THE 12 Miss England North East Finalists have been invited to celebrate International Women's Day all week by posting bare face no make up images of themselves on their own social media.

The contestants have won their places in the contest by already submitting videos and images to the Miss England HQ.

Middlesbrough based all female run Flawless photography and make over studios who are currently closed due to the pandemic and Plastfree women's hygiene company are challenging all to go natural by posting no make up images of themselves this week on social media.

The reigning Miss England NHS Doctor, Bhasha Mukherjee, who was crowned in Newcastle, took it a step further by posting an image of herself wearing PPE.

She said: “Women and men, frontliners, including myself, have had to hide behind layers of PPE, across the world, everyone has had to don a face covering so make up has gone out of the window! Lets get real.

"It's been a year of appreciating the deep and meaningful rather than the shallow and superficial. The no make up round, first established by Miss England in 2019 the year I won in Newcastle was a novel round and a concept much ahead of its time.

"It's all too easy to get dolled up. In this round the Miss England competition empowers young women to face the judges in their own, naked, unadulterated skin and own up to their exterior flaws. The real question still remains, if we took all the pretty glamorous layers away, or, at a time like now would you still be beautiful?"

The national organizer of the contest Angie Beasley, said: “This round in the Miss England contest encourages people to show us who they really are without the need to hide behind make up and filters on social media.

"The contestants are at home in lockdown like all of us. Already most of our national finalists have taken part in this challenge which you can see now on the Miss England app."

The first North East contestant to rise to the challenge is Shereen Brogan, a Human rights paralegal.

Shereen said: “Body dysmorphia and other mental health conditions are on the rise. Understand that social media is not always reality and its time to embrace the real you."

To see the 12 North East women go to: www.missengland.info/qualifiers/north-east/