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Sophia Lee, of Christchurch-based Living Dolls, is staging an alternative model search this weekend, featuring 15 contestants.

''The winner will be crowned Miss Diamond Doll,'' explains Sophia Lee, the pink-tressed CEO of Living Dolls.

''The winner will win loads of prizes and grace the runway at the annual Living Dolls show, Doll Bomb, in October.''

These 15 contestants are not typical examples of beauty.

Lee describes the event as one of New Zealand's first alternative pageants.

''There are no restrictions at all. We are celebrating beautiful, confident women who are comfortable in their own skin.''

Lee, a pink-loving couture designer of lingerie and burlesque outfits, has run Living Dolls shows in Christchurch for more than seven years.

''Girls like Bonita Danger Doll started at Living Dolls. We are quite underground and a lot of people don't know about us.''

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Lee is aware of the stigma attached to the word pageant. ''A lot of the time pageantry is about what you look like but with this competition it's really not. I'm proud of the diversity we have,'' Lee says.

''A living doll is a woman who projects in a crowd. She has a sparkling personality, she is well presented and polished. She's an it girl, you know a Living Doll when she walks in the room.''

Hosted by Cassie Law, Miss Ink South Island 2012, the 15 contestants will vye to become Miss Diamond Doll, the newest addition to the Living Dolls group.

''We have our core group, who are very experienced, so we thought we'd get one lucky last contestant to be a Living Doll,'' Lee says.

''When you arrive on Saturday night you'll see roaming lingerie models who are there to host the evening.

"There will be three rounds to the competition. The first is like a Victoria Secret-style fashion show, then there's the talent round and then they parade in gowns.''

For their ''talent'', entrants will rap, sing, do burlesque, disco, circus acts, and even live tattooing. ''It's very colourful.''

Other entertainment for the evening includes pop-up stalls, a mini fashion show by Medicine Wolf Clothing, modelled by the Living Dolls, and a burlesque performance by Bonita Danger Doll.

''Bonita is performing her new routine,'' Lee says. ''Wild cat.''

Judges alongside Lee include local drag queen, Jordaniel aka Miss Idol, Miss Nikki Needles, Juanita of Sugar Skulls Confectionary and centrefold model and Australian-based fashion designer, Jackel, who has recently released a rap single called The Realest Bitch.

''The winner gets signed up to Living Dolls for a year which means they will be on our books and get assignments,'' Lee says. ''They win 24 carat gold candy floss, a custom-made Diamond Doll cake, a tattoo voucher, a photoshoot voucher and tons of other goodies.

''They also get the crown, it's a very big crown, and we'll probably throw glitter at her.''

Lee was surprised at the high number of entries this year.

Ticket sales to the event have been so high she moved the show to a larger venue.

''Contestants range in age from 18 to 35 and are all shapes and sizes, and so far from the commercial confinements of what beauty is defined as.

''We had 86 online entries, the 15 girls with the most Facebook likes went through to the finals. I thought we might get 20 or 30 girls, not 86.''

For Lee the event is also about changing attitudes around what it means to be beautiful.

''There is so much stigma attached to the way women dress and how they are perceived because of the way they dress. I want to encourage women to be confident, to not be afraid to show skin, to show a bit of cleavage. It's OK to wear lipstick and makeup. Sparkle.

''A lot of women are discriminated against for having tattoos, too. Living Dolls is about celebrating all women.''

Lee has worked in the fashion industry for more than 10 years and says she finds her job gratifying.

''I have restored confidence in some women and helped hundreds of women to feel beautiful. I am proud of my art, it goes beyond aesthetics.''

She encourages those who attend the show on Saturday night to dress up too.

''There'll be lots of glitz. Walk in wearing a tutu and you'll fit right in.''

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Oprah Winfrey talks about how she looks after herself in the latest issue of O, The Oprah Magazine.

Oprah Winfrey thinks it's important to "feed yourself with love and loving thoughts".

The 60-year-old star appears on the cover of the September issue of her publication O, The Oprah Magazine looking fabulous in a black bodysuit and smoky eyeshadow.

In an article accompanying the front page shoot in her magazine's makeover themed edition, Oprah lists 32 ways in which a person can "transform" their life.

"The best way I know for sure to stay in steady makeover mode is to take care of yourself," she recommended to her readers.

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"To feed yourself with love and loving thoughts. To eat food that's delicious to you and your body. To engage in loving practices, like giving yourself the gift of stillness at least five minutes a day.

"To surround yourself with people who bring you light, and to banish all forms of negative energy."

Oprah oozes confidence in the snap featured on the cover, which shows off her enviable curves. Citing a poem by the late author Maya Angelou, the TV personality is glad she took the gamble and wore the skin-tight ensemble.

"I'm feeling pretty phenomenal on this cover. I was a little apprehensive about doing this cover in a bodysuit because as Maya Angelou says in her 'Phenomenal Woman,' I'm not built to suit a fashion model size. But it's like something I've never done, it's really kind of exciting," she added.

Oprah previously spoke about how she doesn't fear ageing as it's something women should embrace as part of their life changing.

"Call me crazy, but I've never really understood our culture's fear of getting older. The way I see it, every year can be a brand new journey," she said.

"If you're blessed enough to grow older, there's so much wisdom to be gained from celebrating the process with vibrancy and vigour and grace."

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The Miss Teen USA beauty pageant was held Saturday night and Miss South Carolina, K.Lee Graham, 17, from Chapin, South Carolina won and was crowned Miss Teen USA 2014. The pageant was held at the Grand Ballroom, Atlantis Paradise Island, Nassau, Bahamas and it was broadcast by YouTube via the Miss Teen USA website and also by Xbox Live.

The Miss Teen USA beauty pageant could also be viewed on the Nintendo 3DS, Wii U consoles, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita and on tablets and smartphones through their respective YouTube apps. The hosts of the Miss Teen USA beauty pageant were Karl Jeno Schmid and Erin Brady.

There were 51 contestants for the Miss USA Teen Beauty Pageant, one from each of the states and one from Washington, D.C. The preliminary round of competitions was not broadcast, but it was held on Friday, August 1, 2014. Just the top 15 participated in the final competition, with the participants being judged on the basis of how they looked in evening gowns and swim suits. The top five, then, had to also answer a question by a member of the panel of judges, as one more factor in determining who the final winner would be. The five judges of the competition were Amber Katz, Christielle Lim, Fred Nelson, Joe Parisi, and Mallory Tucker.

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The final 15 contestants of the Miss USA beauty pageant were Miss Wisconsin, Patience Vallier; Miss South Carolina, K.Lee Graham; Miss Texas, Kellie Stewart; Miss Arizona, Savannah Wix; Miss West Virginia, Lexsey Marrara; Miss Mississippi, Vaeda Mann; Miss Delaware, Mia Jones; Miss Pennsylvania, Sydney Robertson; Miss Tennessee, Morgan Moseley; Miss Indiana, Zoe Parker; Miss California, Bianca Vierra; Miss Oklahoma, Brooklynne Bond; Miss New Jersey, Valentina Sanchez; Miss Massachusetts, Bailey Medeiros; and Miss Michigan, Iris Robare.

The final five contestants of the Miss Teen USA beauty pageant were Miss South Carolina, K. Lee Graham; Miss New Jersey, Valentina Sanchez, who was the first runner-up; Miss California, Bianca Vierra, who was the third runner-up; Miss Pennsylvania, Sydney Robertson, the second runner-up; and Miss Mississippi, Vaeda Mann, who was the first runner-up.

This Miss Teen USA beauty pageant marked the first time since 2007 that Miss Jersey made the top five. It was also the second time that a Miss South Carolina won the competition. The first time was in 1998. It was just the second time that a Miss Mississippi made the top five, the first time being in 1998. The last time that Miss Arizona and Miss Massachusetts have been in the top 15 was in 2008. Also, this Miss Teen USA beauty pageant was the first one ever to be streamed live on an eighth generation video game console and the first one to be broadcast on YouTube.

Miss South Carolina, K. Lee Graham, was asked for her interview question how she thought that people 100 years from now would look back on and remember today’s teens. She answered that she hoped future teens would remember the teens of today as being agents of change.

The new Miss Teen USA, K. Lee Graham, would like to promote her Beauty Secrets campaign. It is her belief that being beautiful is not just about outside appearances. It is also about being happy with a person’s inner self and how someone treats others, rather than trying to attain some impossible model of beauty or perfection. She is a vegetarian, who says that kale is her favorite vegetable. Her actual first name is Katherine.

Other awards that the young, intelligent and beautiful women won included Miss Congeniality and Miss Photogenic. The Miss Congeniality award was won by Miss Pennsylvania, Sydney Robertson. The Miss Photogenic award was presented to Miss Alabama, Baskin Champion.

After Miss Teen USA K. Lee Graham won, she was crowned by Miss Teen Usa 2013 Cassidy Wolf from California. Graham stated that it was literally a dream that had come true, as she has often dreamed about becoming the winner of a major beauty pageant.

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