Miss Universe Philippines queens Rabiya Mateo, Beatrice Luigi Gomez, and reigning titleholder Celeste Cortesi came together in one stunning photo shoot.
Celebrity photographer BJ Pascual captured the three beauties channeling their inner princesses, as part of BYS Philippines' latest collection with Disney Princesses.
The photos were unveiled on BJ's Instagram account on Wednesday night, May 18, 2022, after the exclusive dinner held at Siren Studios in Makati City.
CELESTE AS CINDERELLA
For this pictorial, Celeste transformed into Cinderella, who happens to be her favorite Disney princess.
Celeste told PEP.ph (Philippine Entertainment Portal), "She has always been my favorite since I was a little girl.
"Actually, I used to watch her Disney cartoons every single day. I was so obsessed with her.
"So when they told me I was Cinderella, I was so happy and excited about it."
Celeste wore a golden custom-made gown designed by Michael Leyva.
BEA AS BELLE FROM BEAUTY & THE BEAST
Bea, on the other hand, was touched when she found out that she was assigned to recreate Belle from Beauty and the Beast.
She explained, "They said it's according to what they think will best suit us. And I actually got touched that it was Belle because Belle has the characteristics of being courageous and intelligent.
"And na-touch ako na that's how they see me and they wanted me to represent Belle.
"So sobrang saya ako na yun yung pinili niyang character na ipo-portray ko."
But Bea admitted that a different Disney Princess is closer to her heart.
She revealed, "Honestly, it's Pocahontas. I have such an attachment to indigenous tribes.
"Although, she's from a Native American tribe, pero I feel na [it's like me] being a probinsiyana from Cebu.
"I feel more attached to nature din kasi that's why I love Pocahontas."
Bea's golden ensemble was designed by Job Dacon.
RABIYA AS ARIEL FROM THE LITTLE MERMAID
Rabiya's favorite Disney princess is Mulan, but she also looked stunning as a reimagined, modern-day Ariel from The Little Mermaid.
Among all the three beauty queens, she had the most challenging layout. But Rabiya said it was worth all the effort.
For the shoot, Rabiya wore a chainmail dress by Steph Tan.
"It was actually challenging because the dress was really cold. It was metallic.
"It was actually painful once you sit dun sa stone na ginawa nila. But overall, it was a fun experience.
"I feel like I wasn't just having an ordinary shoot. I was also working out at the same time.
"Pero the photos were very worthy of the effort, the time we spent. So I'm very happy with the experience."
In an exclusive interview with PEP.ph, Celeste revealed that the photo shoot allowed her to hit two birds with one stone.
The Miss Universe Philippines 2022 winner said, "It was just so amazing, honestly.
"It has always been my dream to be photographed by BJ Pascual and it finally happened.
"And this photo shoot is my first photo shoot as Miss Universe Philippines so it was really so exciting.
"And of course, I'm so glad to be able to share this experience with Rabiya and Bea as well."
Bea found the shoot very efficient, "Even if we only got one layout each, sobrang bilis.
"It took a lot of production to get that photo done, pero sobrang bilis ng shoot namin kasi sobrang galing ni BJ talaga."
Rabiya, too, has always wanted to work with BJ and can now check it off her bucket list.
She said, "I really had fun with BJ. He's actually one of my dream team, and even before competing with Miss Universe, I've always wanted to work with him.
"I'm very happy that it happened and with BYS and its collaboration with Disney...
"And I'm very happy that I also share this moment with my two other Miss Universe Philippines sisters."
The glam team included stylist Eldzs Mejia, make-up artist Anthea Bueno, and hairstylist Renz Pangilinan. The nail art was done by Her Tribe Nails, assisted by Carla Alberto.
The amazing set design was made by Princess Barretto. The breastplates that were used in one of the layouts were also made by Job Dacon.
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