Revlon opens doors to modeling in ‘Unforgettable Women’ contest

By Lynn Rogers

This one is for the girls.

You pick up a glossy fashion magazine, thumbing through the advertisements and encountering model after beautiful high-paid model. “I can do that,” you think, imagining yourself in a New York studio, heavily made up and primping and preening for an exotic photographer.

Now is your chance.

Revlon, one of the nation’s leading beauty marketers, is holding its annual “Unforgettable Women” contest to recognize and reward glamorous, intelligent women. The 1990 winner will receive $25,000 and appear in a Revlon advertisement next year.

The contest is open to any woman over 18 and modeling experience is not required. Last year, Boston University sophomore Mary Nguyen walked off with the grand prize, and has since been featured in top magazines and television interviews, and even tested for an NBC-TV series.

There are some rules and prerequisites, however. To enter, each applicant must provide a completed entry form (found in particpating drug stores), proof of purchase of a Revlon cosmetic, three color photographs of herself and a short essay explaining why she considers herself an unforgettable woman. The deadline is December 15.

A Revlon panel of judges will select 51 semi-finalists, one from each state and the District of Columbia. The field will then narrow to nine finalists, who will fly to New York City in the spring for five days. At the awards dinner, the panel will choose the grand prize winner.

Judging criteria is based on a variety of factors: the ability to project the Revlon image, beauty, quality of cosmetic application and hairstyling, presence and projection and originality and clarity of the essay.

The “Unforgettable Women” contest is an extension of the Revlon “Unforgettable Women” ad campaign, which has featured models from Jerry Hall to Oprah Winfrey. According to Arne Zimmerman, president of Revlon’s Classic Cosmetic and Fragrances Group, the ads and contest reflect the company’s view of modern beauty.

“Today there is no single standard of beauty based on physical details. Instead, women are free to identify and highlight their best features, their inner beauty as well as their outward appearance,” she explained, adding, “It’s a combination of these features that makes a woman truly unforgettable.”

For more information, write to Revlon’s Unforgettable Women of 1990 Contest, P.O. Box 5509, Grand Central Station, New York, NY 10017.