Tonight sees the first episode of Glow up Ireland.
Hosted by Model, influencer and former Love Island star Maura Higgins the brand new Irish version of the beloved international show airs tonight. The competition will see 10 of Ireland’s best amateur make-up artists (MUAs) as they attempt to contour, conceal and bake their way through a range of assignments that will show off their technical know-how and artistic skills.
Throughout the series, our MUAs will be tasked with creating jaw-dropping transformations and will take part in fabulous ‘face-offs’ before one of the 10 is crowned as Ireland’s Next Make-Up Star, earning themselves an opportunity to further their professional career.
There are two Kerry based participants and we want to wish them every success as they take part first up is Niall Casey Caherciveen 19-year-old Niall is a student with a huge social media following. The aspiring MUA is currently studying fashion in Limerick LCAD but says that makeup is his first love. So far, his spectacular TikTok creations have accumulated 10.7m likes, with his videos featuring a non-speaking persona. A huge Maura Higgins fan, Niall says that people often believe him to be as confident and outgoing as the former Love Islander, but he insists he is actually really shy and is scared to put more of his personality on display. In childhood, Niall’s older brother had him marked to follow in his GAA footsteps but Niall hung up his boots at the ripe old age of 12. Instead, at age 17, he bought the James Charles palette, came downstairs with a full face of makeup and told his parents to deal with it. Thankfully, they did just that!
Leah Clail
Leah is a 22-year-old mum who describes herself as “stubborn”. The Tralee woman was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis and fibromyalgia last year and says that this has given her a wake-up call and a reminder that she has no time to waste. Leah left school at 16 years of age and says that she never had that group of girlfriends to rely on. She became pregnant in college when she was 17 years of age and now has a four-year-old son called Rian. However, despite a full plate, she was determined to finish college. Her attitude is can-do and she is a ball of energy despite all that she has had to go through. She’s a fighter to the end and even though she may get tired on long days, she’s adamant not to let her illness affect her. Coming from a family that has more of a business background, she definitely doesn’t fit that mould and says “every aspect of me is outside the box”. Luckily, she has her sister – who is her absolute best friend – to lean on.
And there will be another Kerry Connection tonight as Colin Horgan Designer who hails from Ardfert will be a guest judge Colin graduated from MA Fashion Womenswear programme at the Royal College of Art in 2017 where he closed the show with his visually stimulating collection ” Brisk”.
Irish born, Horgan takes inspiration from strength in women in his family and juxtaposes them with surreal women that inspired him through his early youth. Hyper sensational silhouettes that race around the body circulate downwards ,while long and lean shapes lift the body. His brand is about letting the garment transport one into the newer self, never looking back. Worn by celebrities such as Chaelin CL, Brooke Candy, Dua Lipa, Tierra Whack, Ashnikko amongst many more,So be sure sure to tune in and check out our local talent.
