Glow Up: Britain's Next Make-Up Star (2019–…): Season 1, Episode 5 - West End Theatre - full transcript

[Stacey] It's time to Glow Up.

Today, our final six MUAs are about
to face their toughest challenge to date.

-[Ellis] Where do you think we are?
-I saw a sign that says West End.

-[Steph] Really?
-We're going to the West End. Yeah.

-What's actually on at the minute?
-Kinky Boots.

They've been told to meet me here
at the Adelphi Theatre

where things are about to get kinky.

[Tiffany] It is Kinky Boots.

-[all screaming]
-Yeah!

Oh, my God.

♪ Just be who you wanna be ♪



Award-winning musical Kinky Boots
tells the story

of a band of shoemaking drag queens,
known as the Angels.

For today's professional brief, those
Angels are getting a new makeup team.

Morning!

-[all] Morning.
-I am so excited! You ready?

-[Belinda] Yeah!
-[Steph] Let's do it.

As always, the MUA wannabes will have
to impress Glow Up resident judges

Val Garland and Dominic Skinner.

-Morning, judges.
-[both] Morning!

But this week, they'll also have
to satisfy

Kinky Boots' makeup supervisor
Kate Griffiths.

Today, you've been booked to make up
the six Angels for the show.

Here are your briefs.

Each Angel has their own unique look,
which the MUAs need to replicate.



It's important that the makeup
looks exactly the same.

You have one hour before
the actors need to be ready.

You are running
to the theater's time frame.

So time is tight.

Later on, there's gonna be an audience
there. So you have to bang it out.

'Cause this is a big one, we thought
Kate might need a bit of help

to keep you on time,

so we've brought in
an extra special guest...

-who might know a thing or two...
-Oh, no.

about this type of makeup.

[clicks tongue] Okay?

-Gosh.
-Why is my heart beating so fast?

-Oh!
-[Ellis] Shut up.

[all laughing]

Entering stage left is one of
the biggest queens in drag theater today.

Bam!

-Hi, everyone.
-[all] Hi.

This is Kim Chi.

Finding fame on reality show
RuPaul's Drag Race,

and with her trademark style,
has lit up the world of drag.

Drag culture is definitely influencing
people in the way they do their makeup,

because I feel like ten years ago it was
all about natural, barely there makeup.

But, when you actually go out,
you'll see so many girls

just, like, walking down the street
with full contour,

full cut crease
and, like, a bold lipstick color.

From Kardashian to Gaga,
so many looks we see today

actually come from the world of drag.

Even if they don't realize it, a lot of
our MUAs will know drag technique,

so they should be able
to knock it out of the park today.

They've just got to go bolder, 'cause,
remember, this is for theater

and they've got to stick to the brief.

Okay, so today, I'm looking for
a dramatic transformation,

stage lighting friendly,
and overall polish.

I wanna see you slay the stage
with your makeup.

Now, we have one hour before
the actors need to be ready.

-Okay, let's go, guys.
-[Steph] Let's do it.

Remember, time management.
Time management.

[Steph] Time management...

-Hiya.
-Hello, how are you? Hi, I'm Tom.

With the Angels spending
up to 30 hours a week in makeup...

-I've got Louis.
-That's me.

-How you doing? Take a seat.
-Yeah.

...they know exactly how it should look.

-[Louis] When did you get this?
-[Ellis] Today.

So, have you done drag makeup before?

I've never really done drag makeup before.

-I've tried it once or twice
-Yeah.

If the MUAs fail to get it right
in the next hour, they'll know.

-Oh, babe, I like to be bronze.
-Oh, okay, that's perfect.

Bronze me to the gods.

Theater makeup, the art behind it
is being able to replicate the design

rather than going off
on your own creative tangent.

You have to be able to repetitively create
the same look.

The first stage in getting that look right

is smoothing down the actors' heavy
male eyebrows using a glue stick.

[Kim Chi] Eyebrows, probably the most
important part of drag queen makeup,

because a lot of men
don't have enough space

between their eyebrows and
their actual eyeball.

So you cover your brows to create
more space for eyeliner and eyeshadow.

If you don't do it correctly
and if it's not smooth,

it could look like an oatmeal cookie.

And no one wants
a oatmeal cookie on their face.

We want a smooth surface.

So far, so good.
Which makes me feel a little bit like

I might actually
get finished within an hour.

Or you're on stage with half a face.

I'm hoping I can get it done,
but it's such a short amount of time

when you're not used
to that sort of makeup.

-Do you have a drag name?
-I'm just Ellis.

When I first started, I loved it,
and I used to do drag all the time.

It got to the point where I was doing it
three, four, five, six times a week.

-Mm-hm.
-[sighs]

When I was growing up,
when my mum would go out, like,

I'd sneak into her bathroom

and I'd put on, like,
mascara and stuff like that.

And then, as I got older, I started to
explore more with who I was as a person.

I thought I was transgender and
I wanted to live my life as a woman.

It was, like, a real horrible,
like, phase in my life.

I didn't know what was happening.

So I just used makeup
to create a drag character

because drag is not the full thing.

And makeup made me realize
that I wasn't trans.

I just didn't have confidence
in myself or who I was.

It literally has changed my life
completely, just by doing makeup.

Open your eye, look up.

Sharing Ellis's dressing room is Steph.

With experience in amateur theater makeup,

Steph should also find
today's task manageable.

You've got a lovely bone structure,
darling.

With brows glued down, she's moved on
to the second stage of the look,

caking the face in a thick layer
of powder and foundation,

a technique known as baking.

I sweat so much.
So, I'd really cake it on.

If you think there's enough or too much,
you need to add some more.

I want to see makeup
that's set so tight

that it can last through the entire show.

Even two shows.

'Cause one of the reasons why
drag makeup is so heavy is

performers sweat,
the makeup has to stay on.

Even if they, like, touch their face,
it shouldn't move.

Across the hall...

Just bear with me,
I just need to get some stuff out.

...drag makeup first-timers Nikki
and Belinda have also covered the brows,

but, with the halfway mark approaching,

the Angels are getting concerned.

I don't wanna rush you
but, um, normally...

my base would take about five minutes.

-No!
-Yeah.

Right. I'm moving on.

[Nikki] I'm fighting
my natural instincts today,

because I wanna blend, blend, blend,
but today is not about blending.

I'm still placing shades
where I would place them,

but I just need to, like, stamp 'em on
so it's more visible with the audience,

from afar they can see it.

Throughout the competition,

Nikki has struggled more than most
with time management.

[Kim] Your brow coverage
is really good.

-Thank you. Incredible. Thank you.
-[laughs]

Now we just gotta get the brows on there.

-I know.
-You're running out of time.

I know. I've just gotta get the brows on
and do the eyes.

-Brows, eyes, lips, lashes.
-And still powder.

-I know.
-No pressure.

The MUAs' work will only go on stage
if makeup supervisor Kate is happy.

-[Kate] Hey, how are you getting on?
-Hi.

-Hey.
-Yeah, hi.

I think that the eyebrows could have
been stuck down a little better.

-Yeah?
-Certainly in the inner corner here.

-Yeah.
-They have to last a long time.

We've got two shows of dancing
and singing and sweating to do.

-Yeah.
-These brows have to stay stuck down

for, you know, up to 12 hours now.

-Yes.
-Yes. It's about longevity, isn't it?

[Kate] I'm a bit concerned about
how the MUAs are working.

They should be much further along
in the makeup than they actually are.

The Angels will be expecting
a certain standard,

and if the MUAs don't achieve that,

I'll have to step in
and finish their makeup.

By this halfway point, all brows should be
glued down and foundation applied.

Hello!

Over in dressing room one, Steph is still
not finished with her foundation.

I see a lot of gaps in between,
like, the hairpieces too.

-Okay.
-Sometimes it works better if you take,

like, a lot of foundation
and just shove the foundation in there.

-Set it really hard with lots of powder.
-Okay.

Think you'll be able to finish the makeup?

We've got contouring to do, and then
we've just got the eye work to do,

then we'll be absolutely beautiful.

Only one of the MUAs has moved on

to the third and final stage of the look,
applying color.

I'm really just looking at the picture and
doing exactly what the picture says.

And I'm not kind of adding in
my own stuff because,

that's not what we've been asked to do.

I've literally got, like, a step-by-step
guide in front of me to work from.

It's just going really well so far.

Precision's not key here.

Too much blending
will not show up on stage.

-Yeah.
-We've kind of lessened the blending

to open up the speed, and it just
kind of makes it go a lot, lot faster.

20 minutes to go. All the MUAs
have finally moved on to eye makeup.

I'm a bit worried about time.

He needs to get down
and get his costume and hair done.

Are you happy at the moment?

Mm.

Whew! [laughs]

Okay. Well, it's fine.
We just need to speed it up a little bit.

Don't, kind of, take your time
making really nice lines

because at the end of the day,
we're not doing this for a photo shoot,

it's for theater, so it needs to be done
for quite far away.

Right, okay.

They always say the eyebrows
are the window to the face.

Absolutely, they frame the face
completely, don't they?

Yeah, especially when
we're trying to become women.

I must start on these eyes.

Then I've gotta do the contour,
I need to powder, I need to do the lips,

I need to do the lashes.
I need to do it all in 15 minutes.

An hour's not a long time to do this.
Might be able to get it finished.

Might not.

Not ideal, but...

[Stacey] Kate, are you happy?

There was a lot to be improved.

The audience has to be able
to see the makeup.

You have to have the same impact
from the third row to the back.

[Kim] I just want them
to feel more confident.

I can tell that they're very talented,
but just be bolder with your strokes.

A lot of them were, like,
shaking their hands

because they feel nervous.

Like, just go for it.

They just have to pick up on their speed.

They should be able to put on

a lot more makeup much quicker
than they have done.

Girls, I don't wanna rush you
but we have ten minutes.

-Right. Best get it done, Nikki.
-Yeah.

-Okay, still have to put the brows on.
-Mm-hm.

Well, the colors and everything
look very similar.

Do you think you'll finish it in time?

Maybe just.

No pressure.

-It's only like the biggest competition...
-[laughs]

-The biggest opportunity of your lifetime.
-[all laughing]

I think the eyebrows could probably
be a bit darker.

Okay, thank you.

How are we doing over here?

-It's my first time, so I'm a bit...
-For a first time, it's not too bad.

I will say, though, the brow
is coming up a little bit. It's not sharp.

I definitely want to go back over that.

-[whispers] Time is running out.
-[gasps]

-[snorts with laughter]
-No pressure.

With show time approaching,
the MUAs now have just five minutes left.

Guys, you really do need to be
starting to finish up your looks.

-All right, no worries.
-Thank you.

I need to just...

-touch it up.
-How are you feeling, Nikki?

I'm not going into them chairs again, Bel.

It's a horrible place to be.

Even Ellis is feeling the heat.

I'm sweating like a bitch.

I just need to sort of sort
the lashes out. Get these lips done.

[Kate] You had enough time.

-I need to get these guys into their wigs.
-Guys, I'm ever so sorry.

That's us done now,
you're gonna have to stop.

That was so intense, I am absolutely
exhausted, I am knackered.

Just trying to get so much done
and cover your face chart

of somebody's face
I'd never seen before.

Contour a face I've never seen before.
Make it look the same as the picture.

I didn't get it all finished,

so I literally had like 40 percent
of the lip uncovered.

I've tried my best.
Whatever happens, happens.

[Kim] The models cannot go
on the stage like this.

I'm a little disappointed.

I'm gonna have to take them to Kate
and she'll finish their makeup.

-Angels, shall we?
-Yeah.

While the show must go on for the Angels,
the MUAs have to wait until tomorrow

to find out if any of their looks
made it on stage.

[sighs]

At Glow Up HQ,

the judges must decide which MUA
did the best yesterday

-and which two performed the worst.
-Wow.

They will start the day in the red chairs.

Before we get started,

the makeup you're about to see in pictures
is what the makeup artists did.

But every single actor either touched up
their makeup or reapplied for the show.

-[Val] Really?
-Mm...

Okay, so first up we have

Tiffany.

That's drag at home having a cup of tea.

[Kim] The brow placements
are definitely off, and the color.

The eye makeup and shape
she got... pretty close.

[Dominic] There's definitely a difference
between the two lips.

She went too soft,
and that's not gonna read on stage.

Especially for drag.

So next up we have Leigh.

[Val] This was a very good attempt
at drag makeup,

and he's tried to emulate the photograph.

I think he's done a great job.

I agree.

Belinda, I believe is next.

-She looks like a boxer, not a ballerina.
-[Kim] Yeah.

[Val] The brow color is off.

The eye shape is too straight.

The masculine bone structure is
quite square,

whereas a feminine bone structure is
more diamond.

So, next up we have Nikki.

Really powdery.
Absolutely the wrong color.

He's white under the eyes.

That's too light.

Those brows, no.

[Kim] The lashes are crooked.
If I could, like, summarize this makeup,

I would say approximately applied.

Next, we have Ellis.

If you disregard the lip,
it's not a bad makeup.

[Val] It's not a bad makeup at all.

But it's not the brief, You know,
all the colors are off, they're all wrong.

I'm disappointed,

because if anybody was going
to carry off a drag makeup,

I would have thought
it would have been Ellis.

Steph.

The placement of everything is just
a centimeter off of everything.

The brow is too close to the eyelid,
and her brow coverage is pretty bad.

That's a really weak lip line.

[Val] Where are the lashes? And there's
no beauty spot. It lacks detail.

I understand why the actors
changed their looks.

-If it was me, I'd change it.
-[Dominic] Yeah.

[Val] I think we have a clear winner.

And, I also think we know
who's going into the Face Off chairs.

-I agree.
-Definitely.

Okay, guys, they're ready for us.
[sighs] Best of luck.

-Okay.
-All right.

[Stacey] Okay, you know the score, guys.
Please may you find your chair.

If an MUA's name is on
one of the two red chairs,

they'll go into the elimination Face Off
at the end of the day.

[Ellis] I think it'll be
me and Steph in the red chairs.

We didn't get finished,
we was the only room

who didn't finish off
the models completely.

If I do end up in those red chairs,
it'll be for the fourth time.

That's never a good number so, yeah,

I'm a little bit, sort of, worried.

There's only one way
to escape the red chairs.

Totally wow the judges in today's brief

and hope another MUA takes their place.

Steph, you just didn't bring it.

The face wasn't feminized enough.

It still looked really butch
and masculine.

Nikki, we were asking for a full-on
Friday night and you gave us

a bit of a half-wrecked Monday morning.

[Nikki] Mm.

So, please, the pair of you,
use that feedback,

and deliver us something incredible.

Leigh.

Your makeup impressed us
the most in the brief.

Your makeup was the closest

to replicating the look
that was put in front of you.

So, as your reward, during the brief,

you get ten minutes

of advice, help,

with Kim Chi.

Whoo!

For today's creative brief,

we want you to explore

gender through the power of makeup.

We wanna see kings, queens

and everything in between.

Drag is all about creating art through
gender and transformation.

And that's what I'm looking for.

Are you ready?

Bring in the models!

Hello.

Unlike yesterday, the MUAs have been
allowed to prepare for this brief,

and have been given a model
suited to their ideas.

-You all right?
-Yeah, good, you?

MUAs, you have two and a half hours
for this creative brief.

Nikki, Steph, you will start 15 minutes

after all the other MUAs.

MUAs, your time starts now.

My look today was inspired
by the artist Grayson Perry.

'Cause he doesn't think about gender, he
says he just wears what makes him happy,

and, if that's a dress,
then he'll wear a dress.

Or, if it's to dress as a man,
then one day he'll dress as a man.

I thought that
was really interesting.

So, I wanna bring that into my look by
creating the androgynous female.

So, I'm gonna play a lot with, like,

shapes and colors to show that
you don't have to follow the rules.

I like the idea of almost being,
like, a shape-shifter.

Nikki! Hello, darlin', how are we feeling?

I've just been staring at my model
for the last 15 minutes.

-Every single part of your face dissected.
-Yeah, literally. Literally.

Even though he did best yesterday,

Leigh can still go into the red chairs
if he doesn't perform today.

[Leigh] I want to take the drag look
from yesterday further.

I'd rather try and get it right this time

and show that I'm actually listening
to what the judges are telling me.

Can I get you to pop this headband on for
me, just to get your hair out your face?

[Stacey] Like Leigh, Tiffany is also going
for a male to female transformation.

Mine's just, like, a classic
sort of beauty drag look.

So, I'm contouring, highlighting,

gluing down the brows.

Cut crease, baking, everything. [chuckles]

[Nikki] This is a long 15 minutes, no?

MUAs in the Face Off chairs,
you may now begin.

My concept is based on

how I viewed gender growing up,
within my culture.

It was very male dominant.

Women sort of blend in
to the shadows of the male.

And I wanted to play on that
and create

a really powerful, strong female piece,

but also dehumanize her
to translate that message across.

[Stacey] As part of her powerful
dehumanized gender transformation,

Nikki is adding a catlike twist.

[Nikki] I actually associate
feline features with females.

I think what will be technically difficult
will just be getting the shape of the eye.

I want it to be quite feline and feminine.

The placement and the shape of my eye
socket is gonna be really important.

[Stacey] Of all the MUAs,

only one is working on a female
to male gender change.

My concept for today is

of an elderly gentleman,
a Greek god-inspired sort of thing.

So I want to make sure that I've got
all these wrinkles in the right places

and make sure that it just...
looks convincing. [sighs]

I wanted to bring age into this because
I wanted to be a little bit different.

It's one thing to change somebody
from one gender to the other,

but to go from one age to the next,

I feel it's sort of, like,
giving a little extra.

Something a little bit different
than just your everyday drag.

So, I'm gonna make sure that I deliver it

so that it comes across spot on
and gives me that extra edge

to get out of these seats! [laughs]

-[Stacey] Oh, hi, winner.
-Hello.

[laughs]

With you winning,

-you've bagged ten minutes with Kim Chi.
-Yeah.

How will you use to that
to your advantage?

I'm gonna ask for advice.

And if is she thinks something
could do with changing,

then, that's what I'm gonna do.

When are you gonna call her in?

Maybe when I've got his base done,
when I start his eyes.

The look I'm kind of planning today
is quite a personal one.

I'm kind of creating a look

that I wanted to achieve when I first
started questioning my own identity.

It's kind of, like,
how I wanted to look then,

but couldn't look because
I didn't have the skills.

[Stacey] For his personal drag story,

Ellis will only be using the primary
colors of red, yellow and blue.

[Ellis] The reason I'm going
with primary colors

is that you have to mix them together
to get any color you want.

The primary colors represent me
at the start of my gender journey.

I had all the elements, but I just didn't
know how to use them or mix them together.

I just want the judges to really see that

I haven't just thought about it
on a literal level,

I've actually taken it
to an emotional level

and really created something
that means a lot to me.

They're so pink.

Okay, let me just go light.

I'm just gonna try and keep calm.

[model] Hm.

[Stacey] Nikki isn't the only MUA
struggling with an unfamiliar product.

When your spatula gets stuck in your brow,
you know you've gone too far.

Tiffany has been plastering down
her model's eyebrows for 30 minutes.

[Dominic] Oh, gee...

Wipe off the excess right away.

Yeah, I'd be worried now that it's
getting a little lumpy.

-Yeah.
-You know?

For a professional like you, how long
does it take you to do your brows?

-Five minutes.
-Really?

-Done.
-Yeah.

-Belinda!
-Hello.

- Hello, girl.
-Hiya, you all right?

And is this a gender fluid look?

Yeah, so I want to go for
quite a androgynous look.

I feel so passionate about
blurring those lines.

When I had Alfie was really
when I realized, like,

people were telling me how to dress him
and what he should play with,

and suddenly I was like, "Why?"

-Mm.
-So I really wanna get that across today.

-Good for you.
-Thank you.

-You look great.
-So do you.

-I do look great, correct answer.
-[all laugh]

-Right, see you soon.
-Bye.

I'm just struggling with the texture.
I'm a little bit concerned

about when I put my eyeshadow on,
will it all nicely blend?

You look so cakey.

This isn't supposed to be this cakey,
'cause no one else's looks this cakey.

Maybe with powder, actually,
maybe once I powder it'll look smoother.

MUAs, you've had one hour.
You have 90 minutes remaining.

Keep your eye closed for me a sec.

I'm getting on okay.

But, I think I'm probably gonna
give Kim Chi a shout in a minute,

just for a little bit of advice, so she
can tell me how I'm actually getting on.

Open your eyes a sec. You can open.

It changes your eye shape.
That's what I wanted. Close them again.

-Hi, Leigh.
-Hello.

You summoned my help?

Yeah, because I've never really done
traditional drag.

I kind of wanted to toy with
changing the shape of his face and,

changing his eye shape.

Well, so far from what I'm seeing,
you could probably make the crease higher,

just completely, like, regard
what his eye looks like

and create a new feature.

Okay, I like that idea
of making his crease bigger.

-Think of it as opening up the feature.
-Okay.

Ignore his natural feature.

You're painting on a new world.

-Okay, that's great.
-You could even go higher if you wanted.

-Do you think?
-Yeah.

See, you're still playing off
of his natural feature.

-You want a transformation though, right?
-Yeah. I think I'm just...

I think you were afraid to,
like, take it there, you know?

-Yeah.
-'Cause you haven't done this before.

But, basically you wanna delete
the person that's underneath this

and create a new person.

Yeah, okay.

-Do you see it?
-I do, yeah.

Just look straight into the mirror for me.

-Which bag do I like best?
-[laughs]

Is it a Maori tattoo,

-you know, or a wooden statue?
-Mm.

-[Val] A candle holder or something?
-[Dominic] Yeah.

I'm not getting, like,
the gender transformation,

I'm still getting
more of, like, an old lady

-as opposed to, like, an old man.
-Yeah.

Grimace your face for me.

Straight into the mirror.
You're gettin' old, girl.

-Gettin' old!
-[laughs]

Has she understood the brief wrongly?

She's got a long way to go.

-Have you ever worn lashes before?
-No.

Now look towards me with your eyes down.

Perfect.

-Ellis is definitely in his element.
-Mm.

He knows, like, what he's doing
with the techniques.

The color story's great so far.

I am living for that eye.

I'm loving what I'm seeing.

-Great blending skills.
-Mm.

-[Val] He's feeling very confident.
-[Kim] Mm.

He's enjoying himself,
he's cruising through it.

[Ellis] Oh, my God.

You actually look like a drag queen.
[laughs]

Keep facing the mirror.
Face the mirror for me. Face the mirror?

It's not going to plan.

I have one thing to say. Hakuna matata.

[giggles]

I have a few concerns.
Her base is very heavy.

[Kim] And the proportions are so wrong.
I think the brows are uneven.

Yeah, my biggest worry for Nikki is
that it's very masculine.

It's very angled.

MUAs, 30 minutes remaining.

This is where it starts getting fabulous.

Okay.

I did make a beard piece for this

but, I've done all this beautiful
line work on the mouth,

I kind of don't wanna cover it,
so we're just gonna see if it works.

Just relax for me.

I'm just not happy with the blend
at the moment of the eye.

I've gone down a theatrical approach,
which wasn't the plan, but it now is.

If I put my wig on,
I can cover all of this,

so I'm gonna try and hide all of that.

MUAs, you've got ten minutes.

Yeah...

I think this one,
and then... messy, I think.

I kind of like it with a wig on.

It just looks dry.

Look in the mirror.

We're finished. He's now a she.

I'm really happy with how it's turned out,
so I'm literally just gonna leave it now.

Okay, close your eyes.
Look, um... Tilt your head.

MUAs, you have one minute.

-People are either gonna get it, or not.
-Mm.

[Dominic] 30 seconds!

Time's up, brushes down.

Good job.

-Okay.
-Thank you for being a good model.

Let's just hope we get out
of these chairs now.

Mm.

This is literally what I'd look like
if I was a woman.

[snorts with laughter]

-But would you date you?
-No, probably not.

-I...
-[laughs]

I think you look different.

-You okay?
-Mm.

-Aww!
-Bless!

MUAs, please take your models next door
to be photographed.

[Stacey] Creative brief over,

Steph and Nikki must hope their looks
can impress the judges enough

to escape the Face Off chairs.

I'm feeling pretty good about
my finished look, actually.

[Nikki] I am worried
I'm in the Face Off.

I feel like I have struggled
quite a bit today.

Leigh, please step forward.

You took my advice on playing with
the proportions really well.

Um, you definitely created
a shape

that's more draggy and abstract
from what you had previously.

There are some things that are
a little bit off.

I think the contouring on
the cheeks is a little bit off.

I think the lips are a little bit off.

But, on the whole,
she's drop dead gorgeous,

and I think it doesn't matter
if it's not absolutely perfect.

Is there beauty?

Does she look good?

And I think you've nailed it.

Tiffany, please come forward.

I'm a bit underwhelmed.

I think it's really dull.

Drag is... Hello?

[laughs]

And then you've got this.

The contour is pretty weak,
the cut crease is non-existent,

and the lip is really flat.

At this part of the process,
you should be delivering so much more.

Unfortunately, for me, I think you had
the worst brow coverage out of everyone.

-[Val and Dominic] Thank you.
-Thank you, guys.

Nikki. Would you like to come up, please?

Are you happy with this?

-No.
-Okay. There's not a lot good about it.

You're better than this.
You are so much better than this.

I don't know what happened,
it's almost like

the first swatch of makeup
you put on that face,

-you were lost.
-[Nikki] Mm.

And you kept on going, thinking
magic was gonna happen.

And I think you've let yourself down.

There's too many basic mistakes
to be doing at this point.

Mm-hm.

Well, I think, Dom...
[sighs] you've said it all.

I expected so much more from you,

-and that's all I wanna say.
-Thank you.

Belinda, please come forward.

[Belinda]
I wanted to create a androgynous look.

I like the idea of being
a bit of a shape-shifter,

and just wearing
whatever makes you happy.

I was watching you do it,
and I wasn't quite sure

where you were gonna get the he/she
sort of element through.

But you know what did it for me,

and I've got goose bumps on my legs,
is that you said shape-shifting.

That's really interesting,
that's exciting,

that's a modern take on gender.

It is beaut!

-[Dominic laughs]
-[Val] I love it. I love it, I love it.

I have to completely agree,
I absolutely love this.

There is something really representative
of gender fluidity in this,

from the weird, sort of, cut-out cat eye

to the winged liner
on the side with the brow.

I love the flash of orange,

which is completely different to
everything else that's going on.

I love it.

I really do.

[Kim] I think you're a visionary.

-I think this is brilliant.
-Oh, thank you.

I think this photo could be hanging
in any modern gallery.

Oh! Thank you.

-I love this.
-Thank you so much.

Steph, please come forward.

[Steph] Beauty is ageless,
and I feel like drag should be too.

I wanted to just bring age into it,

but also give it that
sort of holographic,

glitzy, glamorous sort of twist.

Ho, ho, ho, hell no.

I'm seeing Santa Claus.
It feels very Hobbycraft.

I don't think that the tinsel does it.

The wrinkles didn't really come across,

and then, you covered up all your makeup
in Christmas decorations.

So for me, no. It's...
It's a no for me, I'm sorry.

[Kim] Personally, for me, I think you took
the most risk out of everyone in the room.

I can't tell you that it's paid off,
but personally, for me,

I think it's better to be polarizing
and memorable than to be boring.

And I will definitely remember this look.

-[Val] Thank you, Steph.
-Thank you.

Ellis.

Oh, God.

I absolutely...

bleep, bleep, bleep, love it.

I think it's brilliant.

I love the way you've masked the brows.

It's very modern, it's very fresh.

I love color theory, I love color

and the fact that you referenced the idea
of primary colors within this

and how it actually links
to something really personal.

Just beautiful.

-Well done.
-Thank you.

It's stunning.
I love everything about this.

It's the perfect marriage of drag
and beauty makeup, too.

MUAs, if you could please
take yourselves next door

whilst we decide who is going
to be in the Face Off chairs.

[Stacey] Thank you, judges.

-[sighs]
-You all right, lovey?

[Ellis] Okay.

Another person who's had a struggle
today was Tiffany.

[Val] Look at those brows.

You can just see all that fur.
It's not working.

It's furry face.

I don't think she had, like,
full understanding of drag makeup

and what it entailed.

If you saw her in the street,
you're not gonna think,

-"Wow, she looks beautiful."
-No.

This is a drag makeup by numbers,
and this was just quite flat.

She kind of missed the mark.

There's no feminine features.
I have to say, today, she choked.

[Val] She just lost her way.

She just kept packing it on,

without any idea whatsoever,

and in the end, nothing worked.

It looks like something
straight out of a horror film.

It's frightening.

So, let's talk about
the Santa in the room.

I appreciate her taking a risk,
but this is a makeup competition

and there's very little makeup
going on here.

[Val] This is supposed to look
like an older man.

I don't see it.

If she had just worked

on creating a female to male character
with makeup,

she might have given us something
that was more believable.

This is just like, go into the wardrobe,
stick your head in the box,

"Wahey! There I am."

Steph, Nikki,

you both started today
in the Face Off chairs...

You've both failed to beat the seat.

It's okay.

Your technique just wasn't
up to scratch today,

so we will see you both in the Face Off.

Thank you.
I'll bring them through shortly.

Can I ask you to say your goodbyes?

One of you won't be coming back.

[Steph] I knew I didn't do enough today,

and I was in a sticky position
to begin with, so...

we'll get over the tears in a moment

and then we'll be in there
and smashing it.

[Nikki] I still have a lot to prove.

I need to show the judges
that I am composed and calm.

-[sighs]
-Yeah, come on.

I just need to deliver on
what they're asking of me.

Okay.

Just a round.

Don't be scared,
honestly, don't be scared.

-Okay. [sighs]
-It's fine.

As always, Steph and Nikki will face off
over a pair of identical twins.

Drag makeup is all about

exaggerating features.

The bigger lip, the bolder brow,
the crazy contouring.

The magic ingredient to a big eye is...

fabulous fake lashes.

For this week's Face Off,
we are going to ask you to create

a big, bold, hashtag drag lash.

In front of you, you will find
an array of false lashes,

and what we're looking for
is a perfectly placed top and bottom set.

There's two things our MUAs should be
mindful of on this Face Off.

One, they need to make sure

they measure those lashes,
that they're not too big or too small.

Secondly, they've got to let
that glue dry,

so it's not wet when it goes on the eye.

What I don't wanna see
is anything that droops,

'cause no one likes a sad eye.

[Val] You have 15 minutes
to complete this challenge.

Your time starts now.

Although Nikki has picked up
the dreaded feather lash,

I actually think she's doing a good job.

She's getting her lashes on quicker.

Steph seems very nervous.

[Dominic] The one thing I'll say for Steph
is that she did measure it

before she stuck it on, so she was able
to make it slightly smaller.

Which is gonna fit better.

However, she might have made it too small
and it might just look a bit pokey.

Start to slump...

-That's good...
-Okay.

[Stacey] 30 seconds.

That's time.

What are we thinking, judges?

-[sucks teeth]
-I think we need a conflab.

Neither lash is perfect.

With feather lashes you
can't control the symmetry.

However, where she's placed it
has just opened up her eye.

-It fits in with the design of the line.
-Yeah.

I think we have a clear winner,
it's a hands-down win.

[Dominic] It is. I think so.

Steph, your top lashes
applied really well.

Cool

However, your bottom lashes

-was just a really poor choice.
-Okay.

Nikki,

you went big, you went bold.

You are through to next week.

Thank you.

[whispers] There you go, You did it.

[Stacey] Nikki, congratulations.

Steph, commiserations.

Just not your day.

Thank you so much
for all your effort and hard work.

Thank you.

Good luck with everything
going forward, yeah?

-Thank you.
-I'm gonna bring you through.

Well done. Let's go, girl.

Hi.

[laughter]

-[Belinda] You did it again!
-Yeah!

I'm feeling gutted, I really am.
This competition meant a whole lot to me.

It was literally such an amazing platform.

Thank you for showing us
some amazing makeup.

Thank you, guys. Thank you.

This is the end of one chapter,
but there are so many more to come.