BLACK HISTORY MONTH - MISS UNIVERSE 1977

It is Black History Month in the USA, and to launch Beauty School's commemoration is none other than Dean Harris' all-time favorite Miss Universe, Miss Universe 1977 Janelle Commissiong of Trinidad and Tobago.

A MARTINI FOR VALENTINE'S DAY

Happy (very) early Valentine's Day, courtesy of Miss Universe Albania 2010 Angela Martini. She appears in a va-va-voom, sizzling-hot photo spread in the current issue of the Turkish edition of Esquire magazine. Oh my god, is this woman gorgeous! She's not Miss Grand Slam 2010 for nothing! Today in the staff lounge, she had the entire Beauty School faculty and staff abuzz! What a body! Beauty School is looking to hire a gym teacher, and Boris, Beauty School's Security Officer and Bodyguard, is lobbying for Angela. Prof. Chandni is, too!

MISS MYANMAR 2011

Wutt Yee Phyo won the title of Miss Myanmar 2011 on Sunday, during an event organized by the Myanmar bodybuilding federation at Myanmar Convention Center in Yangon, Myanmar. (Photos: AP)

IL RISORGIMENTO

Miss Italy 2010 Francesca Testasecca wears the Italian tricolore in celebration of the 150th anniversary of Italy's unification, or risorgimento.

ZEN ON SUNDAY

Miss Universe Japan 2008 Hiroko Mima

THE ATOMIC AGE

Better later than never! Plus this news definitely has a half-life! Beauty School was remiss in not providing a more timely update to the student body on the results of Miss Atom 2010, one of our favorite pageants! Olga Trefilova won the Miss Atom 2010 title, based on online and SMS voting held in April. The award ceremony was in June and had a retro theme. Olga is 24, is from Nizhny Novgorod, and works at the Nizhny Novgorod Atomenergoproekt Engineering Company. Runners-up were Kristina Pogosyan and Yekaterina Ivanova.

Check out all the info - and pix - at the Miss Atom 2010 website!

And don't forget our postings on Miss Atom 2008 and Miss Atom 2009!

MISS STYRIA 2011

Sabrina Konrad is the new Miss Styria 2011 and will now compete in the Miss Austria 2011 pageant, which is scheduled to take place on March 26. Sabrina, 20, won the Miss Styria crown tonight. First runner-up in the contest was Anna Schreiber; second runner-up was Raphaela Gruber. Special guests at the pageant were Mister Austria 2010, Missis Austria 2010, and Miss Austria 2010. The election of Miss Styria is the perfect opporunity for a mini-geography lesson. Styria is a state, or Bundesland, located in southeast Austria. In area it is the second largest of the nine Austrian federal-states and shares a border with tiny alpine nation of Slovenia. The capital of Styria is Graz. Famous Styrians of note in pageantdom are Mr. Universe 1967 Arnold Schwarzenegger and Miss World 1987 Ulla Weigerstorfer.

MISS UNIVERSE MALAYSIA 2011

The Star, 28-Jan-2011: Model and television host Deborah Henry has been crowned Miss Universe Malaysia 2011, the second time she has won a national beauty contest. “I am honoured and privileged to be representing Malaysia on the world stage,” said Deborah, who is of Indian-Irish descent. Deborah, who won the Miss World Malaysia title in 2007, was selected by popular vote via the pageant’s official Facebook page combined with the views of a panel of judges.

PARIS FASHION

Miss France 2010 Malika Menard and Miss France 2011 Laury Thilleman, attend the Jean-Paul Gaultier show as part of the Paris Haute Couture Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2011 at Atelier Jean-Paul Gaultier on January 26, 2011 in Paris, France.

TRIP DOWN MEMORY LANE - 1982

At Miss USA 1982

HAPPY AUSTRALIA DAY!

G'day Australia! Jesinta Campbell, Miss Universe Australia 2010 and Miss Universe 2010 second runner-up wishes all Beauty School mates a Happy Australia Day!

I THINK I'M TURNING JAPANESE...

In the faculty lounge today at lunch, while sipping her miso soup and munching on her seaweed salad, Prof. Chandni was humming the 1980 hit song "Turning Japanese" by the Vapors. Hearing the tune reminded Dean Harris about several Nippon-related items to share with the student body.

Miss Universe Japan 2011 is underway. The 15 finalists were introduced last month, and the pageant finale is set for March 30. Follow pageant preparations at Yahoo Japan.

In November, Miss World Japan 2011 and Miss International Japan 2011 were elected. Miss World Japan 2011 is Midori Tanaka and Miss International Japan 2011 is Nagomi Muryama.

Marie Yanaka, 20, holds her winning trophy after being crowned the 43rd Miss Japan Grand Prix in Tokyo on Jan. 24, 2011. The Tokyo native, who currently attends Keio University, topped 3,168 other contestants across the country. Twelve finalists competed in various fields of beauty, while being dressed in kimono and swimsuits. (Photo: Mainichi)

SWISS STYLING

The Swiss know style...and luxury!

The Swiss even know how to ride trains in style and luxury! As usual, the 12 Mister Switzerland candidates are absolutely gorgeous, and we can't wait until the final on April 2! See all the candidates at the Mister Switzerland website. Beauty School's early faves are Sandro De Mattio, Luca Ruch, Nicolas Scandamarre, and Jonas Wälti.

A SEPARATE WORLD

Yesterday's casting call for Miss Philippines 2011 was for the Miss Universe Philippines title, not the Miss World Philippines title. There will be a separate casting call and contest for Miss World Philippines this year. Miss World Organization head Julia Morley is in the Philippines to announce the franchise for Miss World Philippines. At a press conference yesterday, she posed with Miss World 2010 first runner-up Botswana's Emma Wareus, Miss World 2010 USA's Alexandria Mills, Miss World 1993 second runner-up Ruffa Gutierrez, Cory Quirino (new holder of Miss World Philippines franchise), and Miss World 1973 first runner-up Evangeline Pascual (Photo: Ver Paulino)

INDIAN SONNETS

In Mumbai this weekend, a bevy of Indian beauty queens walked down the runway for the Mijwan Welfare Society 'Sonnets In Fabric' fashion show featuring creations by Manish Malhotra. The show included the famous hat-trick ladies - Miss World 2000 Priyanka Chopra, Miss Universe 2000 Lara Dutta, and Miss Asia Pacific 2000 Dia Mirza - as well as Miss India 2001 Celina Jaitley and Miss India 2002 Neha Dhupia.

CASTING CALL

Applicants queue up during casting for the Miss Philippines 2011 pageant at the Araneta Center in Cubao, Quezon City, east of Manila today. Of the 108 applicants, only 24 will be included to be candidates for Miss Philippines 2011. (Photos: Getty Images)

WER WIRD MISS GERMANY 2011?

Who will be the new Miss Miss Germany 2011? 24 women are vying to capture the crown on February 12th. This is the traditional Miss Germany pageant, and the winner (or a runner-up) will represent Germany at Miss Earth 2011. Representatives for Miss Universe 2011 and Miss World 2011 will be chosen in contests later this year.

Vote for your favorite contestant at the Miss Germany website. Enter the captcha word and give points for at least three of your favorites. The winner of the online vote will get extra points at the Miss Germany 2011 finale. (Source: Michael Knittel)

One of our faves for the Miss Germany 2011 title is Miss Mecklenburg-Vorpommern 2011 Romy Wibelitz. She recently won her title in a co-ed pageant (our favorite kind!) that also crowned Henry Glöckner as Mister Mecklenburg-Vorpommern 2011.

Miss und Mister Mecklenburg-Vorpommern 2011

HOLY TOLEDO!

Holy Toledo! The new Miss and Mister Toledo 2010-2011 are África Pérez and Diego Otero. They won their titles on Saturday during a gala ceremony at the Hotel Beatriz in Toledo. Posing with them in the photos are Emiliano García, the mayor of Toledo, and and Félix Ramiro, fashion designer and Miss and Mister Toledo director.