newly crowned
La Toya Woods on health, beauty, family, representing her country, and the journey ahead

La Toya Woods, newly crowned Miss Trinidad and Tobago Universe waltzes into the patisserie where we planned to meet. She stood 5’10” tall in three inch stilettos, a mustard cold shoulder top, slim fitting Levi jeans, stone designed chain and bangles, and an energetic air. She orders coffee, and I offer to get her a doughnut, but she gives me a scathing glance and opts for a chicken salad sandwich instead.

(The Diet)

“They won’t let you have a doughnut?” I asked.

“Nope. They’d crucify me if I strayed from my diet.”

By “they” she’s referring to her image consultant for Miss Universe and her gym instructor.

“I got really excited when I went to the gym after I won. My instructor glanced at me and commented that I was so skinny. I thought that skinny was the way to go. But the excitement was premature. Apparently I was too skinny. So now they want me to get a lot of protein so I could build more body mass.  When I train I would transfer all that protein into muscle, so I would be more lean.”

“So they’re ok with all that chicken?” I observed, as she guiltlessly bit into her sandwich.
“Perfectly. Whatever I eat has to be grilled though,” she said. “I have to eat at least four eggs for breakfast. I’ve cut down on my pancakes.”

What I should have enquired about was the carbohydrates in the form of white bread that went with the meat. She’s after all not allowed to eat rice, or pasta.

“I eat six times a day,” she continued. “Between breakfast and lunch I have one fruit. I don’t mix my fruit. And I snack on almonds in between.

For lunch I do a heavy salad (no creamy sauces though). I keep it as a vinaigrette. I have another fruit before dinner, and another almond snack. Dinner is not as heavy as lunch.”
Does she adhere to all these rules?

“I try, but sometimes I cheat,” she confessed.

But she’s never hungry. “I feel satisfied, and energetic. Rarely sluggish. A lot of people think that salad is bird food, but if you eat enough of it, it’s very filling.”

Her comfort foods, luckily for her, are allowable,

“I love meat, chicken, ham, and turkey. But now I just have to moderate them and eat them in portions.”

(The Polished Look)

La Toya jests that she has slanted eyes and an oval face, though her appearance suggests an angular face and beautiful wide eyes. Her features, exotic. One can hardly tell her ethnicity.

“I’m really Portuguese mixed with black, but when my eyes aren’t done right, I can even look Chinese,” she quips. This beauty queen was a favorite at the Miss T&T pageant, so I inquired about the tips and tricks she’s learnt from her gurus at the pageant company, that has refined her look.

“I have a few tricks that I use, especially when I’m tired,” she confessed. For instance, I use a white liner on my bottom and inner lid to open up my eyes and seem alert. Black liner, when applied on the top and bottom lids, actually makes the eye appear smaller, which does not work for my almond shape eyes.

“My face is oval, so I contour to appear angular. I apply a darker shade of powder from the tip of the ear lobe along the bottom of the cheekbone to the top of the lip, using a narrow contour brush and light strokes so it does not appear harsh. I apply a lighter shade above that, to highlight my cheekbones.”

A sleek ponytail is La Toya’s favorite daytime look:

“I apply hair spray onto the hair brush, and comb through the hair to make my ponytail sleek and polished. If I pull my hair back I look more Chinese as it pulls my almond eyes backwards.

And for that played up look?

“I do a middle path, with light curls. I put rollers in tight, for bouncy curls, and leave it for the entire night. In the morning, I apply hair spray (not too much or the curls would look too harsh) and run my finger gingerly through.
I prefer to dye my hair darkest brown to get a natural, healthy look. That’s the most essential part for me.”

(The Win)

“How did u feel when they were about to announce the top three?” I asked. “Did u think it was going to be you? Did you have that feeling?”

“My God, no,” she divulged. They called Danille first, then Sarah…I was confident right through...but I saw the other girls waiting in line and there were some really strong competitors…and for that one moment I had a lapse in judgment and I thought it was probably the end for me. When they called my name, I came on stage crying.”

La Toya’s win was tied into her personal relationship with her mother. Apart from representing her country, her victory, in essence, was for her mother, whom she saw struggle to raise her.

“My win has been a journey for my mother and me. As a child I was raised in a single parent family from the time I was two. I saw my mother sacrifice for us, though my father refused to see us. He was a stranger when he came back, four years ago. By then my stepfather was my real father, the only father I ever knew. I didn’t know this stranger who had returned, and it took a while for the resentment to fade.

I respect my mother a lot. I’ve felt first hand her compassion and strength. I needed to accomplish this for her. And at that moment, when I won, I felt vindicated. My first thought was ‘mummy I did this for you.’

I remember her voice distinctly. She was screaming, ‘Yes baby, you did it, you made me proud.’ I wanted to cry so badly on that stage. So I just turned my cheek the other direction, so no one would see.”

Just then, a waitress and a gentleman neither of us recognized approached La Toya for autographs and the like, and a mini photo shoot session ensued. The gracious beauty chatted with her new acquaintances for some minutes before returning to our conversation. I wondered how she felt being thrust into the spotlight. Her prior stints as a model and photographer’s muse did not bring her this much fame in her home country.  Clearly, she was unused to it.

“I was never one of those who wanted to be in the spotlight, never thought I needed that in my life, but it’s been good. Positive, all positive. I accept every one of those congratulations, and I accept them humbly and with an open heart. It’s uplifting to have so many people have faith in you.“

“Two days after I got the crown, I had to get to the Hyatt to prepare for a photoshoot early in the morning. I thought that a lot of people were going to recognize me, so I took the water taxi. This woman was reading the newspaper, and she kept glancing at me, because my photo was on the front page.

As I got off the taxi a guy approached me and said ‘Aren’t you La Toya Woods?’ I nodded, and he said very loudly ‘Oh my God! You are Miss Trinidad and Tobago!’ and everyone turned around and started rushing for photos. I did not look like a beauty queen that morning, I did not get make-up done yet. It was so early. 
But it was nice, I felt really supported.”

(The Journey Ahead)

What is there to accomplish before the pageant?

“They have plans to send me to someone for vocal coaching – so that when I speak I speak with a softer tone, and I have a singsong voice, a voice of different levels. It’s about being eloquent and entrancing the person you’re speaking with. That comes with body language coaching and everything. So I’m going to have to practice that, so I’d have to develop that and make it my own. That, out of everything else I’m looking forward to learning.”

La Toya is also the recipient of fabulous clothing by various local designers and retail chains. She’s scheduled to receive her wardrobe in early 2010. She’s also the representative for the Jane Iredale make-up line, and will receive complimentary make-up throughout her journey. She will be styled by Leah Marie Guevara, coached for public speaking by Adrian Raymond and develop poise and model behavior with Alison Brown and Calvin French.
The most thrilling part of the experience? The tale.

“I’ll never get this again, never be able to say ‘well, I’m going to do this over again.’ So I want to store everything, so that when I have kids and grand kids, I’ll have that story to tell, that is mine, and that no one can take from me.”

- Aliyyah Eniath