S07.E01: Life Or Death

[FormerMod-a1]

Sixteen new contestants learn they aren't officially on the show until they survive one final audition.

[leighdear]

I like that the first challenge was appropriately Life or Death. 

 

Lots of interesting hair on these folks. But LOOK!  Turquoise eyebrows!  That's new.

Also lots of audition nerves and shaky hands. I don't blame them, I'd be terrified!

I haven't read any of the contestant bios, so I'm going to see who impresses me.

 

Seems to be a few more self-taught folks than usual. Sometimes they can be more creative
with ordinary materials than the trained folks using special prop stuff.  I know we saw
that on Jim Henson's creature show. It was impressive.  Sadly, Gabby & Scott were not in that

category.  They wouldn't have made it far.

 

Dina the cake decorator was really smart piping those veins.  I'll bet she does some really
pretty stuff, because her model looked gorgeous.   Really stunning.

 

Most of them did decent characters, some really good.

 

Sadly, I won't remember most of the names until they get down to about 8 people.  *LOL*

 

Good start, I'm excited about this season.  Glen actually looks fairly handsome, even with the weird hair. 

Edited July 23, 2014 by leighdear

[Milaxx]

I love this show. So glad it's back.  it's hard to talk about it until the herd is thinned. For now I completely agree with the win and the ones sent home. I'll miss Ve, but I like the new judge. She's spunky!

[Ananayel]

Wow, Scott and Gabby were hard to watch. No obvious psychos - well, maybe Cig Neutron, just because he named himelf Cig Neutron. Local girl Rachael for me, I hope she's rootable. And a new shade of Manic Panic! Hopefully that won't be the most memorable thing about this season.

[Toaster Strudel]

Glen is more terrifying than ever.  Thank you Glen.

 

Dina's green creature was by far the best.  Everything else paled in comparison.  The judges chose well!

 

Turquoise eyebrows are not flattering.  The things I learn!

[PreBabylonia]

I think this is the first time I've seen the show in real time - so exciting. Agree with everyone else - it takes a while to tell the competitors apart. I'm happy that Dina won, hers definitely was the best one for me. My second choice would be Keaghlan but I thought she looked kind of annoyed that she hadn't won. Was also impressed by Sasha's design. The men didn't have any outstanding designs this time. I thought. Still sad to see Scott go home. Very difficult to start in a completely new field at age 48. He seemed very sweet too.

 

 

 

(Edited for proper name correction).

Edited July 23, 2014 by PreBabylonia

[Quilt Fairy]

No one stood out for me except Dina, whose work was far above the rest, and Scott, who sadly was Dead Would-be Make-up Artist Walking from the word go.

[Rhetorica]

Great to see beauty makeup and not all monsters. I do think the Life team was better than the Death team. And Dina did a great job, just beautiful within the set. Scott and Gabby deserved to head home. I was glad Gabby left because she whined the whole time. It's nice the show selects on talented contestants and not those who bring drama. 

[Richness]

The final audition twist really wasn't all that shocking or worth the hoopla surrounding it. Stop buying and believing your own hyperbole show. It did, however, fit with the life or death theme. Life definitely won out over death. Take that entropy! It's interesting that most of the life make-ups seemed to be beauty make-ups, while most of the death make-ups were creature make-ups.

 

Cig Neutron needs to dial it down to zero real quick before he becomes totally annoying. I suspect the only reason I don't hate him already is because there were just so many looks and contestants to get through tonight. However, I thought his work was gorgeous despite the judges' somewhat derogatory statement about too much paint.

 

I also disagreed with the judges concerning the raven character. While the use of the facial appliance on the hand was clever, the face appliance just looked like a mask to me, and was rather boring. It also had the same two-tone blandness that Gabby's make-up had.

 

Speaking of her, I do agree with the judges booting Gabby and Scott being off first. However, dismissing Scott in mid-critique was uncalled for. While I'm sure the wait was nerve-racking, I think dismissing him early was more humiliating. I've appreciated better from this show.

 

Not sure how I feel about an Emmy winning make-up artist being a contestant. Sure, that probably was more due to Michael Westmore than Vince, but it still feels wrong. Regardless, I'm looking forward to their reunion.

 

I was initially put off by the two grumpy old men make-ups, but have to agree that was a great way to do a werewolf without doing a stereotype. Though I guess that style was similar to the classic 1941 Wolf Man.

 

Did anyone else think Tyler from last season had come back? Nope, it's just some new guy named Drew.

Glad to have the show back, though I hate that the earlier filming schedule seems to have knocked Ve off the judges table full-time. Sorry Lois, but you're no Ve Neill. Glenn is his usual train wreck, and Neville looked quite dashing tonight.

[Iguana]

And we're off to a promising start. The will I stay or shall I go challenge was reasonably fair, allowing them to show off their own style and skills while also having to deal with what may be expected at a real-life set. The winner was a clearly worthy make up, the piping on the veins was a innovative and clever technique, and it was a beautiful, not monsterish, character. And I completely agree with the judges choice for the two who did not continue, as it was clear that they were in well over their heads and would only flounder helplessly if they were allowed into the competition. And it even looked like Glenn had taken a shower and washed his damn hair. So kudos all-around and I'll be looking forward to the next ep .

Edited July 23, 2014 by Iguana

[GaT]

Was anyone in doubt as to who was going home? They were clearly out of their league. I was surprised at how many makeups were pretty good, but like other people, I'll have to wait until there's a lot less contestants to tell them apart. I know this year will be different because instead of someone with funky red hair, we have someone with purple hair & someone with turquoise hair. Big difference :-)

[bobbyjoe]

Not sure how I feel about an Emmy winning make-up artist being a contestant. Sure, that probably was more due to Michael Westmore than Vince, but it still feels wrong. Regardless, I'm looking forward to their reunion.

 

What bugs me more than Vince having won an Emmy (I could swallow that, since it was a long time ago and he was part of a team, so, okay, okay, this could be a comeback story), but its the Michael Westmore connection where I'm feeling like this is more seriously problematic.  Many of these shows (and, frankly, a lot of various kinds of contests) have rules about family members and employees not being eligible, and this feels to me pretty majorly close to that line. 

 

I mean, this guy has a definite professional connection to the show's main mentor (and, thus, the show's host).  And while, true, Michael Westmore isn't himself a judge, the potential for problems (or at least the perception of either favoritism or the opposite, i.e., being too hard on Vince to avoid the perception of favoritism) here seem many and obvious.  For better or worse, the Westmores are a major part of this franchise.  There's a reason why a lot of contests have such rules. 

 

Maybe if this was a season of professionals who'd all worked in the big leagues, but its not.  Am I supposed to be shocked that the dad who's apparently just mainly worked on special effects at home with his son goes home and the guy who won an Emmy and knows the Westmores is in the top?  I feel for the guy, but if, say, Project Runway suddenly had a contestant who'd worked so closely with Tim Gunn that the two had once won a huge award together, I suspect a lot of people would also think it was a really bad idea to have that person competing with newbies.

 

I know this year will be different because instead of someone with funky red hair, we have someone with purple hair & someone with turquoise hair. Big difference :-)

  [Edited to add]  I was hoping that when they announced that they weren't fully contestants yet and that some of them were going home they'd immediately called forth everyone with the color hair cliche and said "You.  The show's had quite enough of that.  Go home."

Edited July 23, 2014 by bobbyjoe

[LadyMustang65]

So happy to have the show back.  It's one of the few shows the entire family will sit and watch together, which adds to the fun.  I really loved the winning make-up.  It was definitely my favorite, and Dina seems like a nice, classy lady.  Won't miss the two who went home - they did have some big issues.  I wasn't crazy about the other make-up the judges loved so much - can't remember the name of the woman, but it was the make-up with the lacey thing on the forehead.  The judges seemed to really like the paint job and the coloring, but every time they showed it, all I could think was that she'd put some fondant on the model's face.  It was too smooth and glassy looking or something.  But I didn't like it much.  I did like the raven one, even though the judges weren't as impressed with that one.  I understand their critiques, but I just found it visually appealing.  Over all, I was surprised to find that I really didn't like that many of the make-ups.  There were only a couple that I thought were really good.  Most were okay, and a couple were train wrecks, but only a couple made me think 'wow - that's cool.'  Barry (I think that's his name) is a sort-of "hometown" boy - he's from Southborough, Mass, which is in my neck of the woods.  It'll be fun if he turns out to be someone I can really root for.  I thought his first make-up fell in the "ok" category.  Looking forward to the new season!

[Primetimer]

Face Off is back, and everybody's thrilled! Except possibly for the two people that get cut in the first episode.

Read the story

[OakGoblinFly]

It’s still way too early for me to remember anyone’s name. A few impressions of the premier episode:

• Not happy with the number of contestants who reference “monster” (i.e,, I’ve been doing monster make-up for ten years, I’ve always had a passion for monster make-up, I love monsters)
• I can already tell I am not going to like the guy who wore the monster head during the challenge and the horns during judging; he’s trying too hard to be an “artist” and it comes off as jerky
• I guess the role of girl with unnaturally dyed red hair has been replaced with blue hair and eyebrows (and really, dying your eyebrows – that’s very unsafe)
• Cake decorating girl reminds me of Maggie Gyllenhaal; and as an aside I loved her work and though piping on veins was very smart
• Within ten minutes the edit monkeys gave away which two contestants were going home
• It was nice to see "pretty" creatures - I even thought the "Death" creature with the raven mask was pretty in a dark Gothic sort of way.

 

 

I'm going to miss Ve when she's gone but I do like Lois Burwell - she didn't mind calling a turd a turd.

 

Just when I think Glenn can't get any scarier, he does.

[drmka9]

I really only started watching last season, so I have to ask: Is there normally a large proportion of "I'm a personality, not just a makeup artist" contestants? Last season's group seems pretty low-key compared to this bunch. 

 

 

I wasn't crazy about the other make-up the judges loved so much - can't remember the name of the woman, but it was the make-up with the lacey thing on the forehead.  The judges seemed to really like the paint job and the coloring, but every time they showed it, all I could think was that she'd put some fondant on the model's face.  It was too smooth and glassy looking or something.

It seemed like there was very little depth in the actual paint job. It may have translated better in person, as usually the judges are all about the contestants who shade and use a few tones. On camera, at least, it seemed like just a flat blue.

[LadyMustang65]

I really only started watching last season, so I have to ask: Is there normally a large proportion of "I'm a personality, not just a makeup artist" contestants? Last season's group seems pretty low-key compared to this bunch. 

 

It seemed like there was very little depth in the actual paint job. It may have translated better in person, as usually the judges are all about the contestants who shade and use a few tones. On camera, at least, it seemed like just a flat blue.

 

Exactly.  That's probably a better way of explaining it. 

[Zanne]

I guess the role of girl with unnaturally dyed red hair has been replaced with blue hair and eyebrows

 

 

But if her eyebrows are blue that means it's her natural color!

[Wilowy]

It did seem like a lot of the contestants this season are trying to out-Glenn Glenn as far as quirky hair, etc... but I didn't really care. I LOVED Dina's green leafy fairy or sprite or whatever she was, how gorgeous was that? If this is indicative of her innate talent, the show's over already and we can all just give her the hundred grand and go home.

Agreed that it's something we can all watch together, my kids are 10 and 18 and we all dig it. True too, that it was no secret from the get-go just who was going home. Poor Scott, omg he was SO out of his league. Made me wonder if the people who select the contestants just toss in a couple of obvious losers at first so we have something to compare the skill levels of the others against.

[dialyn]

Speaking of her, I do agree with the judges booting Gabby and Scott being off first. However, dismissing Scott in mid-critique was uncalled for. While I'm sure the wait was nerve-racking, I think dismissing him early was more humiliating. I've appreciated better from this show.

 

I agree...that was pretty humiliating for the guy.   I don't know why they made that choice--it just wasn't necessary. 

 

I think their pool of talent must be getting a little thin.  It's such a specialized field and now they are pulling in people who appear to me (who knows nothing about the profession) to need more than being on a reality show will give them (though the contestants in the past have been generous in helping and encouraging each other).  Still the cake decorator did a lovely make up but a win on the first episode doesn't mean much as the season goes on (I think this show has the least rewards in general for winning individual contests).  I have watched a number of cake and cupcake baking shows (don't ask me why; I have too much time on my hands) and some of the things they come up with are really amazing (but in some cases are inedible) so she just might pull it off.

 

Of course I will watch the whole season and hope it doesn't disintegrate into crooked teeth and tortured brows.  It is still my favorite reality contest show  and I am glad to see it back.

[Ananayel]

I think they really are reaching the bottom of the current pool of talent. They really should give this a rest for most of a year, at least. Let some more people graduate from different programs, let the audience miss it. Maybe in the meantime, an actual series following some previous contestants along their journey through the industry. I'd watch one about Roy, for sure.

[Monty]

• (and really, dying your eyebrows – that’s very unsafe)

Is it possible that instead of dying her eyebrows, she just shaved them off and drew in new ones with blue makeup?

 

Maybe in the meantime, an actual series following some previous contestants along their journey through the industry. I'd watch one about Roy, for sure.

That seemed like it was going to happen with Foxy & Co (a Syfy series about the makeup and effects house owned by Eric Fox, where Roy, RJ, and Nicole work. But it only lasted one episode.

[BensBritches]

Still too many folks for me to get many names straight... I did love Dina (cake decorator) and thought her makeup was the best- but the piping of the veins looked too "cakey" for me, like you could tell it was piped on and it looked like it was going to fall off or smoosh or something. It didn't look (to me) "natural".  Not that I have an alternate way she should have done the veining, I just didn't think it was all that super special.  As a whole though Dina's makeup was above and beyond everyone else.  I hope she continues to wow me.

 

I can already tell I am not going to like the guy who wore the monster head during the challenge and the horns during judging; he’s trying too hard to be an “artist” and it comes off as jerky

 

Well, at least he can take his hats and horns off, unlike our blue-haired. blue-eyebrowed contestant.  I agree, though, that he was trying to scream "artist" and his look seemed more suited to Project Runway than Face-off. Was he Cig Neutron?  I can't remember.  I still prefer his look/style to anime girl.

 

I also disagreed with the judges concerning the raven character. While the use of the facial appliance on the hand was clever, the face appliance just looked like a mask to me, and was rather boring.

 

I thought that too!  Sasha made what looked like a mask you'd see in a Dracula movie masquerade ball scene.  And I didn't see what was so great about her putting the one face appliance on the character's arm.  The judges kept saying "it worked" but I wasn't sure what "worked" about it.

 

While Scott and Gabby were the right two to go home, the long haired, (natural) red-headed guy can go next.  Nothing he did impressed me.

 

I totally agree that having a guy on the show who won an Emmy working with Mr. Westmore is risky.  If he flames out quickly, it may seem like the judges didn't want to appear to be playing favorites and nitpicked his creations, but if he wins, they may be accused of favoritism.  Even though the judges themselves have no direct connection to the guy (that we know of) and Westmore Jr. has little to nothing to do with the decisions, it still doesn't sit right with me.   I feel bad because I feel I'm gonna judge him harsher than I should...

[Nutjob]

I don't see Vince being a big problem, mostly because I don't think Michael Westmore is the type to expect the judges to play favorites. He seems too genuine for that.

 

Count me in on loving what Dina did--I thought it was gorgeous. The rest didn't stand out to me much, other than Vince's because he got that male model who is always on the show. Beyond Scott, Gabby and Jason, I didn't see any of the rest as being terrible.

 

Also, I'll admit to kind of liking Cig Neutron. I mean, the name is ridiculous, but he doesn't seem to take himself too seriously, and I can get behind that.

[GaT]

• I guess the role of girl with unnaturally dyed red hair has been replaced with blue hair and eyebrows (and really, dying your eyebrows – that’s very unsafe)

 

Is it possible that instead of dying her eyebrows, she just shaved them off and drew in new ones with blue makeup?

 

 

 

She probably didn't do either, she probably just used something like these to draw over her eyebrows.

[hincandenza]

The show's back, and so far I'm tentatively optimistic.

 

Scott and Gabby looked like they were picked specifically to be sacrificial lambs.  Good lord, those were atrociously bad; at least both had no real illusions about how badly they did.  Like Richness first mentioned above, I thought how they cut Scott- while I know it was just choosing to cut someone halfway through the set of 16 for timing reasons- still felt like they were specifically dissing him, with a “Actually, we haven’t even looked at all the pieces, but Scott’s is so bad we’re just gonna cut him now”.  Not to defend him, because he was just bad no matter how you cut it, but the challenge also seemed somewhat poorly designed; it’s not like Scott was going to stick around, but having him open a box on “Life” and get a torn throat prosthetic was pretty much the nail in the coffin.

 

The new judge reminds me of Edna Mode, big time.  Not sure how I feel about her: good, insightful comments from her this week, but I worry that she’ll adopt that British-judge-on-American-TV voice, all snide and dripping condescension with every put down. Hoping against that, as we all seem to be in agreement that Face Off's non-catty atmosphere of professionalism and camaraderie is its strong selling point.

 

Notables of the week for me start with Dina of course, who put out a fantastic first effort, and I was so pleased to see the non-monster look rewarded and praised- hopefully that will set the tone for the season, although I saw quite a few monster-of-the-week crap in the “this season on Face Off” trailer at the end.  Similarly, while Keaghlan’s turquoise… everything… is a little weird (with her blue hair and eyebrows, I swear it feels like I’m looking at a color photographic negative of her when she’s onscreen), she did put out a solid, aesthetically beautiful makeup.  I can see how the blue would read “death/drowning” more than life, but otherwise again it’s promising to see non-monster work right out of the gate.  Lastly, despite the atrociously pompous name and ridiculously preening appearance (crazy beard!  literal skull cap! tattoos up to here!), Cig Neutron actually put out some decent work and looks like he’ll be around for a while.

 

LIFE:
Barry: Gentlemen werewolf.  Mildly competent, but more of that fixed-expression monster look that is so boring and uninspired at this point.

Cig: Moss-mohawk tree dude.  Color wise, wasn’t wild about this (from far out it feels too washed out and green) but up close there were some nice touches and clean work.  Mostly, I’m praising him for not making a hideous creature, but a sort of a “Last of the Mohicans” meets “Ferngully” character.
Dina: Outstanding, as mentioned. She worked with model’s beauty, the headdress was inspired and beautifully executed with subtlety and grace, the color palette head to toe was perfect, the accessorizing and the piping for the veins and everything was just fantastic.  It felt camera ready, and she should be real proud of this one.
George: Some kind of chain mail wearing old man.  Decent if un-likelike aging prosthetics, but totally missed the theme here, because a man who looks like he's a half-pack of Marlboro's and a shot of whiskey away from the grave.  Seems like the kind of contestant who crawls along for a few weeks, often in the bottom 3 for mediocre execution and a half-baked idea, before his inevitable eviction.
Keaghlan: I liked this as an overall look, although as I mentioned I think the color palette didn’t really read “life”, and the face painting could have been more bold (it looks like a woman wearing face paint since it’s patchy and doesn’t fully meet the hairline or eyes).  Still, it was balanced, nice use of a specific culture to give it a coherent "feel", and again I will for now be most enthusiastic at “beautiful” makeups that don’t just drown the pretty and often talented models in 50 pounds of latex and paint so they can’t move or emote.
Rachael: Not sure about this one; the wolf nose looks bad, but she also didn’t pick those elements- and the look is, again, not overly monster-makeup messiness; I did like the adaptability to take her sea creature and make it land based with the fur and headdress.  Seems a middle-of-the-road contestant, she could either go early for being unable to complete works/stressing too easily, or could last a while for being able to roll with adversity and not lose momentum.
Scott: Oh Scott.  Truly one of the most hilariously incompetent efforts I’ve ever seen, I’m sorry but this was just terrible.  The face makeup was not only sloppy- and a weird choice to make torn neck into weird face pancake- and the colors blotchy and almost “Impressionist” (but I doubt on purpose), but it’s like he intentionally tried to find the most death-like palette.  Did he get confused and think he was on Death or something?  The Donnie Darko Frank-the-bunny-in-the-Praetorian-Guard helmet was bizarre, especially with the Rocketeer ensemble outfit- I think he called it a "Celestial warrior" or something?  This made no coherent sense, looked sloppy and unfinished, and didn’t remotely fit the theme.  Poor guy… 
Stella: More Native American themes in this one, definitely did not like the fake teeth any more than the judges, but not a train wreck and overall seemed to be competently executed minimalism.

 

DEATH:
Damien: Bland, some kind of torn throat witch with… gems?… embedded in her head.  Nothing special here.
Doc: the blue faced wolf-bat thing.  Clean work, but this is the kind of bland, misshapen dreck that usually means a short stint at the FaceOff mansion. Also, wild turquoise hair, so that’s apparently the season’s theme this year.
Drew: Some kind of native, black-armed/clawed evil shaman… thing? I didn’t really notice during the show since it wasn’t featured and was forgettable, but looking at the pics on the syfy site, I can see that while this had some quality parts it was overall a very fake, generic looking effort.  Nothing special here, it seems.
Gabby: Truly awful, the blue/black paint job would have been laughably bad if used on a 70’s muscle car, and the silhouette just screamed “I’m covering up a lot of mistakes or lack of work here”.  When you see output this bad, you wonder if other contestants see the finished work while waiting to be judge and- while they’re too nice to say it out loud or on camera- are thinking “Oh thank freakin' god, there’s no way I lose to that fucking mess”.
Gwen: Diseased Nick Fury.  Up close, the facial makeup was atrocious; very slapdash, like each part of the face was done by a different artist while the rest of the face was covered up. She seems like she's better than this output though, and with Scott and Gabby around she has another week to prove this was an anomaly.
Jason: What did this thing look like?  It was and is on the tip of my tongue, but I swear I’ve seen a cheap horror movie villain that reminded me of that thing.  Those cheeks, leading to the diamond shaped face, were freaking me out, especially when there’s no real body work or costuming to alter proportions, so it just looked like a sadly deformed young homeless woman.
Sasha: Some good stuff here, but not wild about the paint job on the face with her “crow goddess”.  And overall, there didn’t seem to be much *work* in this one, compared to other efforts.  That said, it’s not about the quantity of work, but about putting out a decent costume, and this shows signs of her being good enough to last for at least a couple more episodes.
Vince: Ronald McDonald meets the Cenobites from Hellraiser.  Face looked caked on with makeup, but the judges were right about the colors being well-chosen, especially the particular red in the hair being both dramatic and yet not cartoony.  Overall, good idea and creativity, but some sloppy execution; it felt like the character was made of papier mache.

[Kaoteek]

Not much to say re:talent at this point of the show, aside from a couple remarks : a) man, was i scared early on, when colourful kooky excentric contestants kept on appearing on my screen... and then b) funnily enough, before they even had completed their make-ups, the only contestant with whom I somewhat connected, personality-wise, was Dina.

 

So I was clearly relieved to see her easily come out on top with a great character & make-up job. And I gotta say, Keaghlan's model was also somewhat successful... even though it might quickly become problematic if she ends up being another Alana, only working variations of the same turquoisy color in every make-up of hers.

[needschocolate]

Well, the "you aren't really on the show yet, you have to pass one more audition" was not such a big deal. They could have just as well said "Congratulations for making it on Face Off.  This challenge will be a double elimination."

 

I suppose it messes with the contestants' heads to think they made it then are told there is one more audition - I hope most of them realized that there wasn't much difference between this "additional audition" and a double elimination first episode.  After all, they got to spend one night in the hotel/house/wherever they stay, and they got to appear in an episode, same as if they were eliminated in the first episode - the challenge was 4 hours instead of 3 days, but, he episode was the same length, so they got just as much tv time).  The biggest difference was that they didn't get mentored by Mr. Westmore. 

 

Once again, the contestants seem like nice people, congratulating  their opponents when they get a good critique, no putting each other down in the talking heads, etc...  I don't recall seeing any helping going on, but it was a four hour challenge, so there wasn't time to be helpful. 

 

They made it sound like "life and death" was the theme all season, it will be interesting to see ho that plays out. 

Edited July 23, 2014 by needschocolate

[Toaster Strudel]

But more important than the makeup challenge... I would wager that the eyebrows are plucked out, and the turquoise ones painted on.

 

It's going to be hard to enjoy the show until we know for sure.

[Reishe]

Maybe in the meantime, an actual series following some previous contestants along their journey through the industry. I'd watch one about Roy, for sure.

 

 

That seemed like it was going to happen with Foxy & Co (a Syfy series about the makeup and effects house owned by Eric Fox, where Roy, RJ, and Nicole work. But it only lasted one episode.

Unfortunately, the Syffy producers seem to think we all crave DRAMA and CRAZINESS and "OMG I am so afraid this isn't going to work," which I felt made Foxy & Co. kind of boring, ironically.

I really wish I knew what they were basing these decisions on; don't know what's being said on the other forums for this show, but it's clear that this crowd would prefer they stop attempting to manufacture drama and also maybe steer away from monsters a wee bit?

Also, I know it's a fine line, but I wish Glen had brought up the contradiction between praising the one designer for putting a forehead piece on a hand while ripping the other designer for not using the throat piece on a throat. In the end, the difference is that they felt one worked and the other didn't, but by not giving some type of credible explanation it makes them look inconsistent.

[needschocolate]

It appeared to me that Glen had fuller hair than usual - transplant? - toupee? - very unusual comb-over? - different hair products that make it look fuller? - stopped using hair products that make his hair fall out? I am totally mistaken? 

 

Robert Englund was a guest judge on Face Off and on Next Great Baker the same week.  I don't remember if he was plugging a movie or something, but he must have been or it is really odd that he would suddenly be on two shows so close together (although they could have been filmed months apart, I suppose). 

[seacliffsal]

hincandenza, it's interesting that you question Scott's decision regarding his make-up (i.e. making a death palette instead of a life one), as I remembered while reading your post that in one of his THs, he stated how his fall led to him not being able to grab a death station and so had to settle for a life station.  So, perhaps his only wheelbase is that of 'monsters' and not being able to chose the set he wanted (i.e. death), he just kind of fell apart and created the same type of make-up anyway.

 

I think the judges actually saved both Scott and Gabby from further humiliation as they just were not ready for this show.  I was struck by Gabby's TH that because she works in Ohio she isn't able to access professional make-up and appliances.  I was kind of like 'but Amazon delivers everywhere.'  Whatever, too many excuses are given to cover up lack of expertise.

[GaT]

Unfortunately, the Syffy producers seem to think we all crave DRAMA and CRAZINESS and "OMG I am so afraid this isn't going to work," which I felt made Foxy & Co. kind of boring, ironically.

 

Every Syfy "reality" show like Foxy & Co is exactly the same. There's some weird business they're in, you get a lot of THs, there's a big job that will make or break the business, & it always has some ridiculously short time to accomplish whatever it is. At some point during the show disaster! will happen, but the ever enterprising people will figure out a way around the problem & accomplish their goal in the allotted time to the applause & appreciation of their clients. Yawn.

[ShaggyDog]

And, since Foxy & Company never got a full series, you can see how well the "formula" worked for them !

[hincandenza]

hincandenza, it's interesting that you question Scott's decision regarding his make-up (i.e. making a death palette instead of a life one), as I remembered while reading your post that in one of his THs, he stated how his fall led to him not being able to grab a death station and so had to settle for a life station.  So, perhaps his only wheelbase is that of 'monsters' and not being able to chose the set he wanted (i.e. death), he just kind of fell apart and created the same type of make-up anyway.

 

I think the judges actually saved both Scott and Gabby from further humiliation as they just were not ready for this show.  I was struck by Gabby's TH that because she works in Ohio she isn't able to access professional make-up and appliances.  I was kind of like 'but Amazon delivers everywhere.'  Whatever, too many excuses are given to cover up lack of expertise.

 

Interesting observation, on both contestant's in-show comments.  As it happens, I just looked up Scott's bio on SyFy, and it mentions that he has always been interested in FX, but only been seriously practicing for 3 years... but oddly, he has been spending that time being tutored by none other than Anthony, winner of Season 4, and even working on some of the studio's projects.  So I think I'm probably being a bit harsh on Scott; presumably Anthony- a talented designer himself- saw enough from Scott to likely encourage, or even recommend, him to the Face Off producers. And really, it's good to have a couple of edge case contestants on this show, so they provide buffer for the more talented and trained who just have a bad week to start.

 

Gabby however sounds like she was purely an amateur, one of those "really into Halloween" costumers who are the equivalent of the American Idol auditioner pushed to try out by their friends who go to karaoke bars with them.  I think she was the one as part of that same quote you mention who said this was literally the first time she'd gotten to really work with professional makeup or been in a proper lab.  This show is not the place to start to learn those techniques; we see someone get sent home a couple of times a season, when they experiment with something new that they've never done before, and it blows up in their face.

 

Oh, and speaking of Anthony; he was the easy winner of Season 4 which, while researching this comment, I realized only ended on March 26, 2013.  That's right: we're now in the third season past that one, and it's not even 16 whole months later.  That's... yeah, you guys are totally right about the breakneck pace on this show.

Edited July 24, 2014 by hincandenza

[Richness]

Also, I know it's a fine line, but I wish Glen had brought up the contradiction between praising the one designer for putting a forehead piece on a hand while ripping the other designer for not using the throat piece on a throat. In the end, the difference is that they felt one worked and the other didn't, but by not giving some type of credible explanation it makes them look inconsistent.

 

The judges are incontinent, I mean inconsistent? NEVER! (Try not to drown in my dripping sarcasm.) Whether it's about color use or static expressions, the judges have always contradict themselves. Sometimes it's from season to season or episode to episode; this time it happened to be from one critique to another in the same episode.

 

Actually, I don't think it was so much that he used a throat appliance on the face, though I will admit that's the way it sounded. I think they failed to express themselves correctly. I felt it was more the horrid way it didn't blend into the skin. Not sure how much blending he could do with liquid latex later on with the blunt edges of the eye sockets that he cut out.

[Wilowy]

 Not sure how much blending he could do with liquid latex later on with the blunt edges of the eye sockets that he cut out.

 

Seriously word. WHAT WAS THAT? Looked like he was trying to make a kid's Halloween mask have better 'safety vision'. Really don't think he deserved to be there. Making my "sucky contestants" comment from long ago feel more realy.

[snakenax]

 

In the end, the difference is that they felt one worked and the other didn't, but by not giving some type of credible explanation it makes them look inconsistent.

I don't really see what is inconsistent there. 'This worked so we praise it and this didn't so we criticize it' is how judging works, that it's the same method being critiqued doesn't change the basic calculus of works vs doesn't work. Blond girl's decision to minimalize the provided piece to focus on what she wanted to make ended up making a successful end product, old guy's decision to turn a throat piece he had no idea what to do with, something that could easily be minimalized because it's a throat piece, into a mask backfired incredible because he still had no idea what he wanted to do with it, but now it's the entire center piece of the make up. It's not like that was the only repurposing, or lack thereof, they commented on like with one person using their supplied werewolf prosthetics as caricature pirate make up or the comment on the slit throat girl about the lack of creativity in how the prosthetic was used.

[ratgirlagogo]

 

Every Syfy "reality" show like Foxy & Co is exactly the same. There's some weird business they're in, you get a lot of THs, there's a big job that will make or break the business, & it always has some ridiculously short time to accomplish whatever it is. At some point during the show disaster! will happen, but the ever enterprising people will figure out a way around the problem & accomplish their goal in the allotted time to the applause & appreciation of their clients. Yawn.

So you're the other person besides me who watched Monster Man? 

 

Well, the "you aren't really on the show yet, you have to pass one more audition" was not such a big deal. They could have just as well said "Congratulations for making it on Face Off.  This challenge will be a double elimination."

Yes.  On the one hand I was relieved that they didn't do the quickfire style instant elimination the way this was done on Project Runway and Top Chef.  On the other hand it was annoying that they were attempting to sell a perfectly good and satisfying episode in a stupid way.

I love the technicolor hair and makeup and I like contestants who enjoy playing with their own appearance.  Not that it means they're any better of course, but I enjoy watching them have fun with it.

[90PercentGravity]

Is it possible that instead of dying her eyebrows, she just shaved them off and drew in new ones with blue makeup?

Yes, they are definitely drawn on, though I'm not sure they are shaved. She likely uses a stencil. They look too uniform to me to be free handed.

[mlp]

 

Well, the "you aren't really on the show yet, you have to pass one more audition" was not such a big deal. They could have just as well said "Congratulations for making it on Face Off.  This challenge will be a double elimination."

 

 

I was going to say exactly the same thing.  In the end, it made no difference to the viewers how they phrased it.  It probably shook up the cast though.

 

I agree with everyone's assessments.  The two sent home were definitely the worst and Dina deserved the win.  It amused me that the cute, pleasant girl who looked and acted perfectly normal beat out the sea of freaky people trying to be edgy.  Speaking of which.................. Did Cig Neutron (!) have some bite-y looking thing on his head that looked like a frog with dentures? 

 

Edited to add................ There was one guy who looked like Tyler from last season and another who looked a lot like Reuben from FNS.  Seeing them was momentarily confusing.

 

I'm not sure what Glenn did to change his appearance - restyled hair and less eye make up maybe - but he looked clean and also much younger.

 

I'll miss Ve but I like Lois so far.  She was direct without being unpleasant about it.

Edited July 26, 2014 by mlp

[hincandenza]

Speaking of which.................. Did Cig Neutron (!) have some bite-y looking thing on his head that looked like a frog with dentures?

 

Not a frog with dentures- it was a skull (thankfully not a real one, but some cartoon-style sculpted skull; you can see it clearly when you click on the zoom button in the top right of the picture). He was literally wearing a "skull cap". 

 

Yeah, I said it...

[mlp]

 

Not a frog with dentures- it was a skull (thankfully not a real one, but some cartoon-style sculpted skull; you can see it clearly when you click on the zoom button in the top right of the picture). He was literally wearing a "skull cap".

 

Yeah, I said it...

 

LOL.  And thanks.  I did have to enlarge it to make it out.  I was happier when I thought it was a frog.

 

I was shocked to see that Rachael, the girl with purple hair, is only 24.  I thought she was in her 40s while watching her on the show.

[Bella]

 

I was happier when I thought it was a frog.

 

Me, too, and even though I'm big into Day of the Dead, I'm going to keep pretending it's a frog.

[Portia]

Finally got to watch it, and my love for this show has not diminished. I was a little bummed that the eliminated people were the "old" ones, but I agree with everyone that they were terrible.

I wasn't surprised at all to see a lot of weird-looking contestants; last season, with its largely "normal" looking group, was the exception rather than the rule. There've been far freakier folks in the past, like that creepy little guy with the half-shaved head and the Alice Cooper eye makeup. But I will agree that there seem to be a few more funky guys than usual.

I love Glenn, and I'm not ashamed to say it. I think he's consistently most insightful of the judges, and I can always count on him to make interesting vocabulary choices. I mean, I don't want to go out with him...but that's what Neville is for! I ghink that Neville's a fine-looking man.

Edited July 27, 2014 by Portia

[ratgirlagogo]

 

I love Glenn, and I'm not ashamed to say it. I think he's consistently most insightful of the judges, and I can always count on him to make interesting vocabulary choices

I love Glenn too - I don't know that I like him better than the other judges, because I like them all.  But I usually feel that his explanations help me to understand the judges' criteria for decisionmaking better than the others' do.  Also I love his very distinct personal style.

[Wilowy]

You guys are both right, I like his insight and his vocabulary choices, too. He's one smart guy, and hey, he worked on Buffy! 

[karriemom]

What the hell happened to Makenzie's face? She looks like The Joker!

[ElectricBoogaloo]

I was struck by Gabby's TH that because she works in Ohio she isn't able to access professional make-up and appliances.  I was kind of like 'but Amazon delivers everywhere.'  Whatever, too many excuses are given to cover up lack of expertise.

I had the exact same reaction when Gabby said that. I was like, "But they still have the internet and UPS delivery in Ohio!" One of the things I love about Kryolan (aside from the makeup itself) is that it's totally affordable. If you can afford to buy grocery store makeup as Gabby said she was used to using, then you can afford to buy Kryolan. It's not ridiculously overpriced, unlike some other brands.

 

Dina's green nymph was gorgeous. She shading and blending she did on the face was just beautiful, and that's without even looking at the whole head to toe look. She was far and away the best in this challenge.

 

The chick who put the mask on her model was overrated IMO. While I get what the judges said about creating a complete character, the makeup itself wasn't very impressive to me (A+ to the person who described it as something you would see at a Dracula masquerade ball). Plus I don't like when people don't follow the rules of the challenge. She didn't put the appliance on the face so that should have been an issue.

[Tara Ariano]

ACK, VERY SORRY. I accidentally merged the season premiere thread with the thread created for Monty's post on Episode 2. Forgive the error and continue discussing 0701 here!

 

To get you started: here's Monty's post on 0701.