Dark-skinned and fat, I was never a Miss Kerala material: Liz Jaimon

How do you define beauty? What’s the yardstick for beauty? Each one of us will have a different opinion here. Some might say you need a certain skin tone, while some might be finicky about vital statistics, and some might think being tall is a requirement.

At least for the longest time, there was this misconception that the idea of beauty always revolved around such societal standards. And the beauty pageants somehow attested to this theory. Thankfully these beauty standards have undergone a major change now. This year’s Miss Kerala focused on being what you are. Miss Kerala 2022 Liz Jaimon Jacob has a similar story to tell us.

Not born as Miss Kerala

Right from childhood she has been at the receiving end of body shaming and bullying. She had a lot of hair on her arms and legs. They used to tease her by asking her if she was growing hair on her arms. And she used to wear braces.

She naturally felt sad when she heard these taunts. She wasn’t the prettiest in class. She was a wallflower in school.

From that time onwards she used to notice people who used to take part in such contests. And she also started taking a good look at herself and started making efforts to better herself. She never tried to be someone else.

Beauty secrets

Liz is someone who makes time for daily workouts. She managed to tone her body through these daily workouts. And of course, took care of her diet. According to Liz, it is all about healthy eating and not really about portion control. She would use a face pack thrice a week. Since there was a vegetable garden at home, she used to make a pack from organic ingredients.

She would put a blend of cinnamon powder and honey on her face, use rice flour as a face scrub and make a hair mask using coconut milk, coconut oil, and herbal leaf. Liz would press milk from coconut and marinate her hair with it for an hour and later wash it. When it comes to fashion, makeup, or skincare, her mother is her style icon.

About the Miss Kerala competition

This time the contestants were different in height, skin colour, and size. It wasn’t an ordinary beauty pageant and the tagline of Miss Kerala said to come as you are.

You should get rid of the idea that you are never perfect, but others are, and we aren’t good enough. We should believe in ourselves. She really believes that this confidence is what helped her win the pageant.