Glow Up: Britain's Next Make-Up Star (2019– ) User Reviews

Ruined by the judges.

[adelpnut · 6/10 · 27 March 2019]

Good concept, well produced, nice mix of contestants and Ms.Dooley as host is charming as always.

The downfall of the show is the bias and self aggrandising attitude of the judges.

Ding-dong...Move on.

Second season so far better than first

[Ellerina97 · 6/10 · 25 May 2020]

First off, I would like to say that I thoroughly dislike the judges. They are pretentious and have no sense of style. I enjoyed the first season, but some of the MUAs were a bit up themselves and I didn't like the drama. Additionally, one girl who was consistently unreliable kept getting put through to the next round. However, so far I'm really enjoying the second series. The MUAs all seem genuine and are supportive of one another. If you're wondering about if you should watch this, I'd say give it a go, but it might not be for everyone.

After reading all the reviews...

[boself · 8/10 · 23 May 2020]

... I had to check if this was the same show I was watching. Yes the dingdong can be quite annoying, but I found the judges to be really authentic and genuine and the candidates incredibly talented. I absolutely didn't agree with one of the finalists, like other reviewers pointed out very eloquently. But... I binge watched the show with great pleasure in one sitting. And I was very happy after all with the ending. I dont want to give out any spoilers, but all I want to say is give this show a chance.

Pure content

[Yes_ok · 7/10 · 15 December 2019]

It's so refreshing to have a reality show that doesn't waste time on creating unnecessary friction between contestants or over-dramatize situations. I want to watch a make-up show and what I get is people doing makeup. So many shows feel the need to pin contestants against eachother to create entertainment and it's so tiring. These guys look like they legitimately support eachother and I love that! All that aside, I feel like the level of makeup could be elevated. This definitely felt like a first season, so I'm sure that the bar will be elevated in the seasons to come.

why all the negativity? it's amazing!

[abinewx · 9/10 · 17 October 2020]

This show is a breath of fresh air, and i don't quite understand why people are so offended by a makeup competition! the challenges are amazing, the creativity is amazing, and there's some really cool guest judges. this show isn't about drama or arguments it's about the art and passion of make up and art, and i think people should realise it's not that serious! yes val can be a bit annoying with the whole ding dong! lol but i absolutely love this show and how it gives 'normal' people the chance to live their dreams.

Enjoyable but show format backfired

[brockleyavenue · 7/10 · 6 March 2020]

The only thing that I can really make fault with is the format of the show... and the Ding Dongs. All contestants are talented and like with all creative people, they have their own style and with any competition, it is designed to broaden the mind of the contestants and have them step out of their square and be good at everything. This was good until the last five contestants. They gave 'immunity' for one contest, which back fired in the following contests. One contestant, who should not have been there, because she didn't manage to finish in time, or was just off the mark, but kept on winning in the Face Off, which in turn eliminated one of the best contestants, who should have been in the finals...not the face off queen. I feel this was felt by the judges, and they realised the format was not really fare. The show was enjoyable, and if you can ignore the DING DONGS, then I hope there is another Season with the format slightly changed. It just wasn't fare for someone to be in the semi final because she was always in the red chair, always in the face off.... this was disappointing

Enjoyable

[sugarqueen2 · 8/10 · 21 December 2019]

I like this show because they have cut out all the cattiness and infighting that are usually prominent in an American makeup competition. It's also neat that the briefs are not restricted to editorial and runway. This has been a binge-watch for me. I hope there's a Season 2.

Stop saying DING DONG!!

[laurenmholub · 6/10 · 12 November 2021]

I enjoyed the contestants, and the work they did but I hated the judges. Also I felt like there could have been more creativity in the challenges.

I could go the rest of my life without hearing the phrase "Ding Dong" and be super happy.

Good, but could be better

[chasechristopherjohnson · 5 February 2020]

The premise of the show is great, the world of makeup art is very interesting and cool. The artists on this show are all interesting and I loved how it didnt focus on the drama like every reality show. However there are still a lot of problems with "Glow Up" The face off challenge is boring and dumb, how should a 5 minute competition of applying lipstick or something as minor as that determine who stays or goes home. This ruins the show as some people make it further than they should have and some dont make it as far as they should have. Also the final of the show didnt even feel like a great finale.

Great content

[patricianeruta · 9/10 · 10 December 2019]

I actually really like the judges, like they have said the make up industry is tough so they can't be playing nice. The concept is amazing and it's bringing the make up life to a whole new level.

Surprisingly watchable

[alanfisher2001 · 7/10 · 24 April 2021]

Surprised my wife by actually liking it, the contestants are what make it.

The awful Dooley, who has the presenting skills of an ant, seems totally a waste, all she says is 'guys' every 30 seconds, how she gets paid as the BBC golden girl is beyond me.

The awful glasses on the judge, provide visual amusement each time she is on.

I felt an empathy building with the artists, they seem to be genuinely keen to make it and have a passion for it, there was some stunning looking work in the series. Def worth a watch, even if like me you have never wielded a make up brush in your life.

Amazing contestants, poor judges.

[Sleepin_Dragon · 6/10 · 12 May 2023]

The search for Britain's next top makeup artist. Don't expect your basic makeup, expect weird, wild and downright wonderful.

There is definitely a lot of talent out there, but for me, the focus was quite often too heavily on the judges, and their egos, rather than the talented consestants.

I am genuinely bored with singing and cooking shows, so this was something different, it's watchable, but it was hardly set the alarm for week, and speaking of alarms .....

Ding dong, is that the most irritating thing to have been on the since Noel Edmonds and Mr Blobby?

I'm a little surprised that the show has now moved into its fourth series, but on it goes.

6/10.

Really doesn't make sense

[ckiggz · 3/10 · 18 December 2019]

I don't understand how someone who continually can't finish her look and is in the bottom "beats" artists who seem to be much more qualified than her. The face off challenge is dumb, and it was really frustrating to see amazing artists get kicked off while someone who can't finish her make-up survives.

Harsh

[bmasteller · 7/10 · 6 March 2020]

I really like the show. However, the judges Dominic and Val are rude to the contestants and each other. If I hear " Ding Dong" one more time I think my head will explode.

I don't understand all the negative reviews

[foxyduchess-69708 · 8/10 · 20 February 2021]

I love love this show so much! I like the 2nd season more though than the 1st one. Asians represent!

Enjoyable, easy tv

[UppittyDown · 7/10 · 8 July 2023]

Have come on here to see if others agreed with me about the strange bias that, for me, was the only downside to this show (series one). Yes, it's clearly a problem, if people like me, who know nothing about makeup, still enjoyed a show about the topic but find the judges' decision odd.

Aside from that, I really quite enjoyed it. The contestants seemed to really support each other, and unlike the complaints of some reviewers here, there wasn't half of each episode covering their sob stories, which I personally find really tedious in other shows of the genre.

Also liked the judges, they had some personality and opinions, not sure why people have complained about them being harsh.

More Glow Up for me!

[ashleyldougherty · 10/10 · 21 April 2020]

I am 7 years old. My sister is 5 years old. We started watching Glow Up during the pandemic when school was closed. We love it and want you to make more seasons. Why I want another season of Glow Up is the make-up artists are talented. I want to see more beautiful make-up ideas. Why I want another season of Glow Up is it inspires me to make beautiful things of my own. Why I want another season of Glow Up is that the contestants are good sports. They help each other. They show me how to be a good sport when I am competing. Why I want another season of Glow Up is it is something fun to watch with my family when I'm not doing school work. It's a great show! Please make more!

Bake off for make-up

[beverleyhunniford · 7/10 · 8 May 2021]

I am a bit of a fan of this format regardless of the subject. All well beyond my makeup abilities, never have managed to find lipstick that suits me or stays on. It's fascinating to see what can be created with make-up. An enjoyable watch for fans of the format. I'm sure a huge inspiration for future make-up artists.

Rather than going with a comedian as host, as seems to be favoured with this format, they've opted with more straightforward presenting style, maybe a bit daytime. A comedian could be an improvement. I can imagine in the early production meeting they wanted to come up with an equivalent to the Paul Hollywood handshake. They settled on the female judge proclaiming DING DONG when a contestant produced good work. It's ok when watching the weekly episode, but a bit annoying attempting a bit of a binge watch.

BRILLIANT!

[annabethblack · 9/10 · 14 August 2021]

Wow! I absolutely love this show. I'm not into make-up, but this inspires me a lot. Every character and their make-ups tells you a story. I'm excited for the next season! 🎉

Decent, but unfair structure

[valor-54720 · 6/10 · 19 July 2020]

This is another reality tv competition between talented makeup artists resemblant of Face Off. They compete episode to episode with unique challenges that will test their scope of skill and creativity for a big prize in the end.

Having watched many seasons of Face Off, this series was right up my alley. I enjoyed the colorful cast of contestants and picking my favorites out early on as we got to know them and their creative style better. It was interesting to see how they handled stress in various situations. In some, the time crunch was insane, others more relaxed.

The challenges weren't as immersive as Face Off, but were still comparable and fun. My favorite probably had the be the fantasy makeups they did earlier on in the series.

I did have something of an issue with the structure of the show. There is a main challenge that determines who is in the bottom ranking, then another makeup session to see if the bottom can get out of that ranking against their peers. The remaining two in the bottom have to duke it out in a final very time-limited face off against each other. Whoever loses goes home, but therein lies the issue.

In these face offs, the contestants portfolio and excellence in other projects is completely disregarded. Meaning if you scored in the top in the main challenge but were lackluster in the second makeup session, you could instantly be in the hot seat. While that's understandable, I found that several contestants consistently performed much poorer than others in main challenges and secondary makeup sessions, staying in the bottom spot only to continue to best their peers in the last makeup face offs.

While that's certainly admirable, I found it to be extremely unfair and created a crutch. These specific contestants (in my mind) should've gone home much earlier, and when performance of others makeup challenges is disregarded, much more capable and skilled contestants ended up going home way too early.

I think if you watch, you'll completely understand what I'm talking about, but it really got on my nerves with a certain repeat offender. I'd really like to see the hosts have more creative control in eliminations rather than cheat worthy individuals of this opportunity.

Despite its shortcomings, I binged this show pretty quickly in just several days, and I'm excited that a second season is coming out in August. If you are looking for a fun makeup show, this may be the one for you!

Its Authentic

[123sofia3 · 10/10 · 3 January 2020]

I actually really enjoyed the show. I really liked how friendly and supportive the contestants were to each other and not creating some fake drama that other reality tv shows would. yet still being competitive towards each other. Iam actually an Mua and most of the things they do are real things you need to know in the makeup world. I actually agreed with most of the judges decisions and in reality the makeupworld is tough.

Love the creativity........BUT

[cherrycarey-34914 · 6/10 · 22 September 2022]

The elimination format is terrible and unfairly knocks out really talented artists.

The judges are so pretentious, which is really a shame as I feel most contestants are looking for constructive feedback to help them do better each week. However, I imagine the judges' attitude is likely indicative of the industry as a whole.

Stacey Dooley was a fabulous host. She kept the focus of the show about the contestants and not her and seemed genuinely empathetic when contestants didn't make it. Maya Jama is busy trying to look like a Kardashian and is constantly distracting the MUAs during their challenges. Her sympathy is forced and doesn't seem authentic at all.

I will continue to watch the show as I am no artist, and am always in awe of people's ability to draw, paint, and bring ideas to life through color.

Rigged!!

[dmontanez-65899 · 5/10 · 31 December 2019]

They kept saving Nikki for no reason. This show was rigged, Belinda is a True artist, Steph, Tiff, they all deserved a spot over Nikki. Im not saying she's not talented, but she wasn't enough to be on the final 3 and for some strange reason they kept saving her.

Fun show but extremely biased.

[bluenuriya · 6/10 · 2 January 2024]

Glow Up: Britain's Next Make-Up Stair is fun. I enjoyed watching the participants create extraordinary makeup looks and seeing the results of their hard work. I do think, though, that this show is extremely biased. For example, Val and Dom in Season 5 towards Roo. Roo could make unfinished and unpolished makeup looks and they still kept them in and even brought them to the finals! Half the time their makeup looks were not creative or finished and Val would give them a 'Ding-dong' for no reason whatsoever. And its for other participants too in other seasons. Other than that, the face offs are ridiculous. How does that one 5 minute long challenge decide the fate of who stays or goes? They should look at all the makeups that those two made instead of that 1 makeup look that was rushed and was made in 5 minutes. I just think it's unfair. On the more positive side, I really did enjoy watching Season 2 and 3 and 4. All the MUAs truly deserved to be there and were so creative and it was fun to see them grow as an MUA. Glow Up: Britain's Next Make-up Star is a good show despite the unfair bias.

Amazing but so-so judges

[laetitiatrioreau · 10/10 · 1 August 2021]

The makeup in the three seasons are incredible, they are so well executed (well not all of them but the majority) and i'm amazed by the talent of some of the contestants (like Ophelia).

But there's something that bother me...the judges are sometimes really hard on the contestants. I understand that in the beauty industry you will be criticized and you have to learn from it, but honestly they seems to be mean just by pleasure sometimes( still the judges) and that didn't seat right with me...but it's maybe because I can't understand the standards required?