SARIE Cover Face 2013, Marike Nel from Pretoria, is the third reader to win a SARIE cover in as many years. Nel, a gorgeous 21-year-old education student from the University of Pretoria, was chosen for the cover of SARIE’s November issue after clinching the 18-30 category in SARIE’s annual Cover Face Competition. Zelda O’Brien, a 40-year old mother of three and freelance make-up artist from Cape Town, won the 31+ category and enchanted the judges with her natural radiance.
This year the competition attracted a record number of entries that culminated in a gala event at the Atterbury Theatre in Pretoria, with many of SARIE’s cover celebrities in attendance. The popular competition, which invites SARIE readers 18 and older to enter, attracted entries from all over the country after the May 2013 announcement. The search for an inspirational cover beauty took several months with judges sifting through thousands of entries. SARIE.com followers were also given the opportunity to vote for their favourites, in the process spiking digital traffic to record highs.
SARIE editor, Michélle van Breda, says this year’s Cover Face shows that cover-perfect comes in different shapes and forms. “Our three winners – 2011, 2012 and 2013 – could not be more different, but each of them has that something special which makes for a great cover.”