Dora Black / 19 May 2025 / Categories: Movie and TV Shows, TV Show, People, TV Presenters, Creative

Glow Up BBC 3 Reality opportunity for make up artists

Show showcasing MUA talent and giving a break into the creative industry

Living the dream has never been harder, talent make up artists with a talent and the passion to succeed find themselves either working for free, shadowing someone already in the in club, stuck on a retail counter doing free makeovers for survival or resigning themselves to wedding make up, the only time anyone is happy to pay a professional for make up services.

The world of fashion runways and photo shoots, editorial shoots and the top photographers, celebrity hair stylists and super models is about as accessible as front row seats at the BAFTAs unless you have nepotism on your side or you get the luckiest of breaks in what for most is a closed shop industry, that calls from a Rolodex of industry insiders.

Enter stage left the wonderful Val Garland make up artist to the stars and the big brands who with her side kick Dominic Sinner out the contestants selected from thousands of applicants through their paces.

Now in it’s 7th season can you believe it, the show is hosted by super model Leomie Anderson who took over from Maya Jama season 5, who took over from Stacey Dooley season 3.

It’s a typical elimination format; each week contestants face a technical and creative challenge. After the technical challenge two contestants are placed in red chairs with a 15 minute disadvantage for the longer creative challenge.

After the creative challenge the contestants who don’t “beat the seat” end up facing off against each other in a 15 minute purely technical make up challenge using identical twin models and the losing contestant goes home.

The winner of the show is crowned Britains Next Make Up star and receives a contract worth an undisclosed amount from Wall to Wall Media part of Warner Bros. Production Ltd, to kick start their career, basically an in. The BBC don’t disclose what the contract is worth but I have watched season 2 winner Ophelia Liu go from strength to strength in the industry since her impressive win in 2020. It was Ophelia’s creative talent that got me hooked on the show. I didn’t watch season 1.

I watched the first episode of season 7 and we got to meet the 10 people selected to take part this year. And saw a talented MUA Joe from Wales go home when his “Floating eyeliner” or double winged eyeliner; where one line is tightlined along the lash line of the upper lid and the second line sits above, floating with a gap in between, failed to impress the judges.

When you see Val Garland, seasoned make up artist and judge, with her “Ding Dong” catch phrase seal of approval, do the demo she makes it look so easy.

The best things about the show. Number 1 Val Garland, she’s warm, she’s kind, she’s a genuine expert and she definitely gives the impression she wants every person selected to take part to be successful. This show isn’t about shock exits, humiliation and or making a fool of anyone. It’s about the work and what is delivered on the day on a level playing field environment. You do get nerves and sideline commentary as things go wrong or right but at the end of the day it is all about the work.

In the first episode we saw contestants follow a technical brief from Mua Isamaya FFrench for a fashion show runway presentation of fashion designer Harri, catapulted into super stardom status when he dressed Sam Smith in an inflatable suit for the Brits in 2023. Personally I didn’t get it, there again it’s art and clearly loads of people did.

The show’s make up included a technical application of a prosthetic to cover the brow, a task that separated the field and left Ailish and Rahuel in the red chairs.

Rahuel escaped the “Face Off” elimination producing a look the judges loved even with a 15 time penalty and Ailish managed to survive with her Optic bright blue floating eyeliner challenge, sending Joe home, showing how exciting the format can be even in the early stages.

It’s hard to predict at this stage who the super talent is this year, the Ophelia Lui of season 7 - no “ding dings” as yet from Val Garland. If you like make up, fashion, business, creative industry or just enjoy seeing people going for a dream it’s super authentic TV I LOVE watching and following.