Captions:
1. “Little league baseball ain’t got nothin’ on these pageants,” said Michelle Vincent. Vincent is the mother of Sabrina Vincent, 6, a beauty queen. As she gets ready for America’s Cover Miss, Sabrina needs fake teeth, fake hair, false eyelashes, and more makeup than adults normally wear.
2. According to Sabrina’s mother, Michelle, it all depends upon what mood Sabrina wakes up in. Sabrina’s image in all of her pageants is completely at the hands of her mother, Michelle, and makeup artist, Diana.
3. Every time Diana, Sabrina’s makeup artist, and her daughter touch Sabrina, it costs Michelle $50. A typical pageant weekend costs Michelle $150, for an initial makeup session the day of the pageant, a touch up before the second outfit, and the crowning ceremony the next day.
4. Getting ready for the pageants is a series of small bribes. Sabrina couldn’t play with her doll until she practiced on stage for the Hearts & Crowns Easter pageant.
5. “As long as they place, nine times out of ten, the kids don’t care,” Michelle said. Sabrina likes the toys she gets from winning, but she doesn’t get very upset yet if she doesn’t win. At a recent pageant, Michelle cried for Sabrina because she was the only girl on stage whose name wasn’t called.
6. Sabrina won her age division, as well as the Overall Judges’ Choice in the Hearts & Crowns Easter pageant.
7. Sabrina’s mom, Michelle, calls Sabrina “big butt” as a term of endearment, but she’s afraid she’ll have to stop soon. She realizes the older Sabrina gets, the more she will realize she is being judged by her image.
8. Sabrina sometimes has a long wait from the time she gets all of her hair and makeup done until she gets on stage. She is waiting for her age category with (from left) Elegance and Diamond, sisters. Elegance won Supreme Overall winner, along with other awards.
9. Sabrina had to wait til it was her turn in Diana’s chair. Diana typically does the makeup for four or more contestants in a beauty pageant. Michelle won’t let anyone else touch Sabrina, unless Diana doesn’t go to a specific pageant.
10. Sabrina is in the first grade, and still takes speech classes. She still has a messy room, and other than being in pageants leads a normal life.
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For jss, because she said she wanted to see the whole story. And because I never tried to do anything with this story and it should have a home after all these years.
All photos and captions by me, Rebecca Hazelwood.
