04/08/2018
Backstage is practice for on-stage - and that means big smiles, eyes and teeth.
LAWRENCE SMITH/STUFF
On stage at Auckland's Sky City, Estelle Curd was crowned Miss Universe New Zealand 2018.
But backstage at the grand final of Saturday's pageant is a busy place.
This is the venue for costume changes and lipstick touch-ups - but it's also a space for last-minute runway practice, Instagram photo shoots and hastily eaten snacks.
It's home to mirrors framed with lights, racks of bejeweled dresses and finalists anxiously scrolling through their phones.
Contestants with freshly curled hair throng the hallways, vying for space with make-up artists, proud mums and aunties.
Hair and make up is serious business in the pageant world.
LAWRENCE SMITH/STUFF
https://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/106021547/backstage-at-miss-universe-new-zealand