Luma Russo of Brazil was crowned as the first-ever Miss Charm, while the Philippines' delegate placed second at the pageant night held Thursday in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

Filipino beauty queen Annabelle McDonnell finished runner-up to Russo after the two-hour competition, which gathered 38 international candidates. Olivia Tan of Indonesia placed 2nd runner-up.

In the final round of pageant, the top three candidates were asked: "Every morning when you wake up, what do you think is the meaning of life? What are you living for?"

Russo answered: "If I have to sum it up in one word: freedom. Freedom, being able to travel where you want to, be who you want, do what you want, be the woman you are meant to be, follow your dreams.... To be able to achieve the knowledge, not only academically but the knowledge of culture, of emotional intelligence, to be able to reach your full potential."

McDonnell was selected as the country's representative after her first runner-up finish in the Miss Universe Philippines 2022 pageant, which was won by Celeste Cortesi.

• Annabelle McDonnell off to Vietnam for Miss Charm 2023
• Annabelle McDonnell to represent PH in Miss Charm 2023

Here are the placements of the other Miss Charm aspirants:

Top 6

• Venezuela
• Colombia
• South Africa

Top 10

• Argentina
• Puerto Rico
• Costa Rica
• Dominican Republic

Top 20

• Chile
• China
• Korea
• Malaysia
• Mexico
• Ukraine
• Thailand
• Russia
• Poland
• Vietnam
• Netherlands

The inaugural Miss Charm pageant was originally scheduled in 2019, but was postponed multiples times due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As lockdown and travel restrictions eased, organizers finally managed to push through with the competition, gathering dozens of international beauties on one stage.

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