It getting more difficult to be beautiful in Venezuela.

It's no laughing matter, as many scramble to find beauty supplies amid shortages.

"For the person who sits down here magic must be performed. If there is no hair wax, one must use gel, and if there is no gel, then one must use lacquer and that's it," a 30-year old receptionist said.

"You can't get face powder anymore, and when you do find it, you have to buy one or two powders. Same goes for sanitary napkins, you must buy one, two, three or four packages. It's not like it used to be."

In a country that boasts of seven Miss Universes, a Miss Venezuela jewellery designer says he is now asking clients bring their own jewels.

"What I am doing now is asking the clients to buy the stones, and have them send them to me. I basically now just charge for labor. Before, I did everything."

With supplies running short, beauty may have to be in the eye of the beholder in Venezuela.