INTERVIEW with Nicole Missios || Miss Galaxy Australia National Finalist 2024
Above: Photo by Alexis Turner Photography
SD: Hi Nicole. Can you pls introduce yourself to my readers who don’t know you yet?
NM: Hello my name is Nicole Missios, I am currently 22 years old living in Victoria. I have a Bachelors Degree in Sports Management and Screen, Media and Performance from La Trobe University and am currently working at some of Australia’s largest sports events such as the Australian Open and the Formula One Australian Grand Prix. I am currently a National Finalist for the Miss Galaxy Australia title and love being able to help out my community and raise awareness for women in the sports industry and autism.
SD: You’re a finalist for Miss Galaxy Australia 2024. Can you tell us more about it?
NM: Yes, so I am currently competing for the title to Miss Galaxy Australia for 2024. I have competed 2 times before and this will be my third time competing on the nationals stage. I will competing in May from May 1st to May 4th in Bankstown Sydney and am very excited to be back in pageant land very soon. Currently there are 5 divisions which I will competing in which include Evening wear, Swimwear, Fashion wear, Interview and Photogenic submission. I also have been completing many volunteer and media appearances throughout my journey to finals for Miss Galaxy Australia and have been raising money for batyr which is the chosen charity for this year’s pageant. In the past I have raised over $4000 for many different charities including Make-A-Wish Australia, National Breast Cancer Foundation and batyr.
SD: How did you become interested in pageants?
NM: I have been competing in dance competitions for about 6 years now and one of the dance competition directors Kylie Drew also runs beauty pageants as well specialising in mainly glitz but also modelling and miss pageants. I used to love watching toddlers and tiaras with my mum growing up but never had any interest back then as my main goal was to become a dancer but then in 2020 I started watching other Pageant themed tv shows and movies such as Miss Congeniality and that was where I started becoming curious about competing in a pageant. It was then I decided to compete in my very first pageant in July of 2021 (which was a small local glitz pageant) where I feel in love and have never looked back ever since. Also around that time I discovered Australia Galaxy Pageants system and was when I first entered.
Above: Photo by Alexis Turner Photography
SD: What’s in your makeup bag right now?
NM: Currently I have a-lot of different products in my makeup bag right now but one of my favourites currently is my Anastasia Beverly Hills Mascara as it makes my eyelashes look voluminous and ten times longer without getting clumped. I also have my NARS foundation, clear lip gloss and my too- faced peaches eyeshadow pallets which smells like actual peaches.
SD: What is your vision of success?
NM: My vision of success is being the best version of myself and being able to achieve the many dreams and goals I have in life. Over the years I have had many people not believe in my dreams because of my Autism but I was able to prove them wrong by working so hard and achieving what they thought wasn’t possible. I also like to believe that hard work equals great success so I always make sure I put in 110% wherever I am completing something to ensure it is the best it can be.
SD: What do you admire in a woman and why?
NM: I admire how women are so much more than just what society thinks and how we are capable of completing anything whether it being become a big business owner or a famous engineer - it doesn’t matter.
SD: If you could give one piece of advice to your 14 year old self, what would it?
NM: I would tell my younger self to believe in herself and go for her dreams. In high school I was scared to do things such as apply for the leadership team or try out for the lead in the production as I would fear the rejection or if I wasn’t good enough but looking back now I realise I was just as worthy enough of being a leader at school or being the lead in a production and that if I hadn’t let my negative thoughts get in the way then I would have achieved so much more in life.
SD: Who are you most inspired by in the Pageant World and why?
NM: The pageant galaxy is filled with such incredible people from all aspects of life and I love to hear about there stories and be inspired to really become the best version of myself. Each pageant queen and pageant competitor all have a different story about themselves and I love being able to take all of their advice and put it into my pageant journey. Especially coming from the Australia Galaxy pageants family each one of us national finalist and current queens all have a unique story and being apart of a family which cares for one another is truely something special and is the reason why I stick to being apart of the Australia galaxy pageants family.
SD: How have beauty pageants impacted your life and your career?
NM: Beauty pageants have changed my life for the better as they have really improve my confidence and ability to feel proud about who I am. Through beauty pageant I have been able to meet my best friend in the whole world Skyla Lauch (the current Miss Galaxy Australia) and have been able to make many more friends along the way as well. Pageants have also helped me feel more confident about the way I look and have really helped me become more confident and successful in my career as well.
SD: What is your best beauty secret?
NM: My best beauty secret is to invest in good quality hair and makeup. Trust me when I say my hair has never looked so good until I started using the De Lorenzo Perspective Control Shampoo. Without it my hair was suffering from quite a build up of oil and dryness leaving my hair to have really bad dandruff (like really bad ahahah) but the De Lorenzo team helped me out so much as all I had to do was contact them explaining my issue and they told me the shampoo I should be using which saved my hair. I also use a-lot of their other products in my hair care routine especially during pageant week where your hair is going through different hot tools and hairspray it’s important to have the right products to ensure that you hair stays healthy at all times.
Nicole’s Links:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nicolemissios_/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nicolem_aus_galaxy_finalist/
Nicole’s batyr fundraising link: https://www.batyr.com.au/my-fundraising/120/nicole-missios--australia-galaxy-pageants-national-finalist-2024
Above: Photo by Alexis Turner Photography