From left: Benjamin Pham, Jeanette Ejlersen (Creative Editor of Female) and Charmaine Robertson.
The finals of Female’s 50 Most Gorgeous People were held last Friday at Zouk and after 400 participants, 50 Gorgeous People and 10 finalists, two of them finally emerge victorious.
Charmaine Robertson and Benjamin Pham were named Female’s Most Gorgeous People 2012, each taking home $10,000 worth of prizes including luxury holiday packages, watches, fashion vouchers and fine jewellery.
They were cheered on by the 700-strong crowd during the finals.
Robertson, 28, a regional sales executive said “I was just in the mood to have fun and make the best out of it, so winning was a wonderful surprise! It has been a fabulous experience – I was over the moon with the presence of all my friends, and that took every bit of nervousness away. I certainly love all the prizes...it feels like my Christmas came early!”
On the other hand, a very humble Pham, 26, a business designer, said: “It was an honour just to be nominated. I had a great time meeting the other contestants, who were gorgeous both inside and out. I also feel very fortunate to have great friends who supported me and took the time to vote. Even though I was super nervous and my time on stage was a bit of a blur, I can clearly remember seeing and hearing those who came to cheer me on.”
Both winners were among the more than 400 people who took part in this annual competition.
The top 50 applicants were shortlisted by an internal panel of judges including Female creative editor Jeanette Ejlersen, who were styled for a photo shoot that was published in Female’s November issue.
The public then voted via the website Female50GP.com to whittle that number down to 10, from which the judging panel selected the winning duo at Zouk on November 30.
And if you thought that the competition was all about good looks, you may be mistaken.
Said Ms Ejlersen: “A couple of years ago, we tweaked the competition format to not only focus on good looks, but also on personality. So our Gorgeous People aren’t just pretty faces – they might have unique interests or be brilliant conversationalists or have loads of charisma. In short, they’ve got the whole package and this is the ideal platform for them.”