced in the programme; Miss/Ms Publicity and Best Application. I was quite honoured to have been awarded Ms Publicity, I'd worked my ass off for the last 6 months promoting both the brand and myself.  The other winners of the pre-announced awards were; Charlotte-Hannah Phillips; Ms Best Application. Emmie-Jade Hargreaves; Miss Best Application and Natalie Gilbert; Miss Publicity.