Glow Up: Where are the past MUAs now?

From catwalk-ready looks to mind-boggling special effect prosthetics, the contestants of BBC Three’s Glow Up have shown us their skills - and then some - over five series of the make-up artistry competition.

There’s life beyond the show too. Make an impression as a make-up artist (or MUA) on the series and big opportunities in the industry can open up. BBC Bitesize caught up with four MUAs who have turned their career dreams into one fierce, radiant reality.

Ellis: 'I believe in myself and my talent.'

“What I can say,” Glow Up’s first ever winner explained enthusiastically, “is that the ability to wake up every day and just do what I want to do as a creative is the most fabulous thing I've ever experienced.”

For Ellis Atlantis, that could be working at Cannes Film Festival, or New York Fashion Week, or even - if their social media posts call for it - painting themselves blue.

The 2019 Bradford-born champion is now a social media star with more than half a million followers on TikTok and Instagram. They went in to the show hoping to become a make-up artist working alongside industry greats such as series judge Val Garland and succeeded in making the right impression. Unlike the majority of those that followed, Ellis’s win was impacted by Covid-19 and the world going into lockdown. When jobs became more scarce, they found themselves even more grateful for social media opportunities.

And perhaps the biggest takeaway from Glow Up? Smiling, Ellis added: “I also learned that I can do whatever I want. No one's gonna stop me from doing anything because I believe in myself and my talent, so I'll just make it work.”

Dolli: 'Being able to educate people was a full-circle moment.'

“My mum definitely got me into make-up,” London-based series three finalist Dolli Okoriko explained with a huge grin. “I will buy her the most expensive thing, but she would rather buy two cheap items and put it together to create something new. That’s something I have definitely put into my career, my work and my creative side… you don’t need the big budget. You don’t.”

Across the many challenges in her series, Nigerian-born Dolli showed off her skills in creating empowering looks, incorporating her love of gold and passion for African culture, as well as sharing the challenges of pursuing an MUA career while bringing up her daughter, Royal. Her advice to parents who want to work in the industry is simply: “Don’t be afraid to say, ‘just because I have a child, doesn’t mean I can’t be in a certain space'.".

Dolli has certainly popped up in some impressive spaces since Glow Up. She has put in stints on both London and Paris Fashion Week, worked on Glow Up presenter and supermodel Leomie Anderson’s make-up, as well as giving her own make-up tutorials, with one in particular - in Poland - standing out.

Describing her “pinnacle moment”, Dolli remembered: “Coming away from that, meeting people from a completely different walk of life [who were] still able to learn from someone who looks like me, in a country where the percentage of people who look like me is very, very low. Being in a space like that, being so welcome and being able to educate people was a full-circle moment for me.”

Ophelia: 'It is almost like a fast track'

Series two winner Ophelia Liu came to the competition after studying a Bachelor of Arts in fashion design, and it was clearly good grounding: “That was intense enough for me to understand how important it is to stick to the brief if you are designing for a brand or designer,” she said. “It was pretty similar in Glow Up during industry challenges. You should always follow the brief, even if you are directing a project yourself.”

“I think the best thing that happened to me from Glow Up is definitely the exposure. I cannot believe how many people now pay attention to my work,” Ophelia, who grew up in Hong Kong then moved to London, continued. “Glow Up has also given me job opportunities that people would have taken years and years to get. It is almost like a fast track. Whether it is a good thing or bad thing is totally dependent on how you perform.”

When asked about advice for any budding MUAs, she offered: “A lot of the things that I've learnt during Glow Up are definitely from my fellow Glow Up contestants… You get inspired and pumped up just by surrounding yourself with like-minded individuals, sharing tips, tricks and experiences.

“Most importantly, take time to treat yourself when you are stressed out or feeling stuck. Treat yourself to an even bigger reward when you have accomplished a project!”

Yong-chin: 'Glow Up has definitely affected my career massively.'

“Probably my first inspiration for make-up was Amy Winehouse,” said series four winner Yong-chin Marika Breslin, who remembers raiding her mum’s drawer for bits and pieces when she was growing up in Glasgow. “I’ve always liked to play with colour and things, but I was a bit more tomboyish and really into sports when I was younger, so make-up wasn’t a massive thing, but I always took an interest in it.”

Yong-chin admitted that life has been “quite chaotic” since winning Glow Up - and very different from her years as a fashion design student and nanny. Even a bout of nerves while delivering a masterclass in front of industry professionals in her series final didn’t stop her winning - in many ways, it helped with what was to come. “Glow Up puts you in this really stressful environment,” she said. “Then when you come out, you sort of feel like you’re able to deal with so many different things in the industry really easily.”

Masterclasses are now a regular part of Yong-chin’s routine and her raised profile has led to some memorable jobs, such as the Pride cover for Glamour magazine. Another was with National Museums Scotland: “I was invited to actually go into the archives and do creative looks based on birds of paradise, another one was with minerals and another one was insects - so I got to see all of these animals as well as speak to other researchers and scientists which was a really cool process and a job that I would never assume I would get.”

Series six of Glow Up: Britain’s Next Make-Up Star begins on BBC Three on 10 April with episodes available on iPlayer after broadcast.

This article was published in April 2024