Comp Prep Guide

In this video, I wanted to share some thoughts on competing in a bikini competition on a budget.

I want to run through how much it costs to compete as well as some ways that you can cut costs.

Bikini competitions are a ridiculously expensive sport, considering you're basically on stage for about 30 seconds and really only showing off what you're bringing to the show for about 10 seconds.

Let me just go over some of the main costs that there are in a bikini competition. There is your entry fee which for my competition was USD$150. I would say it's generally going to be at least $100 to enter a show but it depends on where you're competing and who's hosting the show.

Then there's your NPC card which I believe was $125. That is just a fee that you pay to the NPC to compete in their shows and it lasts for a year, so you can compete as many times as you like.

You also have to pay the registration fee for the show that you enter but you only have to pay for the NPC card once per year.

Then there are things like tanning which most people would recommend getting your tan professionally done and not doing it yourself. That can cost up to $100. The company that I worked with was located at the show by the people hosting the show and that cost me $100. I've seen other ones, that pay $100 for just one coat of tan and they have to pay more for their second coat. Mine was a $100 overall.

There are other expenses like hair, makeup, nails, jewelry and your competition suit. There may be airfare if you need to travel to the show depending on how far you have to travel for the show and your hotel charges.

Then there is your food for prepping during competition and possibly a coach that could be a personal trainer and perhaps a separate nutrition coach or may be someone who's doing all of that for you.

These are all the major costs. It can all add up from $600 to $1000 depending on how extravagant you're going. The thing is, you could be spending over $1000 for a show.

When I first heard that, I thought heck no, I'm not doing a show but I really wanted to compete so I figured I could find different ways to find deals to suit my budget and I did a pretty good job getting away with spending not too crazy amounts on the show.

I think I probably spent under $500. I don't think many people spend that little on a show. It is possible to spend less, you just have to be willing to give up and see what is really important to you.

For me, because it was a first-time show, I didn't feel the need to go super extravagant with a suit or with spending tons on hair and makeup. I really just wanted the experience of competing and I think for your first show you don't know if you're going to like it. You don't know how well you're going to do, so I wouldn't necessarily put in $400 to a suit.

The NPC card and your registration fees, those are automatic. You have to pay them, there's no cheaper ways to do that. You're going to have to spend probably around $300 just to compete and be in the show.

After that I started to look for as many deals as I possibly could. I forgot to mention shoes. In these shows you have to have clear heels, about 5 inches high. Everyone's got the same clear heels. Some might have a higher platforms but they need to be pretty much 5 inches high, a little bit less if you really can't walk in that but that's kind of the standard.

These shoes typically cost about $30 - $50. So, I went on eBay and I happen to find a pair of shoes that were in the brand I wanted. I had researched brands and was going for the pretty basic one. Again, I may not wear these more than once and I didn't want to spend tons of money on it.

No judge is going to care if you have rhinestones on your shoes. So, I went on eBay and I found a pair in my size of the brand I wanted which was Elle and they hadn't been worn. It was someone who had ordered them and then just decided never to use them or not to compete. I think I got them for about $20.

I would definitely suggest looking for things on eBay or Amazon to find your shoes or Jewelry which I got from Amazon.

For my jewelry, I also went to the fashion district in Downtown LA. If you do happen to live in Downtown area or somewhere near a fashion district where you can get things for cheaper, I would suggest checking it out. I got these super blingy earrings for $8 and I got these bracelets from amazon.com for a total of $4 for both of them.

I heard other competitors spent over $20 on a bracelet or earrings and I thought that was expensive. I spent very little and it looked just as good. No one would be able to tell the difference. So, I would definitely suggest going through eBay or Amazon to find your jewelry.

As for the suit, I went online and did a lot of research and didn't go with any big-name companies because they cost so much money.

I heard from someone else who had competed that they got a suit from Etsy, so I went to Etsy and searched for different suit makers and found someone that got a lot of reviews but had really great prices and they were super helpful because she answered a lot of my questions.

I could still get a custom suit with a little bit of rhinestones, not too much. That's one thing when you pick a suit, the more rhinestones you have on it, the more expensive it's going to be.

I saw pro competitors who have had super plain suits with nothing on there, so it's not a requirement to have it all blinged out. It does look nicer to have crystals on it as it reflects the light a little bit better.

What you're really getting judged on is the kind of suit you wear, the fit, the colors, how it looks on you and how you present the suit.

I went pretty basic with the rhinestones, nothing too crazy. I could have gone a little bit cheaper but this suit ended up costing about $150 with shipping and tax. That was about the cheapest I could find where I wasn't willing to be surprised or be scared with what I got or too worried if the quality was gonna be good enough.

I did want good quality so I went with the best I could find at the cheapest price. I did see some that were around $100 if you wanted to go really basic you could probably get a suit for about $100. I just went with Etsy and it turned out great I loved it. I would do it again and I would definitely suggest using something like that.