Running late from work, 19-year-old Neecee Kearie quickly dumps the contents of her make-up bag onto the living room floor.

She and her friend Ashu rifle through the selection, picking foundations to blend together—it's hard to find the right shade for Neecee's skin tone in the limited range stocked on Australian shelves.

While Ashu does her make-up, her baby son happily gurgles away nearby, and Neecee chats about the different outfits she will wear in the Miss Africa Darwin beauty pageant that evening.

"My cocktail dress is a black dress, with a tail, and I've got some beautiful blue shoes to go with them," she said.

She will also wear an outfit that blends elements of the different cultures in her family, from the Kikuyu and Maasai communities of Kenya.

"I'll wear a head crown, made of beads," she said.

"And I've also got a—in my language we call it a leso or shuka—and we use it in my community to dress up."

Neecee's easy laugh, her enthusiasm, and her pride in her heritage are what the event is all about.

Pageant contestant Jane Alia prepares to go onstage. ( ABC Darwin: Jacqueline Breen )

Comfortable in 'whatever skin, whatever hair texture'

While all young Australians can struggle at times with confidence and self-esteem, the challenges can be exacerbated for some in migrant communities.

Co-organiser Naomi Mungwana said that she hoped the pageant would help women in the community see themselves as beautiful in a world where light skin is still seen by many as more attractive than dark.

"The trend that is happening now, [some] girls are bleaching their skins with harmful chemicals," she said.

"We're trying to encourage them and to show them that they're beautiful in whatever skin, whatever hair texture, whatever background, culture and everything."

Members of Darwin's African community gathered to watch the show. ( ABC Darwin: Jacqueline Breen )

The ultimate winner on the night was nursing student Jane Alia, 23, who was born into a refugee camp in Uganda after her family fled from South Sudan.

She came to Australia over a decade ago, and said she never thought she would one day stride across the stage in a beauty pageant.

"I've always questioned how people were judged when they go onstage and model, but also I felt like I was not good enough," she said.

Jane said she entered the competition to challenge herself, but also because she knows there are young girls in the community who look up to her.

She also has friends who have tried to lighten their skin, and said it is a hard topic to talk about.

"[They did it] because someone told them they're not beautiful, or they portray black as not beautiful," she said.

"It really hurts me, and it's still happening.

"My motivation for entering [the pageant] is to show them, if I can do it, they can too."