Glow Up: Britain's Next Make-Up Star

The search for the next makeup star is back.

From thousands of budding makeup artists,

ten of the best MUAs have been selected.

Over the next eight weeks, they will be judged by industry heavyweights…

-My name is Manny. -

I'm so excited by everything about this.

Everybody, be scared.

…working on professional assignments…

Good luck, my darlings.

I'm shooting a music video and I want you to make up the dancers.

If it came out on the set of The Crown, it would be sent back, immediately.

Speechless.

…and demonstrating their talents in the creative briefs.

This is what you do if you wanna win this competition.

Each week, the two who fail to deliver

will go head-to-head in a Face Off.

I'm seeing blind panic.

The loser goes home.

Until just one remains to win the contract

assisting some of the biggest makeup artists in the world.

-And for that, you get a ding, dong! -

It's time to Glow Up.

Glow Up Studios.

For the next eight weeks,

this state-of-the-art workspace will be where this year's aspiring MUAs…

-Oh, my God. -

…attempt to make makeup history.

Fabulous.

Oh, my God.

Being here right now is very surreal for me. I'm excited and I'm scared,

and I'm feeling all sorts of emotions.

We've so much stuff.

I'm here to show what I'm bringing to the table and what I've got.

Do you know what, though?

-Ding, dong. -

This year, the MUAs aren't the only newcomers.

-Hi, everyone! -

-Hello! -

Come on over. Come over.

Hi!

Maya Jama is meow, right?

Her being the host is just perfection.

Hands up if you're the new girl.

-All of you? Everyone. -

So, we're in it together, it's cute.

We love it.

Well, first off, congratulations.

You have been chosen out of thousands of applicants.

There's ten of you,

but only one of you will be crowned the next makeup star.

Luckily, I won't be the one sending you guys home.

Instead, we have two of the most incredible makeup artists in the game.

So make some noise for the iconic Val Garland and Dominic Skinner!

How you doing?

Dominic Skinner has worked at fashion weeks from Paris to Milan,

and is a stickler for technique and precision.

If you wanna make it in this industry, you need tough skin.

There are thousands of makeup artists out there,

but we're looking for the next makeup star.

Val Garland's work has graced style icons and front covers for 25 years,

earning her an unparalleled reputation for artistry and imagination.

I've worked with everyone from McQueen through to Westwood.

So don't go bringing me mediocrity.

I'm looking for extraordinary.

For your first professional assignment,

you have been booked to do a beauty campaign

for a leading health and beauty retailer.

Superdrug.

-Yes! - That's gonna be fun.

The MUA who stands out above the rest

will have their look featured in the shop windows

of 800 stores nationwide.

Oh, my God.

-I'm sweating already. I'm sweating. -I'm shaking.

All right, guys. We're not starting small, get your kits and let's get going.

- Let's go. -

I've been shopping at this store since I was a kid.

Even me nan knows who they are.

For it to actually be in a shop window…

That's a whole other level of excitement.

On every High Street across the world,

beauty campaigns are used to draw customers in and showcase what's in store.

And this retailer is a true High Street heavyweight.

It is really big for our MUAs.

This is a nationwide brand.

It's huge.

Overseeing today's shoot in East London is this week's guest judge.

-Hi, Ateh! -Hello!

-You all right? -Yeah!

Ateh Jewel is an award-winning beauty journalist

who has written for Marie Claire, Glamour and Vogue.

I've been in the beauty industry for 20 years, fighting for diversity.

When I was a young beauty journalist back in the day,

I was ushered away from counters.

I was told, "There's nothing here for you."

And it really told me that I didn't count, I was invisible.

So, we are so much better than those days.

As well as being a trailblazing campaigner for diversity,

Ateh is also the creative director of today's shoot.

-Welcome! -

Now, I would like you to create an eye-catching look

that really reflects that beauty is for everybody,

no matter your skin tone, your age or your gender.

I would like you to think about how you're going to entice and lure in the passerby.

Really focus on skin matching.

Honor your model's skin.

I need my models back in two hours.

Good luck, guys. Off you go.

Hi.

The MUAs have been assigned a selection of models

who reflect the brand's diverse customer base.

I love your freckles. I've got freckles, too.

The brand has super high expectations and standards, just like me.

You want the model to have, like, really, really radiant and glowy skin.

What I'm hoping to see today is excellent technique

when it comes to color matching the foundation.

That's actually quite a good color, OMG.

Please be good.

The looks have to be eye-catching,

it has to be a siren call to come in and have a play.

I wanna go with something colorful, bold,

and that will really show off her natural beauty.

- Ryley. -Hello.

-How are you getting on? -I'm doing what I can do.

I am completely out of my comfort zone.

-Have you ever worked on a model before? -Never.

Never ever?

-No. -Popping the cherry today.

Yeah.

My relationship with makeup didn't actually start off in the best place

because I actually used makeup to hide who I was.

I have a port wine stain birthmark,

and, when I was younger, I really hated it.

So, I got my mum's concealer

and I tried to just cover my birthmark every day.

When I started to mature a lot more,

I realized I don't need to impress everyone. Why?

Now I'm in a really comfortable place with myself.

I absolutely love my birthmark and I feel beautiful now.

Not to be cocky.

I haven't had any professional training.

All of my techniques, skills, knowledge is all self-taught.

All of my looks and all of my makeup is on my own face, done by myself.

Putting my creations on someone else is gonna be really hard for me,

but I can't wait to give it a go.

Try and get your closest skin match.

What do you feel the right way to color match is?

I think the best thing to do is pick two or three colors

which are around your shade,

put them on your cheek, do little stripes.

The color that disappears, that's the color for you.

I go for three different, kind of, undertones to start with.

I can already see this middle shade has completely melted into the skin.

One thing I don't want to see is

that the face is a completely different color to the neck or the hands.

It's a bit ashy. I don't know. It needs to be warmer than that.

See, they come out too pink.

Samah, how are you getting on over here?

Good, you know, we're just trying to find his good foundation shade.

Okay.

He's got a really rich, golden undertone.

You know what you're talking about. You're used to color matching?

Kind of. I work on a counter in West London.

The community is mixed.

What do you do when someone sits in your chair, you're like, "Um…"

You feel like you know what you're doing. Okay, all right.

-See you. -See you.

So, let's try this.

Much better.

Half an hour is up.

I need my models on set in one hour and 30 minutes.

Right, gorgeous. Starting to look fab.

To make the looks eye-catching,

the makeup artist really should focus on color.

I think I'm gonna do a really bold lip.

Like a dark, sort of, pinky-purple.

People are going to be walking past these shop windows,

and they have to be really enticed to come in.

I've chosen golden and red tone shimmers,

which would look nice on camera and his skin tone.

I don't want the makeup artist to be boring and obvious.

I don't want her to look like she has loads of makeup on.

I really wanna make sure it looks really fresh-faced

and something really soft and natural.

I hope people can relate to that.

It's so subtle, but that's what I like about it.

I'm just trying to achieve an eye-catching look.

When the light hits, it's gonna be really reflective.

While most of the MUAs have a plan for their look…

I wanna bring some of the color just around the eyes.

…one is still undecided.

Maybe I should have a little think about this for a second.

They did say color.

And we could make the eye, like, a bolder blue.

Is it enough, though? I feel like maybe pink is more eye-catching.

For entrepreneur Nic,

today's beauty shoot is a far cry from her usual makeup world.

I have my own biodegradable glitter company.

I love the effect that makeup can have on people,

especially when you put glitter on someone.