NHS Pharmacist from Handsworth “Amrita Saund” was crowned Miss Birmingham 2022

Birmingham: NHS Pharmacist from Handsworth “Amrita Saund” was crowned Miss Birmingham 2022 by outgoing queen “Bella Hakim” at the recent Miss England Semi final.

In the lead up to the semi final , Amrita (26) whose late father was from Punjab swam 100 laps in 75 minutes & raised £750 in a week for the Miss World Beauty with a Purpose charity which helps disadvantaged children.

Amrita also demonstrated her Bhangra dancing skills in her talent entry video & reached the top 3 in both the talent and the publicity queen round in the contest.

“I was surprised to reach the final 3 in the talent round with so many amazing women from across England entering ” said Amrita .” I got to demonstrate some of the classic Bhangra moves to the audience at the event , it was great fun!”

Amrita’s mother ,Bimla Saund originally from Shimla, India, has supported her daughter throughout the competition & attended the semi final at the Taj 51 Buckingham Gate Suites and Residences . The pair are members of the Indian Ladies Club in Birmingham which is a club that helps the Indian Ladies diaspora in the UK mingle with one another and form beautiful friendships.

Amrita also entered the Beautiful Brows social influencer round in the competition where she created an online eyebrow tutorial.

” I loved having the opportunity to get dressed up and wear make up, its such a change from my day job” said Amrita. ” I don’t wear a-lot of make up generally but I love the Beautiful brows brand & how using a little can enhance my natural look. I’ve been invited to create more tutorials for the brand, now that I’m Miss Birmingham & I’m hoping to share my story of feeling confident both with and without make up”

Amrita also entered the “Bare Faced no make up” round in the competition: revealing that since the age of 13 she suffered from a skin condition called “Vitiligo” . She said “that love begins with self-love, self-appreciation and self-respect. I was 13 when I got my first patches of vitiligo under both my eyes.

Vitiligo is a long-term condition where white patches form on the skin due to a lack of melanin which is the pigment in the skin. I lost a lot of self-confidence as a result due to people un-intentionally highlighting the feature on my face and sometimes even telling me to “wipe away my eyeshadow as it had smudged under my eyes”. There wasn’t any malice in their comments but to me it felt like it was the only thing people would notice when they looked at me.

As I got older I began to fall in love with my vitiligo. It was a part of me and a part that enhanced my beauty. At 16 I decided to live my life the way I felt most comfortable and that was best for my mental health and well-being. I stopped covering up my beautiful vitiligo with makeup and overtime I left the house for school, university and work for errands bare-faced.

Now at 26 I know I feel beautiful both bare-faced and with make up on. I choose when I want to glam up. I have control. I want everyone to also have control and know that people will always have an opinion but it is up to you to filter the negativity out. My vitiligo patches come and go and at the moment I have a cute little raindrop one under my left eye.”

Amrita will be representing Birmingham in the 2day Miss England national final sponsored by Dentakay which will be held in the Lancaster Suite at the Holiday Inn Birmingham Airport on 16th & 17th October. 40 women from across England have been invited to take part.

The public vote for the competition opens on Friday 23rd September where voters can make 1 Free vote a day on the Miss England App for their favourite Miss England Finalist.

Amrita added ” I’m so proud to represent the second largest city in England. It is an incredibly multicultural and diverse city and I hope to make Birmingham proud in the Final”.

For more information about Miss England visit www.missengland.info