Congratulations to Shannon Peter, who won the first Beauty Breakthrough competition after months of tasks, pitches and interviews.

Peter, a 19-year-old university student from Devon, impressed the judges with her creativity, enthusiasm and initiative.

‘Judging this contest was one of the most inspiring and one of the toughest things I have had to do in my time at ELLE. The volume and quality of the entries left us in awe, as did the amount of work the candidates put in,’ Jenny Dickinson, acting editor of ELLE, said. ‘Shannon impressed us by conducting her own market research on the streets of Nottingham for her project, as well as her creative ideas and ability to think on her feet.’

Peter will spend the first four months of her paid internship working with the communications team at PZ Cussons, home to beauty brands including Charles Worthington and St Tropez. Next, she’ll move to House PR to experience the daily workings of a busy public relations agency.

Finally, Peter will spend the final four months of her internship with the ELLE beauty team. She’ll learn how the beauty desk works and start to think like a journalist—you may even see her byline on ELLEuk.com.

‘It means the absolute world to me to have won and I am so glad to be given this once in a lifetime opportunity,’ Peter said. ‘I've learned so much going through the whole experience and so grateful for all the advice and guidance I've received. Winning really has been the icing on top of the cake. I'm so happy to be able to launch my career in such an exciting way and I'm already dreaming about what the future may hold for me.’

Enjoy it, Shannon—we look forward to welcoming you to the team soon!

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