Cue lights. Cue rain.
It's showtime.
Ten MUAs are taking on the make-up world.
Strap yourselves in. Ooh, OK.
You're, like, my first-ever model. Aw!
They'll be judged by industry heavyweights...
It's too much! Oh, yeah, that's great.
I'm scared. This looks amazing. I think it's really cool.
..working on professional assignments...
The shape is still not there. She's not getting it.
You need to get a move on, move on, move on. OK.
It is fierce.
..and demonstrating their talents in the creative briefs.
Sometimes you have to shout. Ooh!
Poof! My mind is blown.
I look a bit like Piglet, innit?
You have definitely dinged my dong.
HE SHRIEKS HAPPILY CHEERS
Nearly wet myself. Please don't.
This is the power of make-up to tell a story.
Each week, the two who fail to deliver...
If you're not careful, you're going to fade into the background.
..will go head-to-head in a face-off until just one remains
to win the contract, assisting some of the biggest make-up artists
in the business.
It's going to be a very big statement.
It's time to Glow Up.
Last time... This is crazy. ..the MUAs tackled their first assignment.
Feel like a little chef in this kitchen.
Where Ryan and Nance's looks fell short.
There's too much make-up.
At Glow Up Studios... ALL: Ooh!
..Yong-chin dazzled...
Ding-dong, darling.
..Charlie bowed out and Mikael fought back.
Y'all thought you were going to get rid of me!
For the past 150 years, this stage has hosted some of the biggest names
in entertainment, from the Beatles to Beyonce.
And today, the MUAs are here to create show-stopping looks
for the cast of the world-famous Cirque du Soleil
for their latest hit show, Luzia.
It's time to put their looks in the spotlight.
Having started out as street performers,
Cirque du Soleil has redefined the circus genre.
Wowing over 180 million people worldwide,
their latest production features amazing acrobatics,
fabulous costumes and fierce make-up
and is staged here at the iconic Royal Albert Hall.
CHEERS AND APPLAUSE
MUAS: Ooh, wow!
Morning, MUAs! MUAS: Morning!
Today, you have been booked by the world's largest contemporary
entertainment company, Cirque du Soleil.
APPLAUSE AND CHEERS
And there's a live performance of their show, Luzia, on this stage tonight.
So let me introduce you to this week's guest judge,
who has flown all the way from Canada,
make-up designer Maryse Gosselin.
Hello. Bonjour. Tonight, you will be applying the make-up looks
for nine of our performers in tonight's live performance of the show.
You will need to follow my design guide to replicate
each performer's exact character looks,
and I will be looking for perfection.
Otherwise, I will not allow the looks to go on stage tonight.
I've wanted to see Cirque du Soleil for absolute years,
and now it's wild thinking that
my work might actually be featured in it tonight. It's insane.
This is no time for stage fright.
The MUA that impresses us the most will get a valuable advantage
in tomorrow's creative brief.
You will need to bring it.
We're doing make-up for this show.
This is huge.
No pressure, but tonight's performance is in front of 4,000 people.
Let's go. CHEERS AND APPLAUSE
With just two hours to get ready for showtime...
So let's have a nosey.
..the MUAs have each been assigned a character
and must exactly replicate their look,
watched over by Cirque du Soleil's make-up supremo, Maryse.
Luzia represents the light and the rain.
We express the rain part throughout the blue band
that the artists have across their sight.
We wanted to have something on our performers that would link
them all together, like a tribe.
And the make-up artists will need to replicate my design
as accurate as possible.
"Shape the band of colour by going up to the temple."
If our MUAs don't follow the brief exactly,
their look won't be allowed to go on the stage tonight.
To get rave reviews from the judges,
the MUAs first have to produce a perfect blue band.
The starting point for each of their looks.
I'd go out like this. I love it.
I'd go out with a full band.
They'll then need to nail the additional details that make each
of their looks distinct.
Moustache?! Nice.
While Yong-chin must precisely replicate thinly arched brows
for her acrobat...
Reminds me of the eyebrows I used to do
on myself when I was 12, trying to do make-up with a Sharpie.
Nance is tasked with reproducing the pole-artist's vivid pink eye.
Precision is really important,
especially with the eyes, because the focus is on the eye.
And Kris, who's been assigned the contortionist,
must perfect a statement brow.
The performer has to look a bit mysterious, so he will need to keep
the shape of the brow as similar as he sees on the final pictures.
It's super important for me to do well today
because I work on circus performers in a circus-themed club in Soho
in my day-to-day job. So fingers crossed I should smash this.
28-year-old Kris, from Donegal, has a lifelong passion for art.
When I was a kid, it was kind of the flamboyant, overweight,
ginger gay kid.
Had a lot going against me in younger years.
I was painfully shy, so I didn't have a lot of friends
and I used to get bullied quite a lot.
However, there was one thing that people could not deny me.
They would be like, "You're really, really good at art."
So, like, my superpower has always been my creativity.
During lockdown is basically where I taught myself how to do
all prosthetics and all make-up.
I feel really ready to show the world my superpower,
so I'm just trying to do all the prep work and just go in...
HE CLICKS TONGUE
..and give it my all.
So I love what Kris is doing for the eye right now.
It's very nicely applied, well done.
But the contouring is a little bit too heavy.
Is there any way back from the heavy contour?
He should try to blend as much as he can.
It's all about replicating the designs.
And right now he's not observing the shapes right.
This isn't one where you can really freestyle, is it? Not so much.
It's important that whenever they are all together on stage,
they kind of look the same.
Beautiful.
While other MUAs work on aerial artists and singers,
Mikael has his hands on a juggler.
SINGSONG: Mikael!
Hi! How are you finding it?
It's really nice, actually. This is right up in my street.
You're in your element.
If he would give me the opportunity, I would actually take his place.
I already know what make-up goes where... I was gonna say!
You've got the look down.
I might be taking your, you know, your place today.
I...
Girl, we will finesse it. We'll work on it.
We will finesse it. I could just... Yeah.
Don't do it. You'll teach me, though.
So we're feeling really confident, then, today? Yeah, we are. Good.
23-year-old Mikael, who started doing make-up just one year ago,
moved to London as a teenager.
Growing up in Ghana, the sun was shining.
Everything was good.
When I moved to UK, it was a culture shock.
Immediately I stepped outside the airport,
I was like, "What on earth is this?" And it was cold.
The adjusting was pretty hard.
Back home, I didn't see, like, boys doing make-up.
So when I got over here and then I saw all that, it just drew me in.
When it comes to make-up, it has definitely changed the way
I express myself.
The style that I'm best at is dramatic.
It gives me the opportunity to be weird and go, like, the level
that I know that I can go.
I look in the mirror, I'm like,
"Oh, you are the baddest B on Earth.
"Honey, you are a force to be reckoned with."
So we're good over here. Yes, we are. All right. Fantastic.
I'm loving this, doll. My fringe? Yeah. I need it, though.
You need to give it. I'll clip it off.
You can have it off after. Thank you. All right, babe? Yeah.
Artists, we are one hour into the make-up.
That's gone quick. Which means you have one hour left.
One of the key skills our MUAs are going to have to conquer today
is speed, because there is no time to waste backstage
on a theatre production.
These performers, they've got to be on stage.
Ooh, there's still a bit to go, actually. Oh, my God.
We've got 4,000 people coming in the door
in just a couple of hours' time.
We cannot run out of time during this one, can we? We can't.
An hour left?! Have a brew, put me feet up...
How are you getting on? I see loads of make-up on the face.
Absolutely loving life.
Have you got any theatre experiences yourself? You a singer or dancer?
I have a lot of performers in my family. Really? Yeah.
My grandad was a Rod Stewart impersonator. No way.
Yeah. My uncle was an Elvis impersonator.
# You ain't nothing but a hound dog
BOTH: # Crying all the time. #
Oh, my God...
Oh, my gosh. What are we doing?
When you're doing stage make-up, the make-up needs to look
good from the front row, but also project all the way up to the gods.
Impact is the most important thing, so you need to really make sure
that the colour is strong.
Like all the MUAs, Adam will need to make sure his footballer's
look packs a punch from up close and afar.
Hi, Adam. How is it going so far? I think it's going great.
Thank you so much. Watch your proportions.
OK. Maybe on your forehead. OK.
Look at your final pictures and make sure
that you have the same placement. OK. OK?
So Adam needs to be careful not to take the band too high.
Why is it so important?
We have to make sure that the artists are seen well from...
..could be like five feet, but it could be 50 feet.
It's important to accentuate those features.
The band should actually move with the eyebrow muscle,
so putting it higher is going to take out expression.
How is he going to fix that band?
He really needs to take that colour out before he starts
with the foundation.
Too high, maybe.
One of the things that our MUAs are going to have to bear
in mind is endurance.
This make-up has to last.
It's got to look good under the heat.
It's got to look good under sweat.
And in this case, in the rain.
CHEERS AND APPLAUSE
To ensure their make-up can withstand the elements
in tonight's show,
the MUAs will need to apply plenty of powder to their looks.
I have got it all down you. I'm sorry.
They really need to go with a powder puff and press the powder
on the face to make sure that they set everything very well.
We want to make sure that really the make-up will last throughout eight hours of sweat, lights.
But once the powder is on, there's no coming back from there.
Everything is set. Yeah, no return. Yeah. The dreaded powder.
OK. Make sure before you set, over the eye area that you look
anything that needs to be blended, that's not blended right now.
Is there any line that you see right now that you don't see on the picture?
Just make sure that it's the right shape. Yeah. OK?
Eyebrows.
She's about to powder,
and I still see some lines that she should blend.
So she has to be careful.
If she does put powder over those lines, it's going to set them
and they're going to stay there.
Ten minutes before I need your performers ready.
To complete their looks, the MUAs must add foil details,
known as appliques,
a tricky process requiring patience and precision.
The foil placement might be hard for our MUAs.
I feel like I'm doing something I'm not supposed to be doing to you right now.
What they will need to do is make sure that they apply the glue first.
Leave it to dry around two minutes.
So how was your day?
And then they could transfer the foil.
But they will need to unfold it towards the skin.
A bit like a Band-Aid.
Yay!
Yes!
Ryan's actually cutting out little patterns and sticking them on,
which he should just take the glue, let it dry, take the foil
transfer paper and just rip it off. He's going the hard way.
He's really going the hard way right now. Bless him.
Did I rub it enough?
Nance looks a little bit stressed out. What is going on?
She's holding her foil transfer paper on the wrong side.
Oh, no!
She's going to need to redo the glue, re-let it dry
and reapply on the other side of the foil.
Please stay.
Yes!
Yes. Well, a little bit.
Time's up.
I need your performers now.
With 4,000 people making their way to the show...
My heart is like...
..it's up to Maryse to decide which looks deserve to make it
on stage and whose fell short.
Fingers crossed mine is good and they don't pull it out.
Mikael... Hiya. ..your juggler is signed off to do the show tonight.
Yay! Congrats.
Nice one. This look is signed off. Congratulations.
Thank you so much. That's amazing.
I think she's off to go do the show as well.
THEY SQUEAL HAPPILY
Good job, Lisa. Thank you so much.
Overall, she looks great.
So she's signed off to go into the show tonight. Congrats.
Knowing that my look is going to be on the stage tonight,
I feel like I want to brag to the world.
I'm so happy. I'm so happy. I'm so happy. I'm so happy.
Hi, Ryan. Hi. Are you OK?
All you needed to do was put the foil sheet on and release it.
Take it way. Right.
So, unfortunately, this look will need some touch up tonight before the show.
But thanks for trying.
Thanks.
It's just a few elements that I tripped up on a little bit.
Which I'm a bit gutted about, really.
I just hope that my work can be shown on the main stage.
The idea of my work being pulled out of the show because it's not
up to scratch is worrying.
The contouring, unfortunately, is a bit too bold.
I will need to touch him up before the show.
Just to tone down a little bit the boldness of the colours.
OK. Oh, that's unfortunate.
Hey, Yong-chin.
This application has some really good points,
but I feel like I will still need to touch her up.
She's a bit too heavy under the eye.
Thank you.
It's definitely disappointing to sort of not nail a challenge
that you're quite excited to do.
I think I sort of wanted to smash it and I didn't.
Straight ahead.
My work going on stage, I'm telling you.
Look at that.
Are you seeing this?
Sometimes I get overconfident, don't I?
Signed off to go into the show tonight. Oh, my God. Thank you.
Congrats. I'm so happy.
Good job.
With six looks signed off for tonight's performance,
the judges now need to decide whose make-up stole the show.
So this is Adam's performer.
This blue is a real strip across the face. Right.
There's no angles. It's straight across.
And that silver... Right. ..is really sparkling.
It's beautiful. Yeah, that's what should really catch the light.
He's got nice finesse.
I thought Mikael did well with the mask.
He did the right proportion.
And he also had to, you know, refine the beard a little bit
to have more of a macho look, which turned out well and it flows
well with the hairline also.
I think that's the best applique application that I've seen.
Next look is Lisa's.
The foil is really well-placed.
The eye looks good. Overall, the performer looks amazing.
The make-up just tells the right story.
Star performer shortlisted and showtime just moments away,
the judges must also decide which MUAs have failed to shine.
So we have three performers that will need their make-up touched up before the show.
Yong-chin, Kris and Ryan.
I am feeling a little bit nervous that I could find myself in the face-off chair tomorrow.
This is Kris's performer.
He should have a bushy eyebrow, but definitely they are a bit
more thick and less precise than what I asked for.
The intensity of the blue and the brow from a distance,
when you're up there, you're not going to see it.
It would just look quite solid.
We will need to touch him up before the show,
tone down a little bit the contouring.
It's a bit heavy right now, especially under the cheekbones.
So this is Ryan's performer.
I feel like Ryan is creating more of a beauty look by making
that blue lift up with the cheekbones and the contour,
there's those sort of classic beauty angles, which this isn't.
This is theatrical, this is stage make-up.
So...disappointing. Mm-hm.
This is Yong-chin's performer.
I feel like there are some lines that are a bit too bold on this side
of the bridge of the nose.
This lip should have also been a bit smaller, bit more bow shape.
So we've got three contenders here for the face-off chairs. Right?
It's going to be hard to pick which two go in.
Mm, what a day! A little bit disappointed.
I think I'm definitely anticipating to be in the red chair.
Oh, the same. Could see me, you and Kris.
Finally, it's curtains up on the MUAs' looks.
ANNOUNCER: Sit back, relax and enjoy
Luzia: A Waking Dream of Mexico.
Guys, about this time right now, our make-up is on stage! I know!
That's so crazy.
CHEERS AND APPLAUSE
That's a lot of eyes on your work.
I know! That's, like, what a debut.
Is that a "pinch me" moment, Rachel?
It's a pinch-me! "Pinch me!"
THEY LAUGH
So, you feel confident that you're not going to be in the red chair?
I feel like, once she signs you off...
LAUGHTER
..don't even try it.
Whoa.
At Glow Up Studios,
the MUAs are about to find out whose off-brief looks have
landed them in the face-off chairs.
Does anybody think they're going to be in them chairs today?
Through process of elimination, if only three of us got touch-ups,
then there's only two chairs...
I think the silver foiling threw everyone off.
My tinfoil stuff had to get touched up.
I think I might be in the chair.
Good luck, my lovelies.
Let's go.
If an MUA finds their name on a red chair,
they're headed for the face-off elimination
at the end of the day.
Oh, shut up. I'm in the blue.
Yeah.
Kris, Ryan, you are in the face-off chairs,
which means you'll have 15 minutes less to start your look today.
Kris, you are in this position because the contouring was
a bit too hard and harsh.
So, I needed to correct it before the artist went on stage.
And Ryan, your foil application was misread how to apply,
ending up to more time-consuming on your end and making
the pattern a little bit wrong.
There was one MUA that really impressed me.
The intensity of colours were amazing -
and that make-up artist is Mikael.
HE GASPS
CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
As a reward,
you have 15 minutes of advice from Maryse.
Thank you!
APPLAUSE
Today, we want you to create high-impact body-painted looks
inspired by all things weird and wonderful.
Take into consideration your model's arms and hands to deliver
an over-the-top dramatic look.
So, are you ready? ALL: Yes!
Right! Bring in the models!
THEY EXCLAIM
Hi!
You're so gorgeous!
Kris and Ryan, you'll have 15 minutes less,
so I'll let you know when you can start.
The rest of you will have three-and-a-half hours.
Your time starts now!
The only way for Kris or Ryan to beat the seat...
Such a gentleman. Thank you so much.
..is to blow the judges' minds with their weird and
wonderful creative brief.
15 minutes will feel like ages. It's so exciting.
This is the first time we've done a body thing.
Let's get your top off.
We're really pushing them.
Story behind my creative brief is based on, like, a celebration
of Chinese New Year.
It's just a whole celebration of life, food, wealth, everything.
My brief is based on the Venus flytrap.
I had a fear of being eaten by a Venus flytrap.
I am just such a massive nerd.
So, everyone's going to be like, "Why are you doing that?"
You've gotta embrace that, though. LAUGHTER
Kris's weird and wonderful look is inspired by his fascination
with Alice in Wonderland.
Talk me through your look.
My look today is inspired by the Cheshire Cat.
I think that the cat's smile is just a little bit unhinged.
I think myself, you know, there's definitely a little bit something
that's a little bit different, and those kind of differences,
I did not necessarily use to like about myself, but I think
as you get older, you appreciate the things that make you different
are the things that people will then someday celebrate about you.
So, the plan is to get the model to stand with arms across the chest,
so then the canvas is, like, extended out, and then,
paint the smile across the arms.
Do you want to do a little practice? Yeah. There we go!
So, we'll have all of this to work with!
I look a bit like Piglet, innit? It's going to come along!
So, I'm creating some sort of flower sea creature.
Because nature is weird and wonderful at the same time.
I'm going to do prosthetics, and I have to get them right
in order to impress the judges.
Bill and Ben, the flowerpot men. The flowerpot men!
LAUGHTER
"Wee-ee-eed!"
Like Nance, Sophie's body paint is also inspired
by life under the sea.
It's like a half between sea creature, half-alien.
I've always had an interest in aquatic worlds.
And, like, the deeper you go into the ocean,
the more alien the worlds become.
I've got to airbrush all these prosthetics,
so I'll get that done first.
I just need to make sure that everything is painted up
how I want it to be.
If you could just hold the foam and the bald cap for me...
The third MUA basing their look on a watery world is Lisa.
It's going to be, like, a crustacean, kind of, king.
So, the outside is going to be all armoured crab plating.
And then, when he opens his hands,
it'll have a bit of a horror aspect to it.
So, these represent all the little pincers and bits
going on in a crab's mouth.
Lisa needs to flatten the hair before she puts the bald cap on.
What is that?
No, that's something underneath. Oh, that's part of her design.
That's part of her design! OK!
It was just like a piece of foam packaging that you get
when your parcels are delivered.
And I just cut it into a bit of a crab shell shape,
cos I just wanted to alter the shape of his head a little bit.
That's really interesting.
Kris, Ryan, you can start now!
OK, be right back.
15 minutes that's taken me. That's a long time.
Oh, sorry, darling.
Yay!
That looks really good. Yeah.
Ryan's weird and wonderful look is inspired by his interest
in the paranormal.
My look is about seeing the unknown.
A very spiritual thing.
It's kind of seeing things that aren't really there.
It's going to be very weird and wonderful.
Very eccentric, very expressive, and very abstract.
Look straight ahead.
Adam's going straight in with the green body paint.
It's a good start, because I tell you, three-and-a-half hours
is going to go real quickly. They've got to get the paint on.
21-year-old Adam is hoping to capture the essence of
a woodland pixie for his look.
Hello, my leafy honeys!
What is happening over here?
So, I'm turning my character into, like, a mythical forest fairy.
And I can see some ears... Yeah. ..on the table.
You're going to whack these on? Yes.
Right, how do you...?
HE CHUCKLES
Cute!
THEY EXCLAIM
Meow! That's how I imagined them to sound like.
We know what we're doing for next year's Halloween!
I know, that would be a look!
So, these are definitely looks that are out of your comfort zone?
Yeah, well out of my comfort zone,
I do what you're probably wearing right now with make-up.
So, my make-up is definitely glam, glam, glam.
The dream job for me would definitely be to become
a celebrity make-up artist.
But when I said to my family I wanted to do make-up,
it was definitely quite the thing, coming from my background.
There's not very many male Pakistani MUAs.
It's a beautiful culture to be part of,
but there was a lot of judgment.
There was a lot of, "He shouldn't be doing it.
"He shouldn't be touching a woman's face."
Last year, I lost my dad,
which was the hardest thing ever.
God bless him.
He didn't quite understand what I love about make-up,
but in the very end, before he passed away, he definitely did.
He always used to say, like, you know, "You're my brave lion."
And my name, my birth name means "lion" in Arabic.
I understand now I was supposed to lead the pack, lead the family.
And I hope that I can make him proud on this competition.
And what are we going to do on the face?
Just like a gorgeous, like, blushing moment. Mm-hm?
Just literally, like, I'm winging it, like a fairy would.
Mikael's in the zone.
Feeling very confident.
I'm interested to know when he's going to use you. Me, too.
And the trick is to actually use you at the beginning.
That's what I would do, if I would be in that situation, for sure.
Hey, champion! Heyo!
Well done. Thank you.
And you've got the advice that you can take at any point.
Yes, yes, yes.
And what is your look? Talk me through it.
So, it's about social media, how humans have been plugged in.
You're going to see circuit board, and also parts of robots.
So, he's being built as we speak.
So, you're going to see loads of wires coming out.
I'm sorry, I'm going to get in the belly button.
It's fine, you're good.
It's kind of a nice belly button. Thank you. I grew it myself.
Wow! That was fast.
That was super fast.
I'm loving, like, how the paints are going on.
Everything's going in my favour at the minute.
She's proved she is an innovative painter.
She's very competitive, as well.
She's going to want to own this challenge.
Cor, I'm excited.
Put your arms up for me.
Like that? Yeah. Perfect.
I've got a lot of prosthetic work, so I'm a bit worried about
the timing of it, but I'm hopeful I can get it done
in this short time period.
DOMINIC: We are 35 minutes in, and Sophie's model looks like he's
still waiting for the bus.
He's waiting for the bus, for sure.
Who told me to do this?
THEY CHUCKLE
She's a ditherer. Rachel's dithering.
I've done, like, two layers of glue so far.
And now, I'm going to start with the prosthetic.
To wow the judges with their body paint,
the MUAs need to cover their model's whole torso and ensure that their
look is detailed enough to impress.
We're asking them to create more than just this,
like, we're asking them to do this, and arms, and hands.
That is, like... We've got to get the make-up on!
ROLLS: R-R-Right, then!
Let's paint, paint, p-p-paint!
So, I'm going to start painting you black.
Say goodbye to your nice skin! HE CHUCKLES
Just using your body as, like, a canvas, essentially.
"Paint me like one of your French girls."
"Paint me like your French girls!" LAUGHTER
Your body is so great to paint on.
Well, thanks.
You're doing a great job. Thank you.
One hour gone, my lovelies!
Just going to go quickly... with the highlight.
Sophie's got the real chance of actually not completing
this creative brief, because all they had done was just airbrush
the prosthetic pieces.
They still need to integrate this with the rest of the canvas.
I think that's all the prosthetics painted.
Apart from this guy, I forgot this guy!
It really covers my tattoos very well.
Yeah, really good coverage.
I'm looking at Kris's work, and I'm getting a scuba diver,
and he's wearing goggles. I'm seeing goggles.
You look like you got attacked by a squid.
How do you feel? That is so sick.
Oh, my gosh!
Whoa.
It's cold, innit?
Oh, my God, it's Jaws!
SHE LAUGHS
Hello. Hi!
This looks cool.
It is a Venus flytrap.
How come you're doing a Venus flytrap?
Cos they're just so different from all the other plants
that I've ever learned about.
The fact that they eat, like, you know, animals,
that just doesn't happen ever.
Yeah, they're usually vegetarian, aren't they?
Yeah, exactly. Plants, vegan, yeah.
Well, they photosynthesize. Close enough.
I'm not very sciencey at all.
This is like the jaws of a shark.
But there is not one lick of paint anywhere. No.
Cos she is being chased by that timer.
An hour-and-a-half has gone!
Please don't come out.
It wants to come out, please don't.
Don't have time for mistakes right now.
Does Nance's model run the risk
of looking like a grown man
in a baby's bonnet?
All he needs is a dummy.
Stick. Stick.
It's going to stick, right? Yeah. Good vibes.
I got the moss online, but when it turned up, it was,
like, actual real-life moss.
So, like, I thought it was going to be artificial and a lot more
easier to stick on, because look at my finger -
ooh, it's gone.
Mm! That feel OK?
I have so much more to do.
Is that a burger bun...?
Yeah, I'm just waiting for a packet of fries.
Ooh...chips.
Did you just lick your lips? Yeah.
Yass, yass!
I can't believe I did that.
That's the smoothest I've ever done.
MUAs, you've got an hour-and-a-half left!
Time is flying.
OK...
It looks pretty all right.
OK, Adam is going into a beauty wonderland, and...
..the beauty make-up does not fit in with the rest of the body paint.
Maybe yellow in the centre? Mm.
Bet this isn't how you saw your day going today!
No.
Looking cool!
I want to get your ears on.
As you can see, everything is coming together.
DOMINIC: OK, so we are over two hours into this creative brief.
And Mikael still hasn't asked for your assistance.
It's true. And it looks like he's pretty much nearly done.
Like, what a wasted opportunity. Right.
MIKAEL: My line work is really good, especially it being a circuit board,
it doesn't need to be straight and perfect.
And I will go over it to make sure everything is good.
OK, do you want to cross your arms there for me, just...?
Ohh, my good golly!
The arms are the mouth.
It's going to be a very big statement!
Oh, yeah!
Yong-chin has really got to get a move on. Yes.
Because at the moment, we can't see the dragon.
The focal point of her make-up is across the chest,
and she hasn't got there yet.
I want the mouthpiece to be made out of clay.
So, I just have to roll this out.
And I want it to be like this sort of swirling moustache.
You have one hour left!
Hello. Oh, hi.
Would I be able to use my 15 minutes now, please? Of course!
Of course, my pleasure.
Gosh, about time.
Talk about leaving it to the last minute.
Have you thought about integrating some highlights into the circuits?
And you know you have those pigments here?
Yes. Use them.
Do you think I should use silver?
Try it. Yeah. Look at it. See how you like it.
Do one that's gold, do one that's white.
Yeah. Look at them.
This is going to be, like, a quick help with the dimension
of your make-up. Definitely.
How far down is the torso?
Is it the whole thing?
Body make-up is going to look different sitting down
to what it does standing up. That's true. Yeah.
There'll be a point where they'll need to get the models
stood up to actually paint.
I feel like it will only be, like, there.
Let's hope so.
30 minutes left!
Tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock!
You have similar hair.
SHE CHUCKLES
I'm really worried about time now.
It's just taking ages to paint.
Freaking nightmare.
Ten minutes left!
Ten minutes.
I didn't imagine my look to go this big,
but I'm actually loving every second of it.
I'm just trying to make sure that I can do something with
these teeth that I've stuck on.
Five, four, three, two, one!
Brushes down, please!
You may now take your models next door to be photographed.
I feel absolutely amazing with the finished look.
I do feel like I went in with a really strong approach,
and I'm just hoping to God that the judges love that.
I don't know what Val and Dom will think of my look,
but hopefully it's positive.
I'm really proud.
I'm very nervous for this judging.
I think that I'm going to find myself in that face-off,
but we'll just have to wait and see.
Kris, would you like to come forward?
I'd like you to tell me about your weird and wonderful story.
My look today is inspired by the Cheshire Cat.
The things that made me a little bit of an outcast when I was younger
later became the things that people celebrated about me.
And I kind of wanted to represent that in my image.
You've got an incredible imagination.
To draw the mouth on the arms -
I mean, there was a tattoo there, and that's completely gone.
But I don't get the cat.
I see an incredible painter.
But is this a cat? No.
I would've liked to have seen some whiskers.
I really love it.
There's so many elements that I think work.
And I loved your use of just getting that black on that body,
and then going in with some colours to sort of pop.
Last week I did comment on your rough and readiness
and I want to see a bit more polish, and I'm yet to see that.
Bring that in and you can do some amazing work.
I really loved how you use the arms in front of the face to accentuate
the 3D part of the make-up.
And I really love how you used such a big tool at the beginning
just to lay down your paint, you were, like, going for it.
Thank you so much. Thank you.
Mikael, please step forward.
This look is completely about how us humans
are deeply plugged into a virtual world
of social media and the internet.
I think if you had a bit more time, you could have highlighted perhaps
some of your outlines and you could use the gold or a white
to make the imagery feel a bit more 3D rather than 2D.
But that is a full body make-up.
I was impressed.
You could have emphasised, towards the end if you had time,
but maybe you ran out of time, to get into those little highlights
in the wire, so to make it just a bit more alive like we discussed.
But overall, I think you did a really good job.
I loved the fact that you kind of gave us
two different sides to your character.
Looks great. Congratulations. Thank you.
Wow. OK, this is amazing.
This is so, so good.
The way you've incorporated the circuit boards to create a skull
was like...
My mind just blown.
And on the side you've got this cheekbone effect as well,
because it really just creates more of this narrative of this person.
Absolutely love it. Well done. Thank you.
Sophie, please come up front.
I'm really obsessed with cosmology.
And like, the further you go down deep into the sea, the creatures
become more, like, alien and, like, glowy.
And this is what I kind of imagine would be up there in space.
You've got all these things that you want to do.
You're telling a huge story.
Huge.
And you've got, I don't know, how many prosthetics?
Probably like...20?
I think you could have used your time a bit more cleverly
and I think we all need to be aware of, in the room, accessories.
We want you to emphasise the make-up.
It's a character - I could see this make-up going on
a Cirque du Soleil show, you know.
I like your use of highlights and shadows.
I definitely would have liked the body to have been more completed.
You have really captured the essence of weird and wonderful.
Like, it is weird, but it is bloomin' marvellous.
I love the colouring.
Like, if we go into the collarbone, I mean, that just...
Like, doesn't it?
Like, you're just going to dive into that.
In your brain, you've got amazing ideas. OK?
So well done.
Thank you.
Ryan, please come forward.
My Auntie Eileen used to say that she used to see ghosts,
dead people - seeing the unknown, essentially.
Like, "Oh, a little boy came when I was in bed last night,"
and tell me all these stories, and I was like, "Oh, lovely."
Used to have these angel cards.
My grandma was a Reiki master, so she did auras and had crystals
and she actually saw an apparition of the Virgin Mary
when she went on a trip with her three sisters.
They all saw a piece of it each.
And I am proper into all that as well.
So my look is essentially about seeing the unknown.
So my references come from, like, Pan's Labyrinth
kind of meets Jackson Pollock. Wow.
If ever a make-up look is representative of the artist,
this is it.
Because it's a little bit chaotic.
It's a lot of, lot of energy.
And your story now makes sense. I get it.
I really love what you did with the eyes. And the splattering!
You know, there was a good energy going on with that.
I got immediately the Pan's Labyrinth and the Jackson Pollock.
It is full body paint, but I would have liked to have seen
some more skill, some more attention to detail.
When you just explained the description of your character,
I did not understand a thing.
I love that energy - don't lose that energy -
but learn when to tone it down and when to use it.
Thanks a lot.
Adam, please step forward.
I wanted to go with the pixie and the human nature within our body
and the human nature for me especially is growth and evolving
in this competition by using elements that are, like,
butterflies that fly and flowers that flourish.
I love your finesse.
I especially liked when you sort of put the moss on and it became
a lot more 3D, and the way you incorporated the hands.
But you're telling two stories here.
You've got this story and you've got what's going on in the face,
and the two don't work together.
So for me, the story is more handled with the accessories
than the make-up.
So I wish you would have taken down the accessories
and paint a little bit more. OK.
When it comes to body paint, it's about body paint.
But what I see at this stage is a lot of skin.
And I just worry that you're not pushing yourself enough.
OK. Because there's other people in this room
that are absolutely killing it. And if you're not careful,
you're going to fade into the background.
Thank you. Thank you.
Rachel, could you step forward, please?
The look was inspired by the Venus flytrap.
I just find the plants very, very smart,
how they've adapted to eating animals in order to survive
because of the conditions that they grow in.
I like the fact that you can get a body paint across
using three colours.
However, I never really like it
when I can see the forehead and then the hair.
And then I look at the elbow and I'm like,
"Oh, in the photograph I can see that there's no paint there."
There's almost like no detail whatsoever.
So just working a little bit more with shadow and highlight
to build that together would have worked better.
And the other thing we can't ignore
is we're missing a lot of paint on the lower half of that body.
Not at all did you ever get your model to stand up.
Because you didn't, it looks half done.
Thank you.
Yong-chin, please come forward.
When I was growing up, me and my siblings would practise
and perform Chinese dancing.
And you would often embody a character
of Southeast Asian mythology.
So for Chinese New Year, it was the Hungry Dragon.
That base was blowing my mind.
It was beautiful.
The swirls and the movement and the brushstrokes.
I mean, look at those, it's just... It's a painting.
But unfortunately, I feel like you ran out of time
and then when you've got up to the top,
it doesn't have the same effect.
You did not need to have that texture around the mouth.
You could have just done it with highlights and shadows.
I think everything was there, but the top half of your work
becomes more like a cartoon, and the bottom half...
If you could have married the two together,
maybe your dragon would have been more menacing.
But you have the skill.
No doubt about that, girl!
Thank you.
Nance, please step forward.
So for this assignment, I thought about incorporating sea creatures
and sea plants.
I love the angle that you came at with this look.
But you spent a long time on the headpiece.
Yeah.
Accessoires - accessories.
For me, this is a symmetric face that you tried to create,
and it would have been more beautiful
if it was the same on both sides.
Nance, I love your colour work.
It's just beautiful. It's just so...
Mmm! It's like ice cream. Just yummy.
Thank you so much. Love it. You are a dark horse of this competition.
Thank you.
Lisa, could you come up front, please?
My look is based on creatures of the ocean.
I took some of the textures, the colour palette and the shapes
from a Sally Lightfoot crab from the Galapagos
to make this sort of alien creature.
I also wanted to add a horror element,
which I hid within the hands.
It's extraordinary.
This is extraordinary for me.
Wow.
Your symmetry is on point.
The colours are blowing my mind.
Wow. This is just wow.
The colours are amazing. That mouth is just freaky.
I also really loved the way you manipulated different products,
different tools, different finishes.
You use paint, you use brushes, then you use airbrush.
I think it's genius.
Well done. Love it. Obsessed. Obsessed, obsessed. Thank you.
When you get great body work and the attention to detail,
that's when you get a really big tick.
And you've brought that to us here.
You created what photographers spend years looking for,
and that is depth of field.
And you took us in.
Ding-dong, darling.
Ding-dong.
Thank you. So cool.
Anyways, please go next door
whilst myself, Dom and Maryse decide
who will be going in to the face-off elimination.
I hope that I've done enough to avoid the face-off this week.
Obviously being in that red chair is not a great position to be in.
I am so impressed with what Kris did.
I love the fact he used the model's arms to create
that distorted big smile, Cheshire Cat look.
What Kris has created is a character.
Yeah. But is it a cat?
I don't see a cat.
I really would have loved him to draw some expressive eyebrows.
But he created proportion and distortion with the arms
and the reshaping of the face.
Let's have a look at Ryan.
I do genuinely believe that I did one of the best.
I don't want to be in that face-off.
He fulfilled the brief.
There is nowhere
that is not covered with Jackson Pollock body paint.
It's a big look. It's a full look.
And from a distance, it's really impressive.
Shall we look at some of the other MUAs that are in jeopardy?
Adam. I definitely think that I should have pushed myself
that little bit more, and, yeah, there is that slight fear
of being in the face-off chairs.
However, I'm not going to let that take over my head.
There's not enough. It's body painting.
And that face, it doesn't connect.
I did like how Adam finished the leaves, and the precision.
I just worry he doesn't know how to go beyond his safety net.
Shall we look at Sophie?
The best prosthetics that they have are
on the centre of the face.
All the other prosthetics do look like they're just stuck on.
They're not integrated enough. I agree.
There's one more person I'd like to take a look at,
and that is Rachel.
I think I could be in the face-off chair
because I don't think my look was completed.
It is a very clean application, but I think it's really lacking
in details and finishing touch.
You can't ignore the fact she didn't finish.
I can see a lot of skin.
Judges, have you made your decision? We have. Yeah.
Ryan, Kris, you two started in the face-off chairs,
and despite having a time penalty, you delivered some great make-up.
However, we appreciate your art,
but you're just not giving us any finesse, so...
..we're going to give you one more chance to prove yourselves.
Congratulations. You've beat the seat. Dom!
I nearly wet myself!
Please don't.
So you know what this means.
We have two face-off elimination seats to fill.
Adam, you spent so much time on your body
that you forgot about the face.
For that reason, you will be our first MUA
going into the face-off elimination.
So that means we've got one seat to fill.
This MUA gave a simple look that wasn't complete.
So the second MUA going into the face of elimination will be...
..Rachel.
Adam, Rachel, please say your goodbyes,
as one of you won't be returning.
I knew there was a possibility I would be in the face-off,
but I'm just going to have to give it everything that I've got.
It can't end here.
I would love to be in this competition a little bit longer,
just so that I can experience more, grow more, evolve more,
and just have my family be really proud of me.
To level the playing field,
the MUAs will face off over a pair of identical twins
and will be tackling a red-hot make-up trend.
We want a mermaid lip that glimmers with a metallic aqua finish.
For a mermaid lip,
start by taking the teal and the pink lip colours
and apply them to different areas of the lip.
Subtly blend those colours together with a brush where they meet.
Press varied glitter colours to the lip
until the lip is completely covered.
We want a symmetrical, well-balanced lip shape
and seamless colour blending.
You both have 15 minutes to complete your look.
The best of luck.
Your time starts now.
Interestingly enough,
they've both used two pencils and done a duo lip.
One of them has put pink colour on the upper lip
and the other... vice versa on the other.
How mad is that? That is so mad!
We didn't ask for one colour on the top and one colour on the bottom.
But you know what? That's what they've done.
Both of them have made a rod for their own back,
because if they'd taken the blue pencil
or the pink pencil and done a lip outline,
then they could have gone in with their colour.
Both lips are going to look unbalanced.
Two minutes to go.
30 seconds to go.
Five, four, three, two, one.
Brushes down, please.
Dom. I think we need a conflab.
DOM: This is a toughie.
I loved the way Adam felt confident going straight in with the blue.
He was able to create a lot more richness, which gives me
that more mermaid effect.
It's almost there, but it's a bit untidy.
Both of them have struggled
and given a slightly fuller upper lip,
and the lower lip is a little bit smaller.
However, because Rachel's gone for the pink upper lip, it looks
brighter and lighter and it gives a more metallic finish overall.
And you can really see the glimmer when you move the face.
I think we've made our decision.
I think we have as well.
Are we in agreement? For once, yes.
Have you made your decision? We have. We have.
Adam, you started strong and were quietly confident.
Rachel, I loved your use of colour, and your blending was impressive.
Adam, your lip lacked symmetry,
and you didn't give us the seamless blend,
which resulted in a two-toned lip.
Adam, please pack your kit.
You're going to go home.
I'm feeling gutted, obviously,
because my journey has come to an end.
But what a beautiful journey it's been.
You did so well. Come on. Thank you.
You did so well.
I am so proud of what I have achieved.
I took that leap of faith. I got here.
This is where my journey has not ended,
it's just starting.
SQUEALING
I'm very happy right now.
Now I know that the dream can slip away that easily,
and I don't want to go there again,
I feel like I've got a fire in my belly,
so it's only going to go up from here.
You lot have all smashed this week, got through it,
and now you really deserve a little bit of rest.
Tension is growing in the room.
And you could cut it with an eyeliner.
SHE LAUGHS
Did I make you...?
Laughing sincerely. Laughing sincerely.
Oh, I made you laugh!
Next time: Find the Doctor,
before I get exfoliated!
Looks fit for a Time Lord.
This is a lot more than I thought.
Add more glitter.
I need to get a move on now.
And at Glow Up Studios...
God, what on earth is happening over there?
Oh, it's so creepy!
..a monstrous creative brief.
I have never seen anything like this.