Eight weeks ago, ten aspiring make-up artists had a chance
to make it in the real world.
It's absolutely ruthless out there.
They've lived together, worked together...
I'm just going to stand here and do nothing, then.
You should be doing a lot.
..and battled it out.
Knock it out the park.
I've got like a shaky hand at the minute.
They've had to impress some of the biggest names in the business.
Hello!
Each week, they've shown skill...
Marvellous.
..artistry and imagination...
It's so beautifully executed.
..both in Glow Up HQ with their own creations...
You've delivered!
..and out fulfilling briefs... Agh! He's naked!
..on some of the industry's toughest assignments.
Can you go down to the catwalk now?
You need to go.
From catwalk to fashion mags...
Brush up the brows.
..cinema to social media...
Oh, my God!
Every week, the two who least impressed...
I feel like I can't breathe.
..went head-to-head in a face-off, and seven have been sent home.
Now just three remain to battle it out to land a contract assisting
the world's biggest make-up artists.
Now it feels like a final.
It's time to Glow Up.
Is anybody excited or terrified that it's the final?
I feel like today is the closing chapter.
I'm excited. Yeah? Mm-hmm.
Our three finalists, they are all incredible make-up artists.
Working with these guys,
I've really seen them go from a limited make-up range
to the portfolio that they now hold.
What we're looking for from that winner is someone who has been able
to take everything from the last seven weeks, all the challenges
that have been designed to really push our artists
in different directions.
That person who has brought the best.
There can only be one winner.
Morning! Morning! Morning.
What stands between the MUAs and that title is today's final
professional assignment and tomorrow's creative brief.
Over the weeks, you've got this amazing portfolio.
You will notice that the first page...totally blank.
The reason it's blank is because your work from today
is going to sit there.
For your brief today,
you have been booked on a fashion editorial
with the incredible Leomie Anderson.
British supermodel Leomie Anderson is a runway regular for the world's
top fashion designers, and, as one of the faces of Rihanna's beauty
brand, she knows a thing or two about make-up.
From my perspective, what makes a great make-up artist
is being able to work well under pressure and also just to be willing
to adapt your ideas to what the client wants
and also just make me look like just an enhanced version of myself.
She's huge.
And capturing your looks today will be a photographer.
He's worked with Adele,
Jay-Z... Oh, my God.
..and even the Queen!
No pressure!
He is none other than Rankin.
EXCITED LAUGHTER
O-M-G!
I've got goose bumps!
Both a photographer and director, Rankin became known
for his portraiture of bands, artists,
supermodels and politicians.
He's photographed everyone from the queen of fashion
to the Queen.
I think to be a good make-up artist, you have to have a precision,
that, more than anything, you have to be adaptable and creative,
and then deliver something that is quality
but also has a little kind of edge to it that makes you go,
"Ooh, I haven't seen that before."
Having Rankin shoot your work is every make-up artist's dream,
and you'll be working for one of the biggest fashion magazines
in the country. Hunger.
Oh, my God!
You're damn right!
You're all such worthy finalists,
so all of your work will be featured in the magazine.
Only... if Rankin thinks it's worthy.
So, please do us proud.
Oh, damn!
This is your moment.
Own it.
Today's shoot is based at Hunger magazine HQ.
Known for its bold vivid images, landing a spot in the magazine
is sought after by designers,
hair stylists and make-up artists alike.
And, with only two issues published each year, the magazine is selective
about which fashion editorials they feature.
The thing about fashion editorial is what you're doing is taking
collections to show this kind of theme or this idea.
We call it page-stopping.
So you create imagery that people go, "I haven't seen that before,
"I haven't seen that before."
The garms on show today are part of a sustainable range
by Bethany Williams. The MUAs' make-up must complement the clothes
but be striking enough to get the shot featured.
Hello. Morning, darling.
Fashion editorial is incredible because what it does is it brings
everybody together to create one perfect image.
So, someone from hair, someone from make-up, someone from styling,
the photographer. It's about communication.
It's about bringing a complete vision to life.
After having some time to prepare,
our three finalists arrive at the studios, where they must
present to Rankin.
They are going to have to sell their concept
because it's not just the make-up.
It's how this make-up sits with the whole package.
So you're going to go in one by one.
The first person up is Leigh.
The least experienced MUA, learning and development manager Leigh,
has always felt like something was holding him back...
I don't have a lot of experience
so I've got a lot of things to develop on.
Have you done bald caps before?
No. Struggling to match my skin tone under this light.
I struggle with it anyway, being colour-blind.
..but has gone from strength to strength
to earn his spot in the final.
Before I came here, I couldn't get a response from a counter
in a department store...
I've never worked with models before.
..so to win would absolutely change everything.
Suddenly you're beginning to wake up and that's exciting.
I kind of love it.
Oh, God!
To be given a contract would be unbelievable.
Leigh's got it going on! Ding dong, darling.
Ding dong!
Thank God for that!
Bye, guys! Good luck.
I really hope Rankin's nice.
I imagine he's going to be pretty brutal if he doesn't like something
so I'm just going to keep my fingers crossed that he looks at it
and he's like, "Well done."
Hi.
Each MUA must sell their make-up concept to the photographer, Rankin,
the stylist, Kim, and model, Leomie.
Once agreed, they will have an hour to produce the look.
I really wanted something that balances with the clothes
and doesn't take anything away from it.
Can you talk us through the texture of the lip?
So the texture of the lip is just going to be a gloss mixed with
blue shadow, so there's a really nice glint.
Going to use this one. KIM: Mm!
LEOMIE: Mm, that's nice. KIM: That's my favourite blue.
That would just be perfect sitting on your lips
with the thread hanging.
Oh, I really like that. Me too.
Threads coming from the mouth. Threads... Yeah.
I mean that's a proper statement. Yeah.
This would look so epic. Do you feel confident in this one?
Yeah, I left my other ones that I don't like outside.
THEY LAUGH
I love people that are decisive.
I love people that are confident
and I love people that get on and do it,
and then what I really, really want is that little spark of creativity
with absolute make-up precision.
Like real craft and quality.
I thought he was really confident
and, if he can do a blue lip and do it well,
then that will be amazing.
I worry about string coming from a glossy lip because it could
congeal and just look drippy.
Yeah. And no-one likes a drippy lip.
No-one needs a drippy lip.
No.
Confident in his bold blue lip look,
Leigh's main concern is matching Leomie's skin tone -
a skill he has struggled with throughout the competition.
Does that look like a shade that you normally wear?
Yeah, this looks nice.
I'll test it just on your cheek. Swatch.
Yeah, and see which one matches best.
That's not bad actually. Yeah.
How do you think Leigh's going to react in there?
He's the least experienced.
I think he may struggle
or second-guess himself on the skin tone.
I'm colour-blind. Really?
So it put me off for a long, long time. Mm.
He can't see, like, the warm tones in skin
so he wouldn't be able to see if Leomie is, you know,
like, more yellow based because he can't... Like, he wouldn't see it.
Mm. Can I look in the mirror?
Mm. Mm!
You just do what you've got to do when you're in there, and I think
that's where his lack of experience comes in because he's just
like, "Right, let's just wing it. Slap this on and do this."
When you laid out your foundation, like, "OK, which shade do you think works?"
Like, a lot of people would rather just guess and it look bad
than to, like, actually communicate with the model and learn as well.
Matching skin tones is one of the things
that I've found the most challenging.
And you've colour matched quite well. Don't worry!
Leigh's glossy lip needs to make an impact
so choosing the right shade of blue is essential.
The colour of blue that he's laid down first...
That's not the sort of blue that he wants.
It's very, very pale.
Leomie's skin tone is so gorgeous and so rich,
to put something quite cool on it,
it needs to be really powerful really strong.
That's not saying bold to me.
Also having doubts about his colour choice,
Leigh rethinks his tone of blue.
I'm wondering whether we even need this base on your lips,
and whether that blue on its own would be strong enough.
Mm, how are you feeling? I think I'm going to take the blue off.
You're going to take the blue lip off?
Yeah, and just use a gloss on its own.
Because a gloss on its own is a lot stronger than...
I don't think this is a good call. Yeah, me too.
That's a beautiful colour, isn't it? Yeah, it's really nice.
OK, I'm going to stop before I mess anything.
I'm going to play with the thread when she's in the outfit
so we're going to decide what it's going to look like.
I'm going to chop it up ready.
For a fashion editorial,
the make-up must sit perfectly with the collection.
What I'm expecting from our finalists today is making sure that
their make-up is complementing this clothing.
It cannot overbear but it cannot be hidden away.
Shall we try it without the threads first? Just have a look?
Yeah, that's a really good idea.
That's wicked.
You need to study the monitor
because that's what your photographer has shot.
That's it. Yeah.
Hold that, and really own it there. Like that way.
I hate blue lips. I love a blue lip.
But he's done it well. It's a really good colour.
That's really cool.
Oh, that one's gorge!
That's so good.
Like, the colours really pop.
I think it would be nice with some thread, yeah?
Shall we try the thread? Yeah.
Ooh, nice.
Tilt your head to the left a little. Then try the walk.
Does it add anything to this show or not? Exactly. What's the point?
It doesn't make sense to me. No. No.
Sorry. That's OK. I think it's really brave to go with the blue lip. Yeah.
And it's a good blue lip. Yeah, it's a really good blue.
I think we've got it. Yeah. I think we've got it without the thread.
Yeah? Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Good. Thanks, Lee. Well done.
Thanks, Lee. That was amazing.
Good work.
Whoo! Hey! Hi! Hi!
How was it?
Just before I went in, I was like... Eurgh!
Yeah.
My skin match was spot on!
THEY LAUGH
I know Leome was, like, "That looks good."
So that's enough approval for me.
I can't do it. It will be fine.
I know.
It's all-consuming, isn't it? Mmm.
It's all you've thought about for weeks.
Retail assistant Ellis has always had confidence in his creations...
People are just saying "Jump", and I'm just saying, "Where to?"
He's enjoying himself. He's cruising through it.
..and has divided opinion with his thought-provoking looks.
We're so excited!
When I came into this, I was very much - get as much on as I could,
and create this, like, thing that would shock people.
HE WHISPERS: Oh, yes!
I thought the application was good.
I don't get it. I feel like there's too much going on.
Well, I don't care what they think. I love it.
You've given us something to really discuss.
I've produced some really good looks throughout the whole competition
and I find strength in being confident and bold in my make-up,
and that's just the way it is.
I'm ready to fly.
But in reception, the pressure of working with Rankin
is taking its toll on Ellis.
I'm talking in this conversation but my real mind is literally being like,
"Do I do the glossy lid? Do I do the glossy lip?"
Like, in my head, I'm thinking, like, "But Val said this to Brendan in week one!
"Val said this to Mathieu in week two!
"Do I do the lid like that?" Yeah.
That's really what's happening now.
What our finalist needs to do is just walk in with utter confidence,
knowing exactly what they want to do and how they want to do it.
And then they need to sell that to the photographer
and to the stylist, because you have to make them believe
in what you have to say.
Oh!
He's a lot quieter than normal.
I think he's quite nervous.
Yeah.
What you got for us? Um, OK.
I have...
I came up with these.
The red is, like, a really bold shape with nothing else
on the face or skin, and the eyes - I want it to be, like, glossy.
So the No -
I did this one knowing that it would be more towards like a specific look
and I wasn't thinking of doing this one, but I thought I'd show it anyway. Mmm.
What do you think? What's your...?
Um...I think the No is a no.
Yeah.
The No's a no!
The thing that probably annoys me the most when I'm working
with new make-up artists is indecision,
because the worst thing you can be is indecisive.
If you take the brief and you're umming and ahing,
you know immediately that they've not got conviction
in what they want to do, and that's when I get nervous. I'm slightly
worried about the...
this one here with the red underneath, because that can
look really evil. OK.
It's definitely something to be careful of.
Have you ever done a red eye? No, not a red eye.
I mean, I'm... I can't even remember the last time I did a red eye.
HE LAUGHS
But again these can be changed to any colour if you prefer
like a blue or yellow, or...
I think you've got to be confident in what you're... Yeah.
..in what you want to do.
Persuade us of the eye.
I wouldn't present something to you that I didn't feel
I could execute and execute well. OK.
And I've already taken into consideration about knocking the red
back - with it going on to a deeper complexion,
it's finding the balance. Mmm.
Yeah, I think we really need to look at it in stages.
Be confident with your instinct.
Just do your thing. Good.
Struggling to sell his vision, Ellis has settled on a red eye,
which demands perfect symmetry.
That look is so hard to say, cos literally, if you'd get that wrong,
and then you're, like, the next one, like, getting them the same - that's so hard.
Yeah. I think, anyway. I don't know. Mmm.
For me, it's a tough one to pull off. I would be nervous.
I hope this just comes together. I don't know why I get so sweaty.
I only get sweaty in high pressure situations, where I'm, like, "I want to die!"
THEY LAUGH
You're not going to die. Don't worry.
Look at the ceiling, and then I can just pull that in.
Oh, did I get you?
Hmm. Do you need a tissue?
Don't worry. It's not your fault.
Yeah. Sorry. It was just a hair on my lash, yeah. Sorry. No worries.
Did you get it out? Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Open your eye.
Hmm.
How do you think you're going to deal with symmetry?
Cos this last week, there was an issue with symmetry. I...yeah.
I'm just getting the full lid covered first,
and then I can sit in front of her,
and I can really just, like, measure her out.
He's not being consistent with his symmetry, so he just needs
to make sure that he's not losing that gorgeous shape he's created.
It's not just symmetry that Ellis needs to get right -
he must pick the perfect shade of red.
The other colour's popping. It's nicer now.
That's cute. Mhm. Oh, it looks really cute, actually.
There you go.
How's it going? It's going really well.
We managed to get, like, a really good colour down. Ooh!
The colour is really, really nice.
I'm layering the powder to kind of colour to kind of get this velvety finish. Mmm.
So I'm just layering the product on.
Are you ready for hair? Yeah, absolutely. Come on in. Oh!
"Come on in" - like it's my own place! Come on in!
THEY LAUGH
I'm coming to your hair!
I'm powdering her skin more,
because when the camera goes off and the flashes go in her face,
it's going to show even more shine - "than we can't see here."
Wow. Skin's beautiful.
I think you've got it.
I just wish I had sold it more in the beginning.
You guys would have had more confidence in me.
You know what, it's all it's all experience, isn't it?
Time to see if Ellis's make-up is bold enough to make
the clothes stand out.
Oh, my God.
This is really, really sick.
What I'm really loving is the symmetry.
And that skin, it looks like butter.
Just want to lick it.
It's amazing.
Or is that just me? Speak for yourself!
It's just me.
He doesn't get out much.
Love it. Everything just goes so perfect.
Honestly, I've got tears in my eyes.
I'm so proud of you.
That is great make-up.
Yeah. Well done. Thank you.
You've made her look iconic.
Yes. Seriously.
Seriously iconic.
Well done.
I mean, it was OK.
It was OK.
Thanks, guys.
How was it?
I cried.
Did you!
As soon as someone was like, "I really like it," I started crying.
I think that kind of sums up how much it actually means to me
to kind of get their stamp of approval.
Good to go? You've both got a really positive,
really good critique, and I'm like, oh, my God, I'm last.
There is a lot riding on today, but do you know what?
All I can do is go in,
have fun,
do what I do best and enjoy it.
Let's have a look. Let's have a look at your ideas.
I actually love this one.
Because I feel it's quite powerful, and is this like an eyeliner?
It would be use in my palette that's got the metallic dark blue mixed
with a little bit of a lighter blue. And then are you thinking mascara?
I've got a touch of mascara, nothing too crazy, cos I wanted to keep
the skin very stripped back, very polished.
Stripped back or polished, which one? So, stripped back,
but just kind of enhanced, so just giving her a little bit
of coverage where she needs it but not too much.
With a reputation for daring looks, Hunger Magazine is no place
for playing it safe.
The eye needs to just have, like, a bit extra.
It just needs, the volume just needs to go up somehow.
Yeah.
Cool.
Creatively, didn't blow me away immediately.
I think it's quite obvious, I don't feel like there's an idea that...
..pushed boundaries.
My ears pricked up when she said mascara, because I felt actually
that would work really beautifully in the story.
Big old blue, tonnes of mascara.
Do something that is going to be outrageous,
but controlled.
Vlogger Nikki has strived for precision in every look.
I want to perfect everything.
I think when you're a perfectionist and you're like, right,
this is step one, step two, step three, and you're so rigid
in your head, that's when time management becomes an issue for me.
We're running out of time.
I spent too long on the brows
and then didn't spend enough time on everything else.
And even when the judges tried to break down her barrier
of perfection, Nikki has struggled to let go.
I think you could have pushed it further.
You're better than this.
I don't think this is the time to hold back.
I'm just worried that it's not enough.
We asked for bold and big.
She hasn't gone big enough.
I just want to push through and do my best now.
I'm stressed.
I will finish!
Nikki needs to complete her look in just one hour.
When I've got time and someone gives me an hour, I'm like la-de-da...
I'm just going to do what I know best.
No, you got this.
I'm just doing her V.
I want the skin to look stripped back.
If she's pushed for time, if she's being smart,
she'll have left the skin ill last because Nikki's so good with skin.
Like, she will get finished in two minutes flat.
So if she's being smart, hopefully she's left it.
Anywhere that you feel like you would want coverage,
cos I've gone stripped back.
Here. Just more so... Around the mouth area.
And then I would just say just here a little bit.
Just get rid...
My concern right now is that you're faffing.
You're Faffy McFaffy.
I am Faffy McFaffy. And you're not focused.
When you have time pressure,
you work really well.
So, say to yourself, I've got five minutes to do this.
OK? So go, go, go. Slay!
Nikki's concept is a simple blue eye, but it needs to have impact
to stand out in the magazine.
So, how are we doing here?
How do you build this?
I think it would look quite punchy underneath the eye
then I want to add layers of mascara on top to lift.
I would start on top.
The mascara?
It's definitely start loading up the lashes.
I think we just need to push it. Yeah.
So there's a reason for it to be in the mag.
Yeah. Have its moment.
I'll start working on that now. OK. OK.
feel like we're pushing her and she's not driving.
Coming back with it. Yeah, I agree.
I'm a bit worried about time.
I'm very worried about time, because she's got 15 minutes left.
Why are you holding back.
I didn't think I was.
Try it this way.
Make it clunkier.
That is the word that will save you - clunky.
This is Hunger Magazine.
It needs to be powerful.
She just needs to go big and she's not.
It's time!
It's time.
Oh, shit.
They're calling her on set. That means she has to be ready.
Nikki. Yeah.
I'm just going to add a little bit more on this eye.
I hope she's ready. I hope she's ready too.
I'm not sure she is.
How you feeling, Nikki?
Feeling all right.
All right is not maj.
We've gone clunkier with the...
Oh. Yeah, that's cool. Yeah?
So it's more of a statement. Do you think? Yeah.
It's definitely feeling more us.
All right, let's go, my love.
Stressed.
That's great.
That's amazing.
Chin up for me.
It's very beautiful.
It's pretty, but it's not exciting enough. No.
You're trying to clean up underneath there. Why?
Hello.
Just pack it on.
We don't play safe. Like, go in there and...
..get it.
Go get it, girl.
Smash it on. That's it.
Thick, thick, thick. Get it right down to the root.
Yeah. Now you see it. Yeah.
We need to find that Hunger magic, don't we?
I can get her to squint her eyes like that.
There you go, there you go, there you go. Squint.
OK, this is great.
Bring your right... Yes, that's great.
That's really great. That's beautiful.
She's definitely working it. Yeah.
The vibe is fierce.
That's better. That's much better. That's great.
Ooh!
I mean, we've got loads.
Yeah, well done, you got there.
Thank you.
Thank you. Well done, Nikki.
Like, the eye, the colour, like, it proper worked.
Love it. Brilliant. Well done.
Thank you. Well done.
Thank you.
Hello. Hi!
How was it?
That was stressful.
I don't know what you guys were talking about.
We got there in the end.
We needed to go heavier, and once I was able to do that,
the look really came together and I could really see
the vision for it and how it was working.
How are the judges?
They believe in you.
I mean, that's what's nice.
Aww.
They care so much.
It's nice to have people that...
Of their standard and of their level to genuinely believe in you.
I don't think I realised that up until today.
For them to be able to give me that time...
..is a big deal.
The MUAs must wait until tomorrow to find out
whether their looks made it into the magazine.
It's the final day in Glow Up HQ.
Can you actually believe
that someone gets crowned the winner today?
I feel like a winner already.
Of course you do.
I would too, if I'd have survived that.
Morning!
Morning! You look lovely.
The judges are ready with their feedback,
and as it's the final, the MUAs will start
this week's creative brief on an equal footing
with no red chairs.
Thank you so much for all your incredible efforts yesterday.
The work that you brought to us was amazing, epic, beyond.
Why don't we take a look at Leigh's work first?
She looks unbelievable.
You really sold your idea to Rankin and Kim.
What you did was one simple idea, but it was explosive.
It told a great story. Very powerful. Amazing.
Thank you.
OK, next we have Ellis.
She looks unreal.
Ellis, you were a pleasure to work with.
Leomie loved you.
You definitely did the best skin on her of the day.
What I also really loved was you brought ideas to the table
but when you were working with her, you adapted them
and you can come and do make-up for me any time.
Oh, my God.
Thank you.
And then we have Nikki.
Those eyes. Oh, my God, Nikki.
They look crazy, don't they?
What was really interesting was watching you work
through your process, and then we flipped on the pressure
and you just swam,
and the pressure created this,
and this eye's to die for.
So take that,
use that to your advantage.
Well done. Thank you.
Rankin, have they all done enough to feature in the magazine?
This shoot would absolutely fit in the magazine
and I think your make-up was exceptional.
Good stuff.
Congratulations.
So, judges, MUAs, it's our final creative brief.
There's no face off chairs!
However...
..the MUA that impresses us the least
at the end of this
will be going home.
Then the final two will go head-to-head in the face off.
Oh, my God.
Today, we want to see a futuristic make-up
that tells your story,
that delivers your hopes and ambitions.
So show us something really ground-breaking.
Be creative.
Be confident.
Because remember, you're only as good as your last look.
So make sure today is your best yet
because it could transform your future.
You have two and a half hours
to complete the look.
Go for it.
For this brief, the MUAs have been allowed to prepare
but there are no models.
They must create a look that throws forward to their future self
on themselves.
This look is definitely about my past
and how I was brought up with paintings and drawings,
and a reflection on that. Taking everything that I've learned so far
and taking this look into the future
and almost becoming the piece of art.
Unlike her previous looks,
Nikki wants to let go of precision and perfection
and is using unconventional materials
to create a living piece of art.
This is a risk today, being very free spirited with it,
and I do find that difficult to do,
just because...
..I want everything to be perfect,
but this look isn't about perfection.
I'm an artist that's still growing
and that's what I really want the judges to be able to read today,
so that's really important to me.
Hello. You all right?
Just about.
Although starting out as the least experienced of all the MUAs,
Leigh's look will reflect that he is still not the finished product.
What's the concept? This one is a note to my future self.
Yesterday I just realised how much I've changed coming in
and how much I've learned to actually feel like a make-up artist.
And it's just about not forgetting that, ever.
This one's really important to me
because I've never done an illusion before. An illusion?
I want it to look like it's sitting on my skin
as like a constant reminder.
As if there's literally a bit of paper sort of stuck on your face.
Yeah. That's a massive risk that you're taking.
Not going to get another chance, am I? That's true. OK.
You're fine.
My plan at the moment is just to get as much of the colours down
fast as I can.
Today, for me, is all about just having fun.
I'm trying new things.
I've always been very like, need to get all these details right.
And right now, I'm just like, just go for it,
because it's all or nothing now.
This is so unlike Nikki.
Nikki has never done anything like this before.
I'm very excited to see where this goes.
When I sit back and look at the shadow on the paper,
I like it. The shadow around the edge I need to work on,
but I've got a lot to do and I haven't got a lot of time.
I'm a little bit concerned that he's doing something
that he's never done before in the final.
Yeah. That's a big risk.
I think it's a bold move,
but it doesn't feel like a bold... Statement.
Yeah.
For me, colour's the only way I can express myself.
the more colour I have on, the better I feel.
Ellis hopes to challenge the way we view colours.
His aim is to create a reaction, which is how he sees his future
as a make-up artist.
Talk me through your concept.
So the future and going forward.
I want to challenge what people see.
That's why I started out looking like thermal imaging to kind
of capture the colour scheme I wanted to go for,
because thermal imaging changes on every single person, like,
when you look at them. Depending on your skin...
Depending on, like, your body heat and what mood you're in,
that kind of thing.
So I find it really interesting
and that's kind of where I wanted to go with it.
Did they say anything? Mm-mm.
It makes me so nervous when they don't say anything.
MUAs, that's an hour gone.
You've got an hour and a half left.
This is hard.
This is harder than I thought.
Oh, my God, Ellis, that looks amazing.
I don't know, I think it looks a bit comicky.
Hello, girl. My face is a bit tight.
Don't move.
I don't want to laugh because I'll crack.
It's like you've just had a face-lift.
I'm ahead of schedule.
Oh, girl. That is music to my ears!
Good.
It's like she's treating her face as a canvas.
She's taken all the feedback over the past couple of weeks
where we've told her to let go, let go, let go.
She is letting go. There's still control it,
but she's allowing herself to do something that's not perfect.
You OK? OK?
I can't move.
Both Nikki and Ellis are planning to incorporate their body
into their look.
I'm just waiting to gauge how my face looks.
That will decide how intense I go with the body,
because I could get to the body and be like, oh, no, it's too much,
i don't want to do any more,
so I'm still a bit undecided.
This feels new. Yeah. It feels fresh.
What I'm loving most is attention to detail,
like that bold blue.
It doesn't come from anything, it's just there.
I'm adding yellow face paint
just to add a little bit of depth,
with more of a stippling effect to give more of a painterly feel.
I've also just worked out that if I use a spoolie
it's quite cool as well, because you get more of a brush stroke feel.
I like the way Nikki's painting herself as a sculpture.
This is my kind of make-up.
She's not working with conventional tools.
Like, she's stippling with a spoolie brush.
She also used the spatula to apply the paint into her hairline.
She's free styling.
This will be amazing, this will photograph really well.
I was just thinking how well it will photograph.
MUAs, you have 40 minutes
till your final looks.
What did she say, 40 minutes left?
Now I just have to suss out how to write text backwards
in a mirror, so it shows up the right way around in a photograph.
Oh, my God, I didn't even think about that!
So I know it needs to be backwards in here.
It needs to be backwards in there.
So it shows up OK on a photograph? Yeah.
Stress.
Are you still going to do your body?
I think cos the face is going to be so much, I kind of think I want
the contrast of the white body with the face,
to contrast against each other,
which again is about my brief being to challenge people
and I think the clashing white with the extreme face
will challenge people as well.
You know you always say, like, you should know when to stop.
I don't have that part of my brain. It's not active.
You don't... You don't have a stopping mechanism.
No. You have no self-restraint.
Everything needs to be perfect.
There's been a lot of self-doubt.
And I think after the fourth face-off was the first time
I actually felt like I was a real competitor in this competition.
It took you four times to be in the bottom to become a competitor.
Yeah, it really did, and I think that my mind-set
just kind of changed,
so today I was going to go with how I feel.
Do you like the wig? I love it.
MUAs...
..you have eight minutes.
Ellis, before I carry on, does that read right?
Does that say "To?"
Yeah, I'm reading that as "To," yeah. It's the right word.
That's cool!
How do you spell "Continued?"
My brain's turned to mush.
It looks like, you know when you go to the toilet
and someone hasn't replaced the toilet paper,
and it's the stringy bit of thing.
Honestly, I've come to this close to divorce because of that.
I think the Nikki of eight weeks ago wouldn't have even done this.
I think she would have been too scared.
MUAs, you have two minutes left.
That's it! Down brushes.
MUAs, please take yourselves next door to be photographed.
Ding dong.
I love this look because of the way that it made me feel
whilst I was creating it, and that is just free.
I'd say that I don't want to do another face-off again,
but I really want to do this one! So we'll see.
For me, it was really important
to do something I've never done before
because if I'd gone in and done something that I've already done,
I'm not showing the judges anything different.
To fall at this hurdle, would be devastating, but...
..you have to stand by your decisions as an artist
and, if you don't support yourself, who else is going to support you?
I think what I'm looking for is transformation.
With their final looks photographed,
it's time to find out who has done enough to impress the judges
and keep their place in the competition.
Nikki.
This piece is about all the ups and downs I've had as an artist,
kind of encapsulating all the emotions that I felt -
which is stress, worry, upset, happiness -
and I wanted just to be free with this piece.
And these are the emotions and the feelings
that I want to carry on forward.
What I think you've learned throughout this competition
is that FINALLY you've let yourself go. Yeah.
That's incredible.
Yeah, I love what's happening on the shoulders.
It's very bold.
You've done really well. I think it looks amazing.
Thank you.
This work is really interesting, and I think this is a good example
of you getting out of your comfort zone.
But I'd have loved to see you go even further. Thank you.
We asked for something that was really transformative
and, not to get all gushy,
but I think the one thing that's been transformed is you.
From when I think about where you were at week one
to where you are now, you've probably had
the biggest leap forward in your approach to make-up,
how you see make-up and to stand now and show this is tops.
I love this. At the heart of any true artist
is a belief in what they have to say, so keep saying it.
Thank you. Thank you.
Well done.
Leigh.
The first day, when I walked in, I felt a bit like an impostor.
But now I can walk into a room and I do feel like a make-up artist,
which for me is massive.
I wanted to try an illusion today,
and I wanted to try and show you something different.
Illusion is one of the most trickiest things,
because the face that they're doing it on
stays in one position and they base it around the angles
and what they're seeing.
There are moments where the illusion aspect really comes alive.
If we look at the forehead, there is something quite...
..peel-y about it.
And the technicalities of trying to write backwards...
I wouldn't even... I wouldn't. Best not. I just wouldn't.
But you figured it out and you worked it out.
To come in and do something that you've never done before
is really brilliant, because you're pushing yourself,
and I think it takes guts to do that.
However, I was expecting something a little bit more dramatic,
a little bit more colourful,
and I'm not sure it was the right thing to do.
It's not mage, it's beige.
You've done so much more in the past and...
..it wasn't big enough for me.
Thank you. Thanks, Leigh.
Ellis.
I've always loved this concept
that a colour that I could be looking at
is different than the colour you could be looking at.
So I could look at a red,
but you could actually be seeing a blue,
because we don't know what everybody sees
because it's in our head what we see.
I wanted this reaction of being like, "What is it?"
There is not one thing on there that I look at
that I think doesn't belong there.
The blue here versus the blue there,
versus the light blue versus the light blue -
that switch, it gives it such a digital appeal.
It doesn't look like it's make-up -
it looks like a digital piece of art.
I wish you had done the body.
Oh! I knew he was going to say that! You know what...?
Chup-chup! Bwah. But... Chup-chup!
I wish you had done the body.
Well, all I can say is you nailed it.
You absolutely nailed it.
Boom-shaka-laka!
That is exactly what I wanted to see.
It is major!
I liked it.
What I really love about it, and this is coming from a photographer,
is that you're thinking about how it's going to look in an image,
and I would be proud to have taken that photograph.
I think it works from every single angle, which is incredible.
So congratulations.
Thank you. Well done.
If you'd like to go next door,
we have a very tough decision to make,
because one of you will be going home.
I think we got some incredible make-up today
and I was really worried because I was coming in today,
thinking, "Who are we going to have to let go?"
But I feel that one person made that really easy for us.
The judges have reached a decision in terms of their final two.
You've all pushed yourselves both creatively and emotionally,
and we've really seen the incredible passion in all of your work.
But you can't all win.
The MUA going home is...
..Leigh.
I am sad, obviously,
but I'm so proud of myself for getting this far.
Walking in eight weeks ago with almost no experience
and making it to the final is mind-blowing.
I let myself be held back before
and I was too worried that I didn't have the experience
but I think being here has shown me that that doesn't matter.
Just two MUAs remain.
In order to decide the winner,
Val and Dominic will look back at their portfolio of work
ahead of the final face-off.
Before I started this competition, I was lost.
But now the biggest thing that I've learned
is to believe in yourself.
So, Nikki...
There's lots of ambition but just not enough time to execute it.
This is where we started to see
how Nikki was adapting to the feedback we were giving.
And then she produced what I think
is one of my favourite images from Nikki.
I thought it was so brave that she used wool.
I thought that was pretty cool.
In week one, I sort of said, "I need you to unleash the beauty beast."
And here she is.
This is just so rich.
I love it.
I mean she has gone and exploded with colour,
and I'm really proud of her for doing that.
I mean, this is a professional make-up artist.
Whatever happens in there, and whoever wins,
I gave it everything I had.
I produced some looks that the judges have literally
lost their minds over and I'm just hoping that they can see that...
..I've got it. You know?
Ellis. I mean, it was just so cool, so simple.
Bosh!
However, in the monochrome week, he didn't know what he was doing.
Yeah, no, I didn't get this look at all. Mm...
I wasn't too sure about this. No, this look totally split us.
I thought it was marvellous.
And then we end on this.
He came into this workroom today with a fight.
He has such passion.
We have before us two very accomplished, very skilled,
very technically excellent make-up artists.
For their final test of skill,
Nikki and Ellis must compete in one last face-off.
The thing this time is the face-offs are so different.
Nikki had to win the face-off to survive.
This face-off is about winning the competition.
It's a different mind-set.
You're no longer running on adrenaline
of fear of being eliminated,
you're running on confidence of how good you are.
The other MUAs call me the face-off assassin.
I don't know how I survived four face-offs.
They joke about it and they're like,
"Don't go into the face-off with Nikki, she'll send you home,"
but do you know what? It's probably true.
But what I've done before has worked.
I mean, I could do it again.
As always, Ellis and Nikki will face off
over a pair of identical twins.
Today, what we would like to see is a complete make-up look -
lashes, liner, lipstick.
The texture and the finish of whatever you choose to do
is entirely up to you.
Just remember - this is your very last chance so bring it!
You're going to have 45 minutes to get your kits
and complete a full look.
Your time starts now.
So, we're at the final face-off,
and it's all about make-up's most wanted.
It's what everybody wants -
it's polished skin,
it's a beautiful eye detail,
it's a groomed brow.
Everything's got to be on this face,
but it's got to be done with precision symmetry and balance,
all within time pressure.
They both took so long doing the foundation.
They should have got the eyes done and they should be then playing
with the precision of tidying little things.
We need to see a total make-up look.
MUAs, that's us halfway through. Halfway.
Ellis is sweating.
I mean, understandably, he's never been in a face-off.
He's never seen the girls
so he hasn't worked out what to do on their face.
Whereas Nikki, she's been here four times previously.
Is he scared of the face-off assassin? Yeah.
Nikki is very methodical.
She's laying things out in a very precise manner.
Ellis's - it's a bit freer, it's a bit louder.
But I'm really loving both. It's neck-and-neck.
MUAs, you've got two minutes left. Two minutes.
One minute.
Five, four, three, two, one.
Stop what you're doing.
ELLIS SIGHS
You OK? Yeah, yeah, I'm just sweaty.
Val, Dominic, I'm certain you'll want a closer look.
Absolutely.
Dom, what do you reckon?
There were issues with symmetry in both of them.
However, Ellis, I really loved the power that you went with his look.
And, Nikki, you're precision queen,
like you got some great points on there.
It's really, really hard to call.
OK, guys, this is it.
Over the past eight weeks,
it's been so much hard graft,
there have been highs, there have been lows,
lots of tears.
Incredible work.
What we've seen over the weeks from you guys has been amazing.
We've seen progression,
we've seen commitment,
and we've seen bagloads of creativity.
But who's gonna be crowned champion
and bag that prize that money can't buy -
working with a global agency
alongside some of the best make-up artists in the world?
And the winner of Glow Up...
..is...
..Ellis.
Ellis, congratulations, you are the winner.
Ding dong, darling. You did it! You did it!
I was pinching myself the whole time, thinking,
"No, she didn't just say my name, she didn't just say my name."
I wasn't I expecting to win. Like, I've never won anything before.
Like, I've literally never won anything,
so the fact that, like, I've come to this competition
and beat out people who are so talented...
It... It just...
It doesn't seem real.
I'm so proud of you.
I'm really happy that I didn't get eliminated
throughout the whole competition.
I definitely feel like not only do I leave this competition
as a runner-up, which I'm so proud of,
but I'm a completely different woman.
Also, Dominic did say that I was a precision queen,
so I'm going to take that title.
Oh, my God.
I've literally been given the start of my career,
like I, literally, am going straight into this
with the approval of Val, who's one of the biggest people
in the industry, and Dom's approval as well,
and it just sets my career up to a point where...
..I'll be able to do what I love every single day.