The Face‘s Afiya blogs: No second chances

Week 4 of The Face taught an important lesson to the “modeltestants:” Always do your research.

Wow! Here we are at week 4. Starting off the episode, Team Naomi had just lost Kira in the elimination. Missing a team member did not affect the way Team Naomi worked together, but it definitely made my chances of being put up for elimination higher. I know I have to be on my A game.

After learning the first challenge would be to shoot a commercial for Alex and Ani I was excited and a bit nervous at the same time. I have never been in an official commercial before so this would be a first for me, thus making it extremely exciting but nerve-wracking at the idea of messing up. Doing a commercial is very different than a photo shoot. During a photo shoot you get many takes and chances to change your pose. But with this commercial not only were we under a 15-minute time constraint, I had trouble pronouncing the designer’s name right.

The Face‘s Afiya blogs week 1: Stepping up her selfie game >>

I practiced it a thousand times, and my nerves definitely kicked in as well as the pressure of delivering effectively. Having the first leg (relay) on the commercial put me under even more pressure because if I did not get it together the commercial would not go on. Shooting the commercial was more of learning process. It is not as easy as it looks and essentially I should have slowed down and taken my time. My adrenaline was pumping at an all-time high as well as my nerves being on edge. The pressure of not making Naomi happy was also running through my mind at the same time.

Naomi said that our team would have won if I had pronounced the designer’s name correctly, which hurts because ultimately I never want to disappoint her. But we all make mistakes and I take full responsibility for the situation. Although I incorrectly pronounced the designer’s name, I am the only one on Team Naomi who gave knowledge of the brand as well as giving energy, personality and clarity in the delivery of my lines. I do think Naomi made the right decision in not placing me up for elimination because I think she was able to see that Alana not only did not deliver her lines, but she gave no knowledge of the brand or show of her personality and ultimately failed entirely at completing the task at hand.

The Face‘s Afiya blogs week 2: Clearing tables on the runway >>

Ultimately, Anne V chose to send Alana home so we are down another team member. It is always unfortunate to lose someone, but this is a competition and I never lose sight of that.