Glow Up - General Discussion

[TVbitch]

Does anybody else watch this make up artist competition from the UK? Season One is on Netflix and Seasn Two has reached the semi-finals. I find it entertaining, and some of the talent is very impressive.

[Darian]

Ooh, I didn't know there was a season 2. Will definitely watch when it hits Netflix. I'll watch almost any skills/talent-based reality competition and I enjoyed season 1. I have a terrible memory so I can't comment on contestants or challenges, but I know I hoped it would come back. 

[Rosenrot]

Netflix has so many reality competitions that I'm struggling to keep up, but I just finished S1 and am about to start watching S2. I really like it. The competitors are likable and really talented (I've been doing make-up since I was 12 years old and 19 years later I don't have enough talent to make my eyebrows the same shape). Val Garland endlessly repeating "ding dong" annoys me. Believe me honey, it isn't going to be the next Big Catchphrase. 

I hope there's going to be season 3!  

Edited August 15, 2020 by Rosenrot

[qtpye]

On 6/28/2020 at 7:14 PM, Darian said:

Ooh, I didn't know there was a season 2. Will definitely watch when it hits Netflix. I'll watch almost any skills/talent-based reality competition and I enjoyed season 1. I have a terrible memory so I can't comment on contestants or challenges, but I know I hoped it would come back. 

 

On 6/26/2020 at 3:09 PM, TVbitch said:

Does anybody else watch this make up artist competition from the UK? Season One is on Netflix and Seasn Two has reached the semi-finals. I find it entertaining, and some of the talent is very impressive.

 

1 hour ago, Rosenrot said:

Netflix has so many reality competitions that I'm struggling to keep up, but I just finished S1 and am about to start watching S2. I really like it. The competitors are likable and really talented (I've been doing make-up since I was 12 years old and 19 years later I don't have enough talent to make my eyebrows the same shape). Val Garland endlessly repeating "ding dong" annoys me. Believe me honey, it isn't going to be the next Big Catchphrase. 

I hope there's going to be season 3!  

I love creative based competitions that focus on talent instead of back biting pettiness.

I am really enjoying season 2. James has some of the most beautiful blue eyes I have ever seen.

[Adgirl]

Someone should tell the lady host "Ding Dong" is never gonna happen.

Really enjoyed this. Wish Ophelia had pushed back on the critique of her final look. I can barely fill in my brows but I love to watch.

Edited August 20, 2020 by Adgirl

[TVbitch]

Ding Dong is annoying. But it kind of seems like an interjection she has probably used (and annoyed people with) her whole life and not just something she thinks is cool for the show. At least I hope so! In general, I like the judges of UK competition shows much more than those in the US. The judges of The Great British Sewing Bee and The Great Pottery Throwdown are my favorites. Both wonderful shows. 

[qtpye]

9 hours ago, TVbitch said:

Ding Dong is annoying. But it kind of seems like an interjection she has probably used (and annoyed people with) her whole life and not just something she thinks is cool for the show. At least I hope so! In general, I like the judges of UK competition shows much more than those in the US. The judges of The Great British Sewing Bee and The Great Pottery Throwdown are my favorites. Both wonderful shows. 

Pottery throw down is awesome. I do want to tell that judge to stop trying to make Ding Dong happen.

[Brookside]

The premise is great, but somehow the producers made the show boring.  The addition of the unbearable woman trying to make "ding dong" a thing made me skip from episode 2 to the last few minutes.  For once, the winner was the one I loved in the episodes I saw!

[Triple P]

Season 2, episode 1- is Kendall or Kylie Jenner one of the models for the silver team?

[CoderLady]

Using "MUA" instead of calling the contestants artists or makeup artists irritates the hell out of me. I can't decide whether it sounds pretentious or dehumanizing or condescending but it for sure seems silly. 

[Triple P]

On 9/2/2020 at 2:33 PM, CoderLady said:

Using "MUA" instead of calling the contestants artists or makeup artists irritates the hell out of me. I can't decide whether it sounds pretentious or dehumanizing or condescending but it for sure seems silly. 

I had heard the term MUA from social media before watching this show. It didn't strike me as odd, but your comment sparked my curiosity. MUA is apparently standard jargon in the beauty industry.

[Ciarrai]

Not a fan of the winner of either season but especially season 2. I didn't like a single thing she did all season.

[Aulty]

Series 3 (8 episodes) of Glow Up starts tonight on BBC one (and, I assume, will eventually make its way onto Netflix aswell). Maya Jama replaces Stacey Dooley as presenter.

Edited April 20, 2021 by Aulty

[qtpye]

6 hours ago, Aulty said:

Series 3 (8 episodes) of Glow Up starts tonight on BBC one (and, I assume, will eventually make its way onto Netflix aswell). Maya Jama replaces Stacey Dooley as presenter.

Great news...I like this show.

[BellaR]

I enjoyed the first episode of season 3. The great thing about this show is that the challenges are high profile, and realistically challenge the artists. The right person went home. I don't think that she really did any makeup during the last challenge.

[Aulty]

Its a good group this series, I think. Not keen on the Kardashian knock off new host.
I can see why they put Nic (?) in the decider for lack of technicality, but I liked her overall look.
Dolli's was breathtaking.

I wonder whether a competition for aspiring photographers, following the same pattern as Glow Up, would work.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

S3.E1

Quote

The MUA class of 2021 are tasked with their first Professional Assignment - a beauty campaign for the health and beauty retailer Superdrug. They are challenged to produce an eye-catching look that showcases the store's inclusive make-up range for their diverse customer base. Correctly colour-matching the skin is a priority, as is a bold look to entice the customer though the door. At the end of the assignment, the judges assess the test shots to decide which MUA has impressed and will have their work displayed in over 800 store windows nationwide.

The following day at Glow Up Studios, the MUAs find out which two underdelivered on the beauty campaign, meaning they start the next challenge with a 15-minute time penalty. For these two MUAs, the only way to escape the Face Off elimination at the end of the show is to wow the judges in the Creative Brief. The judges want to see what makes their MUAs unique. They must produce a look which tells a story, brings technicality and pushes their creativity.

The judges send the two MUAs whose looks they have ranked to the lowest to the first Face Off elimination challenge, a make-up skill drill on identical twins where they are tasked with producing a clumpy lash that accentuates the eye and thickens the lash.

Original air date: 4/20/21

Edited April 27, 2021 by ElectricBoogaloo

[ElectricBoogaloo]

I haven't watched the first two seasons but I watched the first episode of S3 and I already like it. I loved that the models were so diverse and that the makeup artists were specifically told to focus on color matching. It's so frustrating when you can't find shades and colors that work on your skin. That lack of selection is the first problem for models and actors of color. The second problem is that many makeup artists do not know how to work with non-white skin tones, which we saw with Ryley giving her Asian model very yellowish foundation.

I also liked that their assignment wasn't a lame theoretical (as we've seen on some other makeup shows) but an actual real world campaign and that there were people from the company to give feedback about what would not work for their brand.

I liked that the second challenge gave the contestants free rein to do whatever they're good at so they could go full out to impress the judges.

Dolli's look was so freaking gorgeous. Even though she had black as a base color (which can read as flat), she kept it luminous with all the highlights. The gold stripes and white dots were a beautiful contrast, and they were so neat and precise.

I give Craig credit for getting so much makeup on, even with a 15 minute penalty but I had to agree with the judge who said he looked like a tree in a children's pantomime. The biggest problem for me was that instead of looking like muscle, it looked like bark. I think he didn't have the skill to create realistic looking three dimensional striations.

Jack's drag look was glittery but I didn't love it. I liked the bright green leaves on their head which contrasted nicely with the pinky glitter on their face.

Xavi's black and white vs. rainbow look was very bold. It could have ended up looking messy but it had great visual impact. That one judge was so hung up on the tape and was insistent that freehanding it would be so much easier. Uh, no.

Sophie's mask look was really beautiful. The blending and shading were gorgeous and I liked all the color.

Samah's Moroccan inspired look was too simple. She had two and a half hours and that's all she did? It is never good when you finish more than half an hour before time is called. I agreed that the look was more in the styling/clothing/accessories than the makeup.

Elliott's exaggerated asymmetric look was really interesting. His shading was done so well.

Like the judges, I cringed when Alex wiped her eyebrows off the second or third time. GIRL. What she ended up with was fine from a distance but I didn't love it. I am here for the judges zooming in on the photos to point out things like subpar blending and incorrect eyelash placement.

I was surprised that Nic said people say her hair stands out. It's blond and curly which is not that unusual. Don't get me wrong - her hair is pretty, but that's what people remember about her? I hated all the red around her eyes because that usually means you're having a terrible allergic reaction of you're in a horror movie.

Ryley's story about her port wine birthmark and creating the geode look was cool. I loved the different shades of blue she used.

On a shallow note, I liked seeing all the makeup artists with bare faces during judging because it was such a contrast from the photos and it really showed just how much work they did to create those looks.

I really like that the makeup artists in the face off had twins so that they had the same canvases to work with. The biggest bummer about the face off is that I hate the clumpy lash look. Nic clearly failed at the face off. Adding the fake lashes was a separate mistake which just made things worse.

Ooh, I'm so excited to see the contestants create makeup looks for Pose!

Edited April 21, 2021 by ElectricBoogaloo

[ElectricBoogaloo]

IG accounts for S3 contestants:

Alex

Craig

Dolli

Elliott

Jack

Nic

Ryley

Samah

Sophie

Xavi

[Aulty]

3 hours ago, ElectricBoogaloo said:

IG accounts for S3 contestants:

Ryley

Samah

Ryley stands out with a healty following of over 700k!

Looking at Samah's IG it seems she is more about beauty make-up than creative or special effects. The past series didn't have that many beauty make-up challges and the creative challenge usually asks for a lot more over the top designs. Its gonna be interesting how far she can go. Although last year Eve, who also worked a beauty counter, made it into the top 3 ... on a wing and a prayer.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Meet the S3 contestants!

Alex

Age: 27
Job: Freelance MUA
Pronouns: She/her

Liverpudlian Alex has many strings to her bow as a hairdresser, fashion stylist and training MUA. She loves experimental looks, thick brows and regularly takes inspiration from David Bowie – pretty impressive, if you ask us!

*******************************************************************************************

Craig

Age: 24
Job: Retail MUA
Pronouns: He/him

Craig is a professional make-up artist and hair stylist from London, although he has worked internationally. His style varies from scary Halloween looks to soft, everyday glam. Originally from Northern Ireland, Craig says he didn’t really see boys wearing make-up. “I did suppress a lot of who I was. I wasn’t 100 per cent who I was meant to be,” he explains. “Make-up has made me express myself more just ’cause it’s made me feel more comfortable. It just makes me feel a lot more confident.”

**********************************************************************************************

Dolli

Age: 26
Job: Retail MUA
Pronouns: She/her

Dolli is a London-based make-up artist and a beauty broadcaster for Selfridges. She likes to play with very elaborate eye make-up looks and fully transformative styles. She’s also a fan of using metallics, sequins and body paint to complete her work.

*************************************************************************************

Elliott

Age: 27
Job: Freelance MUA
Pronouns: He/Him

Freelance MUA Elliott has amassed over 14,700 followers with his make-up looks on Instagram and has worked for the likes of Azealia Banks, House of Fraser and Anastasia Beverly Hills. He describes himself as a “surrealist” and specialises in trippy double vision make-up looks, using shadowing, colour and materials to distort facial features in a bizarre, yet cool way.

********************************************************************

Jack

Age: 26
Job: Dementia and Alzheimer’s Care Worker
Pronouns: They/Them

By day, Jack works as care worker. By night, they slay some very bold make-up looks. The MUA loves neon colours and often uses different hues and styles of contact lenses for their work. Having focused on their role as a care worker during the pandemic, 26-year-old Jack is now ready to continue working on their make-up career alongside it.

**************************************************************************

Nic

Age: 28
Job: Business Owner
Pronouns: She/her

Nic is a London-based make-up artist, yoga and meditation teacher. She owns eco-glitter brand Disco Dust London and loves to sprinkle it all over her creations. She is also partial to barely-there make-up and has worked with fashion brands on a number of natural looks. “I love the effect make-up can have on people, especially when you put glitter on someone,” she says. “It just turns someone into an excited child.”

******************************************************************************

Ryley

Age: 19
Job: Influencer
Pronouns: She/her

Ryley is a beauty influencer, who has a massive following of over 710,000 followers on Instagram. She has spoken openly about accepting her facial birthmark and regularly makes it the focus of her beauty looks. On her Instagram, you can find videos of some of her work, including a recent transformation into singer Ariana Grande and Disney’s Moana.

******************************************************************************

Samah

Age: 30
Job: Retail MUA
Pronouns: She/her

Samah is a travel, fashion and beauty enthusiast. When it comes to getting that highlighter popping, she is your girl. Her signature is soft glam with a pop of colour – think: red carpet looks. She also regularly shares  different ways to rock a hijab on her Instagram. Samah currently works on a beauty counter. “When people meet me, I don’t look like a typical make-up artist. I’m always covered,” she says. “A lot of the time people think that because you’re a Muslim female you should be oppressed or you shouldn’t have a personality and I’m like, ‘Uhmm babes. There’s more to me than my hair and my body.'”

*****************************************************************************

Sophie

Age: 21
Job: Make-up student
Pronouns: She/her

Sophie is a third year make-up student at Arts University Bournemouth and believes that make-up is for everyone. When it comes to her work, think bold and beautiful! The London-based MUA isn’t afraid to pop the colour when it comes to slaying a look and her Instagram features numerous images of her take on crazy clown make-up.

******************************************************************************

Xavi

Age: 23
Job: Journalist
Pronouns: He/him

Journalist Xavi is a regular contributor to BuzzFeed and has amassed almost 5,000 followers on Instagram with his ambitious make-up looks. Xavi loves a bit of colour and he isn’t afraid to ramp up the horror when it comes to Halloween designs.

 

[TVbitch]

Yay, it's back! There are some great artists in the mix, but overall I am thinking this group seems a bit more nervous and less talented than the previous groups. The only looks that blew me away were Dolli's and Sophie's. Who won, I already forgot?

With SM being such a big deal now, my concern is that contestants with the most followers will be kept around longer than perhaps they deserve. 

@ElectricBoogaloo, it's definitely worth checking out the first two seasons on Netflix. 

[ElectricBoogaloo]

S3.E2

Quote

The nine remaining MUAs enter the world of film and television make-up, as they are booked to come up with looks for the third season of American smash hit drama series Pose. Set in New York in the 1980s and 1990s, Pose explores the colourful competitive ballroom scene of the black and Latino LGBTQ community.

Joining Val and Dominic this week are two guest judges: from the New York set of Pose, head of make-up design Sherri Laurence, and in London, renowned choreographer and pioneer of the UK’s voguing scene Les Child.

Piling on the pressure for their second assignment, the MUAs have just two hours to create a look for a costumed performer before they hit the runway to showcase their looks for the judges. The MUAs must design a look that fits their theme, complements the costume and makes a statement under the lights. Only one can win and have their look featured on the next season of Pose.

The next day, the MUAs gather at Glow Up Studios to find out which two were judged to have created the weakest looks for the Pose runway. These two both start the Creative Brief with a 15-minute time penalty. This week’s Creative Brief sees the MUAs challenged to create a look that represents what freedom means to them. It could reflect a personal journey, a movement or a feeling. Three MUAs tackle a full face ombre, two depicting a sunset and one celebrating their Asian heritage by creating a look based on Goddess Kail. Risks are taken with the application of a bald cap and the use of scar wax to tell a deeply personal story, and after another tough judging one MUA needs to work extra hard to impress.

The judges deliberate over which two MUAs produced the weakest looks before revealing who will go head-to-head in the Face Off elimination, a make-up skill drill under intense time pressure, in which the contenders must create a red jewelled lip. Following this, one MUA must pack their kit and leave the competition.

Original air date: 4/27/21

[Aulty]

The show is back on the BBC Three stream schedule now and its available a few hours before it airs on regular telly.

This show has a decent track record with the guest judges and projects the MUAs get to work on. Pose is a really high profile challenge and Les Child was a good addition to the judging panel. Next week its gonna be the Crown, another great show.

Well done Craig on winning the Pose challenge - even though I liked Dolli's better (but I also know nothing about vogueing). I think Dolli's creative challenge make-up would've been better if she had done doodle tattoos all over the face instead of the symetrical shapes.
I predicted after the first episode that Samha would struggle with anything that isn't beauty, and she was really lucky that she is still in the competition; the heart-design was terrible - especially the face. Elliot's ballroom look was really bad - anyone remember Beyonce's sweaty latex Met Gala dress? - and the creative make-up wasn't that much better.
Xavi and Sophie had a good week.

[BellaR]

Episode two was very good.  I love that one of other contestants helped Alex figure out how to apply the sores to her model. Contestants helping one another is one of the main reasons why I have gotten invested in British competitive reality shows. I hate the staged and childish fighting that takes place on similar US shows. 

 

I understand the reasoning behind why the eliminated person was sent cut, but his look was a million times better than the person who they kept. I could tell that it wasn't symmetrical, or even neat, but it was still a better look.

[TVbitch]

I liked the losing lip better too! And that was the girl's second straight week in the bottom, so not sure why they are determined to keep her around. 

Was kind of disappointed with the MUAs in the voguing challenge. The guest judge was STRONGLY suggesting they amp it up, but only a few of them took the hint. 

I'm just now noticing that while they announce a winner for the commercial challenge, they do not announce a winner of the creative challenge, or of the week in general. They just come in at the end and announce who is going home. I don't mind, I just can't believe I never noticed that before. : D

[ElectricBoogaloo]

I love Pose so I was excited about the first challenge! I thought the people assigned to bizarre would have an easier time but most of them gave us boring looks.

Dolli's devil look was great. The red echoed the costume and the eyebrows mirrored the shape of the horns. The gold was a nice pop of color and she gave her model cheekbones for days.

Ryley's look was just beauty eye makeup with turquoise. The diamond on the lips was fine, but do turquoise and a lip diamond add up to bizarre? Not for me. And I always cringe when I see glitter applied so close to the eye.

Elliott's pink look was so awful. Just because the costume is pink doesn't mean you have to go matchy matchy. The pink didn't stand out at all. It was much too subtle. Adding some big rhinestones doesn't make it bizarre. From a distance, you could barely see the makeup at all. And why did the makeup under the model's eyes look so terrible? Was he deliberately trying to make the model look tired and haggard? Did he not clean up? Or did he wipe off too much of the foundation color? All I know is that it looked really bad.

Samah's makeup was similar to Ryley's - it was a beauty look with turquoise on the eyes. How is that bizarre? Gluing feathers to the model's forehead doesn't make it bizarre. The feathers looked so out of place because they were just stuck on for no reason. I also hated that she went WAY outside the model's lip line with the turquoise glitter.

Craig's jester look was so good. Bonus that he achieved such a striking look without any glitter or rhinestones or anything shiny. The half mask was really well done. The blue shading on the white part of the mask was great.

Xavi's black and white Hollywood look was really good. That white in the middle definitely looked like a spotlight saying, "LOOK AT ME!" The closeup of the eyes was beautiful. I really appreciated that he made such a huge effort to make sure that there was no white makeup in the model's beard which helped the black and white contrast look so stark. I loved how dramatic this look was.

Jack didn't fulfill the requirements so that was an automatic fail.

Alex's look was too grey and muddled. The kiss curls were a nice touch in theory but they looked very wobbly and messy.

Sophie's look was interesting because in the photographs, it did look flat and ghostlike but in the ballroom it looked beautiful.

Freedom was a pretty loose assignment so I was interested to see what the makeup artists would come up with.

Jack's look was very editorial. I agreed with the judge who said that Jack did a really good job with the bald cap. Even in the extreme close up shot where they zoomed in, I could BARELY see the edge of the bald cap and that was only because the texture of it was slightly smoother than the model's skin. The black marks all around the perimeter of the face were the perfect amount (not too much, not too sparse).

Samah's heart look was interesting in theory but the execution was not good. Even from a distance, I could see how patchy and uneven the black color was on the model's face. It was also messy around the model's eyes (there was a big black of blob on the model's waterline) which was really distracting.

Alex's model looked like she was OVER IT pretty early in the process when Alex couldn't get the blister material to stick to her neck. The faux sewing of the lips was done well, but the overall look was underwhelming. She did a simple beauty makeup with gold eye shadow, added some string to her model's lips, and glued on some gross looking blisters to the model's neck. How did that take her the entire time? The blisters didn't look very realistic either. I felt like she got by on her story, not her makeup.

Dolli's tribal makeup would have been okay if she'd been more precise with the marks, but they were all messy lines. They needed to be super clean to be effective. Doing that kind of design without precision makes it look like a high school girl got bored and started drawing with a liquid liner.

Craig's sunrise face had a lot of really beautiful colors and they were blended well. It could have ended up looking really cliche but he did a great job.

In comparison, Ryley's ombré look was very one dimensional and blocky with the colors. She could have blended between the purplish color on the forehead and the orange much better. I didn't like the little drawings like the tiny sunset over one eyebrow and the birds on the cheek.

Xavi's Kali inspired look was very bold. The contrast between the blue and the orange was great. I loved the really bold brow he gave his model.

Elliott's womb look was confusing to me. His model looked like a pink gummi bear and I didn't see the visual connection between that and his story. Like the judges, I was cringing when he cut the bald cap. DO NOT GET SCISSORS NEAR MY EYES!

Sophie's Celtic war paint look was interesting. I loved the contrast between the black and the other colors (purple, lime).

I was fine with Elliott and Samah being in the face off elimination. I'm not crazy about the jeweled lip look in general but I was okay with them using it for this. It might not be something you do regularly as a makeup artist, but it requires some precision and technical skills since you should know how to work with glue and jewels.

Samah's was more symmetric but there was a lot of lip showing because she spaced out her rhinestones so much. Elliott managed to get a lot more rhinestones on his model's lips so it was much sparklier. I understand why they kept Samah because she fulfilled the requirements of precise and balanced, but it's only been two episodes and I already feel like she's a cat with nine lives. Are they ever going to eliminate her?

[ElectricBoogaloo]

S3.E3

Quote

The eight remaining MUAs go back in time to create period make-up looks for the Golden Globe and Bafta-winning TV drama series The Crown.

Joining resident judges Val Garland and Dominic Skinner this week is guest judge Cate Hall. Cate is The Crown’s lead hair and make-up designer and is responsible for recreating some of the most significant figures in modern history. Cate wants to test the MUAs period make-up knowledge and challenges them to create authentic and recognisable looks from The Crown for a screen test.

For this week’s Creative Brief, the judges challenge the MUAs to turn their models into living pieces of art, influenced by their favourite artist or artistic movement.

Following judging, two MUAs head into the Face Off elimination where they are asked to produce a timeless blue smoky eye. After the judges deliberate, one MUA is sent home from the competition.

Original air date: 5/4/21

[BellaR]

I love this show. They have the best challenges, and good rewards. I was disappointed in Dolly's artistic look. She did well in the Crown challenge, but she has not lived up to the promise of the first week. I hope that Alex can calm down. She probably should have been sent home, but I'm still rooting for her. This group is not as skilled as the contestants in the first two seasons.  They are talented, but I think that Sophie may be the only one who is at a professional level. I think the worst part about this group is that so many of them don't seem to know how to properly work with models. They are too rough, and don't seem to recognize that they are applying makeup to real people.

Edited May 5, 2021 by BellaR

[Aulty]

The guest judge this week, Cate Hall, was great. She explained the key points of period make-up really well and her critiques were not only on point but also educational. Dominic explaining to Dolly how to use water and oil based colours was, I'm sure, a good tip for all the young MUAs watching.

No idea why they loved Samah's creative make-up so much. Jack's really did photograph well. Dolly was really disappointing.

1 hour ago, BellaR said:

I think the worst part about this group is that so many of them don't seem to know how to properly work with models. They are too rough, and don't seem to recognize that they are applying makeup to real people.

Yes. Definitely an issue with people who are used to working on themselves. They should focus on that more in the first episode if they cast so heavily from the Insta-MUA pool. Last year they had that fashion show challenge where it was a factor - especially with one MUA criticising the model's skin.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

S3.E4

Quote

At the Selfie Factory in London’s O2, the seven remaining MUAs enter the lucrative world of social media make-up, creating fun and impactful looks for the global video sharing platform TikTok. Social media has changed the face of the beauty industry, allowing MUAs to build hugely successful careers on their strong online followings. Joining Val and Dominic this week is guest judge and social media and TikTok superstar Abby Roberts, who found online worldwide fame as a teenager by posting make-up looks of herself from her bedroom in Leeds. The winner of this week’s assignment will get to create a video with Abby that will be posted online to her 15 million followers.

Upping the ante for their fourth assignment, the MUAs have to grapple with technology as they have just two hours to design, film and create a fun impactful make-up look on themselves, and it must also fit with their assigned backdrop. For their video, the MUAs must film and edit a buildable make-up look to a chosen music soundtrack before their videos are uploaded live on to the platform.

The next day, the MUAs gather at Glow Up Studios to find out which two were judged to have created the weakest videos and make-up looks during the TikTok assignment. They both start the day in the red Face Off chairs with a 15-minute time penalty in the Creative Brief. Staying in the online world, this week’s Creative Brief sees the MUAs challenged to create a look based on a face filter. They can choose any kind of filter, or they can invent one of their own.

The judges deliberate and reveal who will go head to head in the Face Off elimination, a make-up skill drill under intense time pressure. They must create a pop art lip, after which one MUA must pack up their make-up kit and leave the competition.

Original air date: 5/11/21

[Aulty]

Ah TikTok. I still have no idea why that is a thing. It should come with an epilepsy warning.
Some of the videos were definitely cringey.

Alex' pixel filter reminded me of the BEP's Dirty Bit video. Nice idea, but the execution was SO SO clumsy. I wouldn't have put Jack's fungi thing down as a filter - but I am sure I have been attacted by something like that in Elder Scrolls Oblivion.
I found very little to like about Dolly's besides the lashes. While Sophie's looked really realistic and well done, I couldn't help but think about it as the domestic violence filter. But I'm really looking forward to see how Sophie does in the special effects episode.
Craig did well!

I'm getting a bit tired of Samah and her season pass to the face off. Its S2 Eve all over again.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Dolli was the only one who did well in the first challenge, which was surprising considering (1) she hasn't done TikTok/Instagram/YouTube videos before and (2) some of the other contestants HAVE made these types of videos before. She had the right amount of fun combined with showing different phases of the makeup application.

In contrast, I wasn't surprised that Alex didn't do well since she's never done a video like this before. Although the makeup wasn't unique and I thought matching her face with the pink background was a terrible idea, at least she had fun at the end.

Sophie's video wasn't bad considering that this is clearly something she's inexperienced at and uncomfortable with. I agreed that she spent way to much of her video on her base instead of the part of the makeup that made it interesting (the tiny flowers on the eyes).

Jack's video had a good energy but it felt less like a demo and more like them posing in between shots of them with makeup brushes. But kudos to them for running with the circus theme of their background. The makeup itself wasn't very interesting and the video didn't really show how to do it.

I was glad that the guest judge mentioned that there was WAY too much motion in Samah's video and that the male judge said that he was getting seasick. I refuse to watch videos with too much motion, especially when people are just walking around with their phones or swinging them back and forth to allegedly give a panoramic view of the location or the room (and it's always too fast to actually see anything so it's pointless). I have no idea what the hell Samah was doing or why she thought all that motion was a good idea. And why was she making all those weird faces? On top of it all, her makeup did absolutely nothing for me. It was regular makeup with some shiny smears.

I agreed with the judges about Craig wasting time in his video on shaving. No one cares about that. He definitely got points for being more on trend with what he did. Aside from the shaving at the beginning, the video had good content and he showed some personality.

Riley's was the biggest disappointment. Not only did she say that she makes videos like this all the time, but she has 2 million followers so I assumed that her content was really good. Based on this video, I was wrong. I didn't find the video interesting, instructional, or unique.

I wasn't sure exactly what the contestants would come up with for the face filter challenge.

Craig's Marilyn Monroe look was striking. The newspaper clippings on her head contrasted with the deep red lip. This is the second time that the male judge has said you need to start in the middle of the lip (rather than starting on one side and moving to the other side) to get good symmetry so I hope they were all paying attention!

Riley's golden ratio concept was cool and it looked good from a distance but up close it was really obvious that the lines were crooked/shaky/not perfect. It was still very striking though.

Samah's mermaid look was very costume party to me. I had to laugh when all three of the judges CRINGED when she put that fishnet stocking over her model's face to make scales on her forehead.

I really didn't like Jack's mushroom look, but I give them credit for deciding to use cotton buds when they couldn't get the real mushrooms to stay glued to the model's face. I'm okay with the fact that I've never seen a mushroom filter.

Sophie did such a great job applying her prosthetics and making them blend in.

Dolli's 60s inspired look was fun but as the judges pointed out, she did this in half the allotted time because she ended up removing the original prosthetics and she had some technical issues like the bald cap edges being pretty visible. What she created was striking but a bit too simplistic. I liked the idea but if you're going to do something simple like that, you need to execute it really cleanly.

Alex's pixelated idea could have been so cool if it had been done better. It had so much potential so what we ended up seeing was really disappointing.

I thought neither Samah nor Alex did a great job at the pop art lip face off, but I could not forgive how badly Alex lined her model's lip. The black outline was crooked, varied in thickness, and not symmetric. Samah's outline wasn't strong because she didn't wait for the liquid lipstick to dry completely so it looked more like a translucent black. I can't believe that Samah has survived THREE face offs. I feel like if you've been in the bottom three times out of four episodes, you should automatically be eliminated.

[TVbitch]

I don't understand TikTok. Are you actually supposed to be able to recreate those looks based on a couple flashes of various stages of them. They had a TikTok challenge on Design Star, too. Like people are going to be able to build a piece of furniture after seeing 15 seconds of the process! 

I wish they would have had a double elimination and then spared someone who had more talent later on. 

[BellaR]

I like Alex, but she really did need to work on having more confidence. She also should have known that painting her face the same color as the background was not a good idea.

Dolly seems to be very talented, if a little green, but I don't understand why she has so much trouble in the second challenges. I think that she was lucky not to be in the face off. She had a great idea, but the execution was horrible. 

[ElectricBoogaloo]

2 hours ago, BellaR said:

Dolly seems to be very talented, if a little green, but I don't understand why she has so much trouble in the second challenges. I think that she was lucky not to be in the face off. She had a great idea, but the execution was horrible. 

What makes it even stranger is that Dolli has done pretty well in the first challenges of the episode when something is sprung on them and they don't really have time to plan ahead, but with the exception of the first episode (where she did an AMAZING job in the second challenge), she has seemed to really falter at the challenges where they know what the assignment is ahead of time and are able to plan what they're going to do.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

S3.E5

Quote

For their professional assignment, the six remaining MUAs are booked to do the make-up on a beauty shoot for global online retailer ASOS. The MUAs create looks for an ASOS Face and Body social media video to the online retailer’s 22 million social media followers, the largest audience reach in Glow Up history! Joining Val and Dominic this week and heading up the ASOS shoot is guest judge and design director Vanessa Spence.

Dialling up the pressure for their fifth assignment, the MUAs have just two hours to design and create a look which fits the client's Luminate make-up brief. The MUAs must create creative polished looks that showcase the mascara. Their looks must also feature a shimmery eye and a glow on the skin, align with ASOS’s brand identity and be inspiring and relatable. The MUAs' looks and models will then be screen-tested by the judges to see which MUA has hit the brief and created the strongest look that will then go onto be shot and used in the ASOS Face and Body social media video campaign.

The next day, the MUAs gather at Glow Up Studios to find out which two were judged to have created the weakest looks for the ASOS campaign. They both start the day in the red Face Off chairs with a 15-minute time penalty in the Creative Brief, which involves creating a look that is ‘out of this world’. The judges want the MUAs to design conceptual make-up looks that are bold and imaginative. They could choose to explore space as we know it, imagine an extraterrestrial life or create their own vision of another world.

One MUA struggles with their prosthetic cheekbone application, whilst another battles with a bald cap, and risks are taken with an alien-human DNA mash-up and an alien high fashion beauty look. The judges deliberate over which two MUAs have produced the weakest looks before revealing who will go head-to-head in the Face Off elimination, a make-up skill drill under intense time pressure. The two are tasked with creating a structured glitter eye, with the MUA who least impresses packing up their make-up kit and leaving the competition.

Original air date: 5/18/21

[Aulty]

Finally. I am sure she is a nice gal, but it was about time they sent Samha home. That being said, Dolli really needs to step it up now, or she'll be next.

I didn't expect Riley to pull out a winner like that in the creative challenge. Well done.
Sophie, and thats probably down to her personal style, is my favourite but I didn't care much for her toothy creation. Also, didn't someone do something with teeth last year?
I assume Dolli's creation looked better in person than it did on TV - the iridescence make-up looked patchy, as if the it was only partially applied, if you know what I mean.

The ASOS challenge was another big name opportunity. Craig did a great job, but he was also really lucky to get that model - she was stunning. Dolli should've known better than to put a prominent lip like that on her model. They eyes did look very modern either. Still, I was surprised they put her in the chair and not Sophie.

[BellaR]

Another good episode. I liked the look of Dolli's model in the ASOS challenge, but the lip color was incredibly off brief. 

I'm glad that Dolli is aware of her problems in the creative challenges. Hopefully she was able to address the problem in the upcoming episodes. I'm also glad that they addressed Riley's shading issues. That has been something that should result in the MUA getting thrown out of the competition. Riley did surprise me in the creative challenge. Her model looked great, but I did feel sorry for her at the begining, ,because Riley seemed to be lost. It is clear that Sophie wants to work on films and TV. I didn't like her creative look, but it was obvious that she feels passionate about that style. 

 

[TVbitch]

I would have been rather upset if Samha had taken out Dolli. Hope Dolli can live up to her potential in the coming weeks.

Sophie's look also reminded me of Ophelia's look from last year. 

Riley's model was a champ, so supportive and patient. I would have felt like I was being kidnapped with that hood and blinders on!  

Oh dear, two "ding, dongs". 🙉

[ElectricBoogaloo]

I was just relieved that Samah finally got eliminated. When it's only the fifth episode and you've been in the bottom FOUR TIMES already, you need to go home.

[Aulty]

On 4/21/2021 at 8:38 AM, Aulty said:

I wonder whether a competition for aspiring photographers, following the same pattern as Glow Up, would work.

Why does my psychic streak never come through with the lottery numbers?

The Great British Photography Challenge starts tonight (May 24th) at 9 on BBC Four!

Quote

The search is on for an exciting new name in British photography. Six talented amateur photographers have made it through a nationwide call-out to be selected for the opportunity of a lifetime. With top photographer and film-maker Rankin as their guide and mentor, this is a unique masterclass and a chance to show they have what it takes to stand out as a new name in British photography.

Across a month of assignments and feedback, they will tackle 12 very different challenges that showcase and stretch their skill and creativity. Every shot counts as they build up to the final task of creating a brand new portfolio of their work. Who will shine as they compete for the chance to be crowned the winner of the Great British Photography Challenge?

Even I know who Rankin is - and they had a Glow Up challenge with him last year. Edit: And they will have one with him this year - in the semi final - aswell.

Edited May 25, 2021 by Aulty

[TVbitch]

YAY! I will be all over the photography challenge!

There is also the excellent Masters of Photography which has 3-4 seasons. I like that one, but it is a Sky Arts program and very difficult to find.  

[ElectricBoogaloo]

I was surprised by how many people did poorly at the mascara challenge. At the risk of sounding old, I came from a time of magazines aka before Instagram/TikTok and every single one of them said never to pair a bold red lip with anything else when you're trying to emphasize a different part of the face (they always said to focus on one big wow part of the face like dramatic eyes or high cheekbones). I am not a makeup artist and even I knew it was a huge mistake for the makeup artists to do sparkly eye shadow, red lips, or anything noticeable for a mascara campaign. It's just common sense - you are selling mascara so you want the focus to be on the lashes. What you don't want to do is distract a potential customer by drawing attention to anything else on the model's face.

Although Dolli's red lip was the most obvious, she wasn't the only one who screwed up. I don't think she should have done such a smoky eye either because it made the model's lashes unnoticeable.

Jack shouldn't have used sparkly eye shadow. Other than that, his model looked really good. Her skin was glowing but natural which is exactly what you want for this kind of ad.

Sophie made a similar mistake. You really don't want sparkly eye shadow in a mascara ad. The other issue was the color she chose for the eye shadow. It was way too orange/pink/red which made it very noticeable which again detracts from the mascara. Way too much blush too.

Riley didn't match her model's skin tone perfectly which was distracting. And she needs to learn the difference between creating glowy looking skin and oily looking skin. Her model looked like she needed some blotting paper.

Samah did an okay job but again, the eye shadow. She shouldn't have chosen that peach color.

Craig was smart to use a lighter color eye shadow on his model so that her lashes were more visible. He deserved to win this challenge.

The out of this world challenge was interesting. Some of the interpretations were kind of out there.

Jack's pink goddess look had some great contouring on the neck/chest. I agree that all the rhinestones detracted from the overall look though. It really cheapened this look.

I felt bad that Riley's poor model had to have her eyes closed for hours, but it was a cool look. It was such a simple concept but so effective - completely blacked out face and chest with tiny gold dots. I don't think she needed the branch wings in the back.

Samah's pink look was rough. It was a big old pink mess. Instead of highlighting, it was just a bunch of stripes. I agreed that her symmetry should have been a lot better. When they pointed out the completely different angles of some of her lines, it made no sense.

Craig's blue and silver robotic look was so cool. The shading made it look totally 3D. I know the judges were in love with Riley's black look and Sophie's green look (hence the DING DONGs) but I thought this one was right up there too.

Dolli's look had some pretty colors (I loved the metallic sky blue with the silver and the fuchsia) but it was a mishmash of a mess. And that was before she started adding all the sequins.  The necklace she created was a waste of time. Her story was not reflected in what she actually created.

Sophie's lime green alien look with all the teeth was very striking. I agree that it started out looking a bit too sci fi but the end result was pretty good. Honestly, I think it would have been just as good without all the teeth glued on. The shiny blue section of the open section was cool.

Dolli and Samah both deserved to be in the face off. A structured glitter eye is not difficult so I was looking forward to seeing a really clean makeup from both of them. But Samah DID NOT LISTEN. They specifically said that the shape had to be placed above the eye socket of below the lower lash line "so that when the eyes are open, none of that shape is hidden by the eyelid."

Samah's interpretation: just cover the entire lid in glitter! She deserved to be eliminated just for not listening to the instructions. What she created was so messy looking, even from a distance. The glitter at the very bottom of her shape (closest to the lash line) was a complete mess. When her model closed her eyes, you could see that on the left eye, she didn't put glitter all the way down to the lash line but on the right eye, she had some glitter hanging over the lash line and past the base of the model's eyelashes. In addition, the top line (just below the model's eyebrows) was not straight not was the line going from the outer corner of the eye out. Just so sloppy in every possible way. I think she also made a bad decision by choosing such large glitter and that awful orange color. It looked messy when the model's eyes were closed as well as when her eyes were open. The lines looked so bad with the model's eyes open because it was really obvious that she didn't have straight lines. There were big blobs of glitter on the inner arch.

Dolli's lines could have been a little cleaner but compared to what Samah did, Dolli's looked a million times better. There was no question in my mind that Samah should be eliminated.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

S3.E6

Quote

The MUAs enter the world of special effects, creating looks from the smash hit crime drama Peaky Blinders with the show’s Bafta-winning head make-up designer Loz Scathio.

Loz wants to test the MUAs' prosthetics skills, so after a demonstration she gives each MUA an actor, a character brief and their prosthetics. As well as creating a new injury, the MUAs must work from a continuity photo to add and age a scar that the actor received six months ago. It’s their job to create realistic wounds, injuries and blood effects with flawless blending of prosthetic edges. Those that impress receive a one-on-one masterclass from Loz and Oscar-winning make-up designer Christine Blundell; those that fail to deliver run the risk of starting the Creative Brief in the red Face Off chairs. While some MUAs bring to life their actors’ injuries by adding fake glass, scar wax, cauliflower ears and tons of blood, others fail to blend, colour match and even mistake the correct side of the face for their continuity scar.

This week’s Creative Brief is based on the seven deadly sins, and whilst some MUAs' gruesome looks bring out sloth, envy and wrath in very imaginative ways, one MUA's literal interpretation of greed falls flat. As usual, the two MUAs who impress the least in the Creative Brief head into the Face Off elimination, where, in keeping with the TV and film theme, they must cover a tattoo.

Original air date: 5/25/21

[ElectricBoogaloo]

I was shocked that Riley was eliminated. I thought the show would keep her around until the bitter end due to how many followers she had.

[TVbitch]

While I appreciate the skill involved, the wound/gore episode is always my least favorite. I much prefer the glamour, historical, fantastical side of things to the cuts, bruises and nightmarish creatures. 

Glad Doli was spared over Riley. Riley has had trouble matching skin tones the whole season. 

[ElectricBoogaloo]

S3.E7

Quote

The four remaining MUAs are booked by superstar DJ and producer Jonas Blue to do the make-up looks for the backing dancers in his new music video, Something Stupid. Filmed in a large LED cube, the make-up will need to complement different backdrops. Filmed in just one day, the shooting of the video follows a strict schedule, so any make-up mishaps need to be rectified quickly, otherwise the whole day could be thrown off track. This assignment is a huge opportunity for the MUAs, as their work will be viewed by millions when the video is released to Jonas Blue’s global fanbase. Joining Val and Dominic as guest judge and director of the music video is Rankin.

The next day, the MUAs gather at Glow Up Studios to find out which two were judged to have created the weakest looks for the music video. They both start the day in the red Face Off chairs with a 15-minute time penalty in the Creative Brief, which this week involves creating a look inspired by a guilty pleasure. The judges want the MUAs to create looks that are bold and imaginative. One MUA struggles with their colour application while another battles with symmetry, and risks are taken with a look using only two colours.

The judges decide which two MUAs have produced the weakest looks before revealing who will go head to head in the Face Off elimination, a make-up skill drill under intense time pressure. Here they are tasked with creating a full face gradient. The MUA who least impresses will have to leave the competition.

Original air date: 6/1/21

[BellaR]

I'm so sad that there is only one episode left.

I'm done backing Dolli. Rankin specifically asked that they not be literal, and she immediately decides to do clouds and birds. It's like she wanted to go home. Then she made it worse by having a look that anyone could see was not going to stand out on film. I'm glad that she finally did well on her third chance, but the cloud look just made no sense.

I was happy for Jack in the first challenge. Their look was great, and it showed that Jack has talent.

As much as I love this show, I'm not sure about the creative challenge carrying more weight than the first challenge. I guess it can be argued that the MUAs have more control over the creative challenge, so they should do a better job.  I liked Dolli's story, but I can't say that I liked her look more than Sophie or Jack's. I can buy into the argument that Jack's look should have only taken ten minutes, but the eyes still looked good to me.  I can concede that it s a huge problem that Sophie didn't finish, but this was probably a week to put three, if not four people in the faceoff. And even though there was a slight color gradient in Sophie's faceoff look, I think that both she and Jack failed the challenge. 

Edited June 2, 2021 by BellaR

[Aulty]

The nice thing about the Ranking challenges on any show is that if he likes someone's work he'll often give them a chance to work with him. I don't know if one MUA staying back to help him for the rest of the day was planned or not. Last year he hired Eve to do make-up on a whole spread.

Sophie's creative makeup reminded me of of Franz Marc's painting of the blue horse. But I am not that keen on designs that veer too much into body painting.
I liked Craig's blended base, but I was surprised about the judges raving about the finished look - I though the sound waves could've been a lot neater and crisper. Dolli's was impactful, but I'd still put her in the face-off.
Take the wig off of Jack's model and you're left with very little craft. They were really disappointing.

3 hours ago, BellaR said:

I can concede that it s a huge problem that Sophie didn't finish, but this was probably a week to put three, if not four people in the faceoff.

Yeah, I thought the same - put them all in the face-off. But they probably don't have a set of identical quadruplets on stand-by (not that that mattered for the task they were given).

That face-off challenge though?? Surely, that would be the time to break out you body painting kit and airbrush gun. Those poor lads looked so greasy.

Edited June 2, 2021 by Aulty