Feeling 'young' again

At the makeup corner, the top request was for deep red and berry toned lipsticks, but most contenders chose to let their bare faces and bright smiles shine. Nearby, a teapot served cups of chai beside trays of scones.

"They don't focus. When you are doing their makeup they want to multitask, talk, bark instructions," said 19-year-old volunteer hairdresser Ntokoza Ntshinga.

The youngest contestant was 63 years old and the oldest 81.

But it was septuagenarian Margaret Fatyela who took the silver-coated crown.

"We are now like school children," she said, seated next to her modest prize of a tea set and a bag of toiletries. It was the first time the former domestic worker and mother of eight had entered a pageant.

"I feel like I am young again, capable of doing everything," she said, looking toward the first runner-up, Lidia Mokoena, 81.