Stunning and svelte Celeste Cortesi belongs to that circle of Pinay queens who won two national beauty titles and represented the country in the global competitions of pulchritude and personality twice. She wore the crowns of Miss Earth Philippines 2018 and Miss Universe Philippines 2022.
After her pageant stints, Celeste has established herself as an entrepreneur and brand ambassador. She recently collaborated with the jewelry brand Tessera and has been named a muse. “Tessera marks a special collaboration with Celeste Cortesi, who will front the brand’s upcoming campaign highlighting its signature blue stone pieces,” the Philippine jewelry brand said.
“Yes, actually, in the past few years, we’ve been buying quite a lot to be honest,” said the beauty queen about collecting jewelry pieces in a recent group chat, adding that she’s excited about the collaboration between the brand and her as well as representing Tessera.
“I think it can be both,” shared Celeste of looking at jewelry as a personal expression or an investment like an heirloom that can be passed on to the younger generation, “I do like things… and I buy things that I like very much to look good, but also I always think that it’s also a good investment.”
Following her line of thought, one could glean that jewelry doesn’t have to be expensive and one can find very good pieces. She considers purchasing one because of something in it like color. Her favorite is blue. The wearer has to feel confident and comfortable wearing the jewelry pieces.
Since the competition for this year’s Miss Universe Philippines has begun, Celeste was also asked to give advice to delegates aiming to represent the country in different international pageants like Miss Universe and Miss Supranational.
“It’s been a while, to be honest, since I competed, but for me, it was really one of the best experiences of my life… I think it’s once-in-a-lifetime (opportunity), and I think that every girl that really wants to join and wants the crown and wants to represent the Philippines has to also enjoy the process. Don’t be too hard on yourself, enjoy every single step and just do your best,” said she, who also served as a judge in certain beauty pageants.
Asked about a candidate’s qualities that a pageant judge looks for, Celeste gave her two cents by saying, “To be honest, I think it’s not just one thing. I do look a lot for, you know, what I feel when the girl comes out from (or appears on) the stage. I think it’s a lot about the aura, the presence. The Q&A, of course, does a lot when it comes to choosing a girl,” answered she. “I think it’s the overall aura of a girl and the feeling that a girl gives you that really makes me say, ‘Oh, she’s gonna be Miss Universe (Philippines winner).’”
Celeste, on the other hand, does charity work with her boyfriend. She made a donation for the earthquake victims in Cebu and Davao Oriental last year.
“We donate to universities (and) support education, like, (for) a good number of students as well. We donated recently to a few hospitals,” said she. The health assistance is to address heart diseases.
“We have plans to keep (on) donating and donating,” added she.
To make sure that the help goes to the right beneficiaries, they have a team in charge of research.
Making donations is just one way of helping others. Celeste said that one can also either do volunteering or work for an organization.
What also keeps her busy these days is her entrepreneurial endeavor, the beauty company named Asul.
“Now, I’m very much into my lip care business. It’s doing great,” shared Celeste.
According to her, Azul/Asul is the Spanish and Tagalog word for Blue, and her name Celeste in Italian also means blue. Most people associate the color with “calmness and water.” Blue is the color of her evening gown during the Miss Universe preliminary competition.
Given her queenly aura and presence, pageant fans still wish that Celeste would participate in Miss Grand Philippines and represent the country in Miss Grand International.
And this is what she had to say: “As I said earlier, never say never… I don’t like to close doors anyway. I don’t like to say no, but also right now, I’m very focused on the new projects and endorsements.”
“I know a lot of fans have been supporting that idea, and I’m very, very grateful that there are a lot of people supporting me still in the pageant industry,” concluded the brand ambassador of Tessera.
The local jewelry brand, meanwhile, offers classic diamond staples and other high-end pieces. It has branches at Molito, Opus Mall, Podium and Rockwell.