
Makeup by Carissa Cielo Medved

Makeup by Carissa Cielo Medved
When Gabriela Isler was crowned Miss Universe 2013 in Moscow, Russia on December 10, 2013, the southern regions of the Philippines were reeling from the fury of Typhoon Yolanda.
Devastated to hear about the disaster, Isler established the Miss Universe Relief Foundation shortly after her coronation and raised $250,000 dollars to finance relief efforts in the region.
She first visited the Philippines on March 27, 2014, heading straight to Coron, Palawan to start rehabilitation projects for three coastal communities, with the support of the Miss Universe Foundation and Cordaid.
Last January 17, the Venezuelan beauty queen returned to Palawan to oversee the progress of the relief efforts, particularly in Malawig and two other remote fishing villages. Gabriela was happy to see how the local economies have flourished, thanks in part to ongoing livelihood programs and the enhancement of basic necessities such as water and electricity.
“It’s amazing how they’re all very much committed to strengthening their sense of community,” she remarked. “These model communities can hopefully be replicated in other impoverished communities in the Philippines.”
Unknown to many, Gabriela has always held the Philippines close to her heart.
“Actually, the Philippines was always on my mind. Even during my tenure as Miss Universe, I realized how the Philippines has the biggest fanbase, pageant-wise. They love their queens. They’re also very respectful. I received a lot of love and respect from them during my year, and even after,” she reminisces.
With her humanitarian advocacies over and done with, Gabriela is exploring the possibility of furthering her modeling, hosting and possibly even an acting/showbiz career while in Manila.
With the guidance and mentorship of Miss World Philippines national director Arnold Vegafria, the 5’11” style maven is sure to bag a number of endorsements for lifestyle brands, do some cover shoots for leading fashion glossies, and breeze through a flurry of media interviews.
While eager to pursue acting projects, Gabriela feels more at home doing hosting gigs, or being able to share her gift of gab.
“I believe in the power that women have in utilizing our voice when we spread a powerful message. I would love to have a show where I can interview people and show their missions and purposes. We can embrace stories that can empower or inspire people. I love content and I love creating impact. If I can combine both, that would be great!” she exclaims.
Gabriela started her very own blog in 2017, tackling travel and lifestyle stories.
“I’m a storyteller. I created a movement called Choose You, where I invite the audience to put themselves first.”
Her exemplary communication skills fit her to a T as Venezuela’s National Director for Miss Universe, Miss World and Miss International―a job that she describes as “corporate work” and which she started on since April 2018.
Even before she became a beauty queen, Gabriela already had a headstart with her social advocacy. Born to a family of doctors, she spearheaded her own initiative for curbing teenage pregnancies in her homeland. Armed with nothing more than her guts and derring-do, she forged partnerships with various medical institutions as well as social welfare organizations.
It’s no surprise then how that snowballed into the Isler Initiative―a humanitarian project aimed at contributing to social activities that promote youth empowerment, education, maternal mortality, as well as helping curb teenage pregnancies and human trafficking, bringing an end to modern slavery and other oppressive practices around the world.
Photo credit: Joy Arguil
As most of you know by now, the search for Miss Venezuela is being run by three of its former big-league Queens from three separate decades – Miss Universe 2013 Gabriela Isler, Miss World 1995 Jacqueline Aguilera and Miss International 1985 Nina Sicilia. And this troika is really deep in preparations for the next national search.
Here is an update of Gabby on the progress in Spanish. The English translation will follow after.
Buenas tardes, buenas tardes!✨ Reaparezco por aquí después de varios días y quiero contarles el por qué de mi ausencia: el proyecto de @missvenezuela ha requerido de mucho tiempo, y me ha tocado ponerlo de primero en la lista de prioridades… ✅
.
Aún estando en la distancia, son múltiples las cosas que estamos resolviendo desde el #ComitéEjecutivo y estamos dedicadas a ello. 🙌🏼 Con mucho esfuerzo y compromiso hemos asumido este reto y estamos seguras de que todos los resultados que alcanzaremos serán satisfactorios. 🙏🏼
.
Ayer lanzamos el proceso de postulaciones a través de missvenezuela.com y me emociona saber que cualquier joven de Venezuela, que cumpla con los requisitos mínimos para participar, puede registrarse libremente y manifestar su decisión de formar parte de este sueño, sin ningún tipo de intermediarios. 👑
.
Juntas, @ninasicilia @jacquelineaguilera y yo, estaremos revisando los perfiles y haciendo la primera preselección.👀
.
Más adelante anunciaremos las próximas fases y les seguiremos contando mucho más de lo que estamos haciendo. 👩🏻💻👩🏻🔧👩🏻💼
.
Por ahora, los invito a mantenerse atentos de las redes oficiales de @missvenezuela para todos los detalles. ❣️ Si tienen algún familiar o amiga que pueda reunir las cualidades de una reina, y que se caracterice por actuar apegada a sus valores, menciónenla aquí en los comentarios para que se anime a postularse. 👸🏻❤️
. ¡Cariños para todos!
.
#MissVenezuela #GabbyOnTheGo
Will the three beautiful ladies measure up to the achievements of Osmel Sousa in Miss Venezuela?
Since Miss Universe 2015 will officially start in Las Vegas next week, allow me to post about one of my favorite Miss Universe winners of all time, and the most recent on my list.
Gabriela Isler, or Molly if you will, is Venezuela’s 7th big winner of our favorite beauty pageant. She also happens to have one of the more meaningful reigns to date. Her popularity remains positively high, as she has also started a number of significant charity causes that stretched from New York City to Coron, Palawan. To top it all, she is a nice person all around, especially after her visit to our shores during Bb. Pilipinas 2014.
Watch a video of her farewell walk during Miss Universe 2014 in Doral, Florida now.
courtesy of James Donald
I had to find a good reason to blog Ara's photos in Vegas where she is now. This SSS post should do it.
Anyways, below is a senti video of her being interviewed by Karen Davila on ANC’s Headstart. If memory serves me right, this was her last local TV guesting right before being whisked to the airport to board her Philippine Airlines flight (with one stopover ) to the host city of Miss Universe 2013, Moscow. And this is also the same clip that triggered a small controversy regarding her English communication skills that somehow implicated the Latinas in theirs and allegedly got the ire of then Miss Brazil Jakelyne Oliveira on Twitter. Of course, we know by now that the latter’s supposed negative pronouncements against Ara were all fabricated via an account that didn’t belong to her.
Let’s reminisce now. 🙂
courtesy of i viral
When Gabriela topped the competition in Moscow last November, 2013, she was ushered in to a world that she could only dream of. And she embraced the responsibility with love and passion. It’s no joke to wear the Miss Universe crown. Beyond the glamour, glitz and pride, there is the heightened level of involvement in worldwide charity causes that has really made the MUO (Miss Universe Organization) step up in its image of going deeper than skin-deep. And this Venezuelan is the near-perfect choice for the position. She didn’t only look the job. She assumed the whole thing with open arms and traveled around different countries to continue with the evolution of the title.
And I couldn’t be prouder of Gabriela in particular after her visit to the Philippines last year and the unstinting support to the Cordaid Fund that has helped a large number of Filipinos who were displaced by ST Yolanda. Up to now, she is still pitching for the same.
Now is the time to watch Gabriela’s farewell video as Miss Universe 2013 before taking a bow. The reign may be coming to an end, but her efforts will long be remembered even if a new successor takes her place 24 hours from now. 🙂
courtesy of Miss Universe
Ara, accompanied by Jonas Gaffud, decided to spend a couple of days in Los Angeles first (perhaps to get her gown or dresses for the pageant) before finally moving on to the host city where she is scheduled to meet up with Donald Trump and Paula Shugart, as well as the MUO team who will guide her on what to do for the exciting gig.
Good luck, Ara! Looking forward to your first episode online! 😉