The following contains major spoilers for Glow Up Season 4, now streaming on Netflix.
Glow Up has returned to Netflix for its long-awaited fourth season. The hit reality competition series highlights makeup artists in a variety of creative briefs as they compete to be the next big star. The first three seasons of the British program birthed many a meme and inspired plenty of Instagram looks, but the show went a nearly year and a half-long hiatus afterward. Season 4 did not disappoint, bringing an even quirkier array of artists, highlighting that the beauty industry is made for everyone.
Despite its recent lower subscription numbers, Netflix has been consistently delivering great content, including this new addition to the Glow Up roster. In addition to some of the most complex looks -- and arguably the most facial prosthetics ever used in a single season -- there were some truly unique challenges, with higher stakes than ever before. Among these were a Doctor Who brief in which the makeup artists (MUAs) had to design their own alien creature that could fit within The Doctor's world and a challenge where the MUAs were tasked with creating a look for a Cirque du Soleil performer that would be able to withstand a physically demanding performance. The stakes were high enough to meet the level of talent this cycle, making Season 4 of Glow Up a must-see.
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Glow Up is a reality competition produced in partnership with the BBC centering around undiscovered or self-taught makeup artists wanting to break into the beauty industry. Each episode begins with some kind of professional challenge to test the MUA's skills under pressure, followed by a creative brief, in which the artists have a bit more liberty to design a look based on a specific prompt. At the end of each episode, the bottom two MUAs face off in a head-to-head battle, with the loser packing their kit and returning home. Glow Up provides these MUAs with a platform to showcase their work and the opportunity to work with real industry professionals to improve their skills.
Season 4's talent was unlike anything Glow Up had seen previously, with many viewers hailing it as the show's strongest outing yet. The season's winner was Yong-Chin Marika Breslin. The Glasgow-born MUA had her ups and downs in the competition, landing in the dreaded Face Off chairs twice, but her final matchup against front-runner Lisa Street was what pushed her over the edge to claim victory. Yong-Chin created a nearly perfect yellow-to-blue smokey eye to secure her victory, which was just the cherry on top of a very successful Glow Up run.
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Yong-Chin delivered makeups that not only displayed technical prowess, but allowed the judges to connect with who she was as an artist, earning her high praise throughout the competition. Some of her most impressive moments included her Professional Challenge win with British fashion designer Mark Fast, as well as a challenge where the MUAs had to create a memorable, fun and Instagram-worthy video. Yong-Chin also particularly shined with her body painting and illustrative skills over the course of the show. Overall, her attitude under pressure, incredible skill and passion were what earned Yong-Chin the title of Top MUA.
Glow Up is unique with its artistry as well as its ability to celebrate artists from all walks of life. Season 4 stepped up in a huge way, delivering intricate, large-scale and over the top makeups as well as more subdued pieces that really tugged at judges Val Garland and Dominic Skinner's heartstrings. This season was a celebration of queer people, women of color and so much more as audiences look for more diverse content, and it was beautiful to see these vastly talented makeup artists getting the opportunity to showcase their incredible talents on such a large scale.
All four seasons of Glow Up are available to stream on Netflix now.