How Glow Up helped build my career in special effects make-up

A witch’s nose may not seem the most remarkable piece of prosthetic make-up ever forged, but it played a significant role in the career of former Glow Up finalist Axel.

“It was made from gelatin,” they told BBC Bitesize, ing the first piece they ever made. “Not the easiest thing to work with, but gelatin is good for people to work with when they’re starting out. Often in the TV and film industry, silicone is used as it looks the most fleshy. Gelatin also looks fleshy, but unlike silicone, it can be melted down and re-used.”

That nose marked a promising start for Axel, who itted they felt “the bee’s knees” when it was finished, but doesn’t look back on their creation with that much pride. In the years in between, that nose has been supplanted by bigger, more detailed creations such as work on a major scare attraction, make-up transformations on Channel 4 and ageing up Adam Beales and Joe Tasker, presenters of CBBC’s Bro’s in Control, for a teacher-themed prank.

Axel’s time on series 5 of Glow Up, where they achieved a place as one of the final three MUAs (make-up artists), showcased their skills in make-up with a sense of the fantastic, as well as designs with bright, radiant colours. It’s now become part of their career.

‘These creatures and monsters have an element of - glamour?’

“I think when I first came off the show, it was very, very clear that I was a bit of a nerd and everything I did was very character-based,” they said. “If you need anything that’s bright, colourful and out of this world, Axel’s your gal!”

They explained: “I have a background in illustration, I have a background in drag as well as cabaret, and a mixture of being interested in the sci-fi and the nerd culture. That’s things like World of Warcraft and D&D (Dungeons & Dragons).

"The world of fantasy mixed in with the world of cabaret, you end up getting these really quite exaggerated creatures and monsters that often have an element of, I suppose - glamour? - to them, and beauty. People look at that and think it’s interesting.”

‘You need to invest in stuff that you’re going to mess up’

Starting off in the more fantastical side of make-up can prove tricky. When Axel was younger, they found the only courses teaching the necessary skills were in the US. They also struggled to find information in books and online, although they say it is easier to source now.

They explained: “If people want to do things by themselves, there’s much more education in of books, courses you can take that are cheap, about £20 a month, and it will literally fill in the gaps of all your knowledge.

“I’m not saying you can’t start with small basic stuff, maybe a bit of latex and some cotton wool, you can build a lot with that - but then, when you want to move on to something like silicone, you unfortunately do need to invest in stuff that you’re probably going to mess up. I bought silicone the other day, it was one or two kilograms, and I spent about £90 on it. It’s not a cheap hobby to have.”

Axel stepped away from the make-up world for a couple of years in their mid-twenties when they decided to focus on a career in gaming design. But it was then that a certain TV show came calling.

They ed: “I said to myself, [game design] was the career I was going with. I was studying in Dundee.

“When Glow Up asked me to apply for the show I thought, ‘I’ve got to do this’. I always promised myself that if I could come back, I would. If there was an actual reason, I would come back in a heartbeat. The moment I got on the show and was surrounded by people who are still mega-interested in the industry, it’s hard not to get swept up in all of it.”

‘I want to be on sets, on bigger budgets’

When the competition side was over, Axel had a conversation with Glow Up judge Dominic Skinner. They recalled the advice he gave: “He said, ‘You need to get down to London, you need to start pushing, you need to start making a career for yourself’.”

When Axel told their mum about this conversation, she made them do exactly that and before too long, they were packing their bags for a life down south which they: “Don’t think I’m letting go any time soon.”

Research in 2022 by the training academy KB Pro found that Liverpool and Leeds were also lucrative cities to pursue a career in the beauty side of make-up, but Axel is happy to have made that step into the UK capital.

They continued: “You’re in London, you’ve given a lot to be here, you are making progress in that industry, you need to stick at it. I want to start working more on TV and film, I want to be on sets, I want to be on bigger budgets. It takes a while to build up your repertoire though.

“I really would have loved to do Guardians of the Galaxy. Another one is anime. I would have loved to work on One Piece on Netflix as I know the comic series really well.

“All this stuff that transports us to another world, it’s definitely something I want to be more part of.”

Series 7 of Glow Up begins on 30 April on BBC Three and also on BBC iPlayer.

This article was published in April 2025