All power to beauty queen tradie
Amber puts tools aside to represent NZ at pageant
“Beauty is power.” Amber Reardon knows a thing or two about beauty. At this year’s Miss New Zealand competition she was crowned Miss Intercontinental New Zealand and, next month heads off to Egypt where she will represent Aotearoa New Zealand at the Miss Intercontinental international beauty pageant.
She knows a thing or two about power too, power tools to be precise, because when the 20-year-old beauty queen from New Plymouth isn’t strutting her stuff on a pageant catwalk in heels she is manning the tools and wearing safety boots as she installs HVAC — heating, ventilation and air conditioning in buildings across the region.
“I work for Newlan Refrigeration as an office manager and also training in installing HVAC systems. I mainly install them in commercial businesses. It is a bit different to beauty pageants but I enjoy both.”
Amber says while pageants are certainly different to her daily job, they aren’t necessarily quite what people think either.
“People can be a bit dismissive about the idea of beauty pageants and the whole beauty queen thing, but they need to get over that. The pageants are actually really empowering, and I have gained so much confidence through doing them.
“There’s a lot more to it than people realise, and it’s all about confidence.”
When Amber started entering pageants, she had very little of that confidence, she says.
“At the start of all this, I had never even driven on my own out of Taranaki, now I am about to fly across the world.”
It was thanks to the support of Lois Finderup, who organised the New Plymouth pageants, and then Meghan Kenney, the national director of Miss New Zealand, not to mention her own support crew of family and friends, that Amber started gaining confidence, and crowns.
“I was crowned Miss Supermodel New Zealand 2022 and now I have the Miss Intercontinental New Zealand title.”
There is no one specific look judges are seeking, she says.
“When you think about it, the international competitions, we really do all look very different to each other. It’s not about all looking the same, it’s about finding your unique look, finding your beauty and how to draw that out, with confidence, with thought. We work on choosing outfits and things, we need to be creative, and we also have to talk to people, to put ourselves out there by helping raise money for charities or causes such as Brave NZ.
“Brave NZ raise awareness about sexual violence affecting young people in Aotearoa, and also provide the appropriate tools to help those affected through community projects.”
For Miss Intercontinental, Amber has had to complete a number of challenges in the lead-up to the final judging in Egypt next month.
“We had to give a speech on a particular subject. We were each given a topic, we couldn’t choose it, but each topic was really focused on the role of women in different areas. For mine, I had to talk about women as caregivers. Researching that did really make me think about things, and I learned a lot.”
A photo shoot challenge also had Amber turning to Google.
“They had a range of themes, there was jungle, bold, colour, and the one they gave me was Renaissance. Obviously, New Zealand didn’t really have its own Renaissance history, as we are a newer country, so I had to do a bit of research and get creative. Thankfully I have a brilliant photographer, Leith Robertson, and we had a great location to use in Tupare Gardens.”
At the competition itself, Amber will have to not only model a range of outfits including swimwear, evening gowns, a national costume and more, but she has to give a presentation on a sustainable business idea that she was challenged to come up with.
“It’s definitely not just about turning up and wearing heels and makeup.”
Miss Intercontinental takes place in Sharm El Sheik, Egypt, and to get there Amber had been hard at work fundraising through bingo nights, quiz nights, raffles and any other ways she can think of.
“I haven’t done a Givealittle page because it didn’t feel right for me. I am trying to raise as much as I can, but what I can’t raise, I am paying myself. I have been really lucky with three main sponsors supporting me, Committed AF Apparel, Honda Hub New Plymouth, and New World Merrilands, as well as lots of other businesses and individuals who have been so supportive.”
The other entrants in the pageants are also really supportive, she says.
“It’s not horrid and caty like I think people think it might be. Everyone is really supportive, everyone comments nice things on each other’s social media. We have a massive group chat so we are getting to know each other before we meet in Egypt.”
There are over 50 countries represented in the competition, and Amber says she can’t wait to meet the other girls in person and find out more about their countries and lives.
“No matter how I actually do in the competition, I am going to gain so much. It is really empowering doing this. If anyone is thinking about it, you know, should I try a pageant, or let my daughter do one — there’s only one answer. Just do it.”
Amber’s journey as Miss Intercontinental New Zealand is documented on her Amber Reardon — Miss Intercontinental New Zealand 2023 Facebook page and she is happy to talk to anyone who wants to find out more or who would like to support her fundraising.