You’ve seen us talk about it a ton of times before: our fabulous contest with Barbizon (aka the national modeling and acting school that has helped millions of girls make their dreams come true). But once we pick the winner, what’s her journey actually like?
What’s it like to actually win?
“When I first heard that I won the contest, it just didn’t feel real,” shares Nicole B., our 2025 winner. “I was like, ‘There’s no way that I just won this.'” But once she boarded the flight to L.A. and sat down in the makeup chair, suddenly, this grand prize felt very, very real.
Before making her way to sunny SoCal, Nicole met virtually with our fashion editor Whitney to plan each outfit for her photo shoot (and, yup, Nicole got to keep the whole haul for herself). “We were bonding over clothes the whole time,” she says. “We were stopping and saying, ‘Oh my gosh, I need that for myself. This is so cute.'”
If she had photo shoot jitters on set (“At first I was like, ‘Am I doing this right?'”), she didn’t show it. And it doesn’t hurt to have a rockstar GL team cheering you on from behind the camera, too.
“They were saying, ‘Great job. This looks so good,'” Nicole says. “It really helped my confidence.”
And with a pop princess playlist full of Tate McRae, Olivia Rodrigo and Gracie Abrams in the background, Nicole found her rhythm in front of the camera without a doubt (check out our August/September 2026 issue to see her final photos!).
But that’s not all. Because once the shoot wrapped, there was still plenty of L.A. to see.
“L.A. was the best experience ever,” says Nicole, who meant business when it came to her itinerary: window shopping on Rodeo Drive, photos at the Hollywood Sign, sunset at the Santa Monica Pier…and how could you miss stopping by Erewhon for the famous Hailey Bieber strawberry glaze skin smoothie?
Now that she’s back home, Nicole is already on her next step. She’s currently modeling for a boutique and prepping to head to esthetician school, so she can continue to pursue work on both sides of the makeup chair.
“If I can do this, what else can I do?” she says. “I don’t want it to stop here. I want to keep going.”
Got your own modeling goals? Nicole’s advice is simple: “It’s not embarrassing to show how much you want something or how passionate you are about it. Follow your dreams and don’t worry about what other people think.”
Dreaming of modeling in Girls’ Life magazine?
Secure your moment in the spotlight! Enter our contest with Barbizon and start manifesting your future as our 2026 Model Search winner.
⭐ How do I enter?
Just click HERE! You’ll be prompted to enter some basic information about yourself and submit an optional photo. Then keep checking the site to see if you’ve been chosen as a featured semifinalist.
⭐ What do I win?
Our 2026 Model Search winner scores a photo shoot in Girls’ Life, plus an awesome vacay and a $1,000 shopping spree with a top stylist. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience *and* a chance to get discovered, kickstart your career and up your influencer status.
⭐ Ready to be a star? Enter right here!
