Road to the crown: Here's how the 2025 MUPh candidates prepared for the finals night
It's almost the Miss Universe Philippines 2025 coronation night.
As fans are busy predicting who will take the crown, it's a different world behind the scenes—and it's one of discipline, teamwork, and tireless preparation.
PhilSTAR L!fe reached out to some delegates and their glam team to ask how they are preparing for the big night on Friday, May 2 at the SM Mall of Asia Arena. Here's what they shared with us.
Behind every look
In an interview with PhilSTAR L!fe, Dexter Lopez—Miss Quezon City Zoe Honeyman's official hair and makeup artist—said that this year's beauty look for her is all about showing off her natural, angelic beauty with a bit of glam and polish.
"With Zoe's striking eyes and well-defined facial structure, we chose to make her expressive eyes the centerpiece of her overall look," he said, adding that he always makes it a priority to ask Honeyman how she's looking to present herself, especially at the coronation night.
"I believe this is essential. While we aim to exercise creative freedom to craft a competitive and striking look, it's equally important that our muse feels confident, exquisite, and, above all, authentically herself."
Jericho Valenzuela, who's working on the beauty looks of Miss Bago City Kayla Jane Usison, believes that his overall beauty and styling strategy for her is to "highlight her natural elegance while ensuring she stands out with a timeless and empowered look."
"We are focusing on clean, radiant makeup that enhances her best features, paired with hairstyle that complements both her personality and the structure of her evening gown. Every detail from accessories to color palette is curated to project confidence, grace, and modern femininity, ensuring she looks stunning and feels truly herself on stage," he said.
Valenzuela added, "I also start by understanding the candidate's personality, strengths, and how she wants to be perceived on stage. From there, we build a look that reflects her individuality while aligning with current pageant trends and stage demands."
Consistency and determination
Miss Nueva Ecija Chanel Olive Thomas, representing the Filipino Society of Melbourne, shared with L!fe how her typical day of training looks, emphasizing her consistency until the coronation night.
"I believe in the 10,000 hours rule, so I've been training a little every day since the moment I said yes to Universe. I'm all about consistency," she said. "Growth can be uncomfortable but it is necessary when you're becoming all you're called to be and do."
Miss Iloilo City Karen Nicole Piccio told L!fe that the hardest part of her preparation was being suddenly hospitalized for three days, right before the preliminary competition.
"I was in a lot of anxiety and stress, having a hard time accepting that it happened to me days just before our preliminaries yesterday happened. Praise God as always though, I made it out in time and as I recover while still taking on the exhaustion of everything I need to catch up to, 'Laban lang talaga,' as they say or 'Padayon' in Ilonggo until the end."
Pasarela and runways
When it comes to preparing for a pageant, two of the most essential skills are the pasarela (pageant walk) and the Q&A portion—and Thomas is taking both to heart.
"I train consistently with my coaches, and I also practice on my own whenever I can and wherever I am," she said, adding that she is focusing on the simplicity of her movements and making sure that her "aura shines just as authentically on stage as it does off stage."
Piccio, meanwhile, stated that Q&A has always been her "forte."
"Q&A has known to be my forte in the industry. You could give me a microphone, and I can go on for hours talking about any topic under the sun," she told L!fe.
"So, I typically focus on making do with however much time and chances we have left to keep practicing my routines for each look with my team. At the end, we always decide to go for whatever makes me feel my best or my happiest so I'm in my element when I perform on stage."
Piccio is now most focused on not overthinking or being hard on herself until the pageant is over.
"I've been giving my best and I know it is always up to God to do the rest. So, in these remaining days towards the coronation, I try to stay relaxed, grateful, happy, and trusting in all my hard work the past years as much as possible. I believe this is the most important thing to prioritize right now," she concluded.
The Miss Universe Philippines 2025 winner is set to represent the country at the prestigious Miss Universe pageant in Thailand this November. Tune in to our live coverage of the entire competition here.
