Glow Up: The New BBC Show Searching For The Next Makeup Star

It's us!

If you're obsessed with beauty, like we are, then you are going to love Glow Up - a new eight-part competition to look for the next big make-up star that starts on the BBC today. The series will see a talented cast of hopefuls live and work together as they attempt to prove their potential to some of the industry's best professionals, including Val Garland, Global Make-Up Director for L'Oreal Paris; Dominic Skinner, Global Senior Artist for MAC; and none other than Marie Claire's beauty director, Lisa Oxenham.

Glow Up - the premise

Each week the contestants will be set a different creative brief and will have to work their magic to try and impress the judging panel of Val, Dominic and expert guest judges, to win a contract assisting some of the world's biggest make-up artists. Marie Claire's Lisa Oxenham was the guest judge on the first episode and invited the winner onto the set of one of our editorial shoots with Makeup Forever.

Glow Up - the judges

Between them, Val and Dominic have worked with some of the biggest style icons, most high-profile fashion houses and respected beauty and lifestyle magazines. Val’s portfolio features big names, like Kate Moss, Kendall Jenner, Lady Gaga and Alexander McQueen. Dominic’s background is in beauty and body painting across music, TV, film, theatre, ballet, photography, runway and red carpet, their incredible catalogue of experience guarantees them to be one of the most inspiring and formidable judging duos.

Val Garland explains what she's going to be looking for: 'Skill, creativity, the ability to adapt in any given situation. I’m looking for someone who works well under pressure. This person has to have an incredible attitude, be able to feel comfortable in any situation and deliver. What won’t impress me? Don’t give me diva, don’t give me attitude, don’t try to sell me something that I don’t believe in.'

'Be it subtle and enhancing or bold and expressive, make-up has the power to make you feel like the you you’ve always known you were,' Dominic Skinner says. 'I want to find a make-up artist who is willing to take risks and to push themselves creatively, someone who is more inspired and hungry at the end of this process than they were at the beginning!'

It's being presented by woman-of-the-moment, Stacey Dooley, who seems super excited by the project:

Glow Up is available on BBC Three now and will also be on BBC One tonight at 10.35pm (or an hour later if you’re in Northern Ireland. To see the shoot that the contestants worked on go out and buy Marie Claire's April issue, out on Monday 11th March.

An exciting day in the Marie Claire office.

Katie Thomas is the Senior Beauty Editor at Marie Claire UK. With over 10 years of experience on women's luxury lifestyle titles, she covers everything from the best beauty looks from the red carpet and stand out trends from the catwalk, to colonic irrigation and to the best mascaras on the market.