Glow Up: Britain’s Next Make-up Star – our favourite looks
Eight episodes ago, 10 aspiring make-up artists went head-to-head to be crowned Britain’s Next Make-Up Star as they competed in the fourth series of BBC Three’s hit show Glow Up.
After putting their skills to the test in industry challenges ranging from creating summer party looks for H&M Beauty’s online campaign to completing stage looks on artists for a live performance of Cirque du Soleil’s Luzia, and creative briefs which saw the MUAs create looks based on experiments gone wrong and moments of rebellion, the final three faced the ultimate challenge: presenting a masterclass to industry experts before showing off the growth in the final creative brief, ‘make-up metamorphosis’.
Warning: Spoilers ahead
Fashion graduate Yong-Chin, who began playing with make-up during lockdown, took the crown.
Speaking on the show about her win, Yong-Chin said, “It’s crazy, I don’t think it’s fully sunk in yet. This experience is completely life-changing for me. I feel like I can do everything in make-up now, I can just go for it.”
Runner-up Lisa said, “I feel like a winner as well, to be honest,” and shared how, if she hadn’t competed on the show, she would be wishing she could chase her dream, adding, “I know I can do it now…. 100%, I can do it.”
Our favourite make-up moments
We picked out our favourite looks from the series.
1. Lisa - Bodypainting
“The bold colours on this look are stunning, with perfect crispness and blending. I loved the way Lisa created the vertical mouth using the model’s hands – so creative. She got the ‘weird and wonderful’ brief spot on.” – Eve Oxberry, head of editorial
2. Rachel – Experiment gone wrong
“I loved this look by Rachel, inspired by ‘spaghettification’. The fact that this challenge was her first experience working with prosthetics and SFX make-up shows how talented she is and how she adapts to the products put in front of her.” – Lollie Hancock, editorial assistant
3. Lisa – Moment of rebellion
“This challenge saw the MUAs given a brief to represent rebellious moments and rule breakers, and I love Lisa’s inspiration behind this literary look. Her rebellion was influenced by her feminism and the stories of historical female writers. The contrast between the bright spilled ink and the pieces of paper with old-fashioned calligraphy is so striking, and the quill is a great touch.” – Ellen Cummings, content writer
4. Nancé - Hidden strength
“Nancé said this look was created to represent persistence and resilience and I loved the calm yet strong vibe she created. The soft ombre shading and delicate pearls was beautifully offset by harder metal embellishments that gave the finished look a harder edge." – Eve Oxberry
5. Lisa - Hidden strength
“I’m still obsessed with Lisa’s hidden strength look from week one. The details of the hard concrete compared to the soft and delicate flowers and hand painted stems was made better by the shading techniques she used – my favourite look from the season for sure!” – Lollie Hancock
6. Yong-Chin – Hidden strength
“This galaxy-inspired look is incredible – the colours are stunning! The level of detail and artistry in the supernova nebula explosion is amazing, and I really love the addition of the pearl embellishments.” – Ellen Cummings