‘Bake Off’ for makeup returns to BBC Three, its new host and judges Val Garland and Dominic Skinner talk about guiding the young, diverse artists through the competition
When lockdown shut the nation indoors, many experimented with sourdough, sculpting and sewing – anything to occupy our hearts, minds and hands to distract us from impending doom. So it seems only natural that the telly world reflected that, serving up our distractions in competition form. Stuart Heritage wrote last week that the Great British formula may have reached saturation point as The Great Pottery Throw Down, The Great British Sewing Bee and all the rest are joined by All That Glitters, taking the format down the jewellery line. However, this week, Glow Up also returns to BBC Three, taking on one thing most of us have done significantly less of over the past year: makeup.
Admittedly, a competition like Glow Up might not be for everyone, but anyone with an Instagram account (or who has a child with an Instagram account) will know that the world of makeup is about more than just contouring and fake eyelashes. The best challenges on the series involve totally transforming faces, with truly impressive results. It’s hard to tear your eyes away from the trembling fingers fiddling with prosthetics, especially on well-known film and TV sets with contestants competing under the watchful gaze of award-winning guest judges from the industry.
