Makeup is intimate work. You cannot do it from six feet away.
In the uncertain rhythms of a pandemic-altered world, television found a way to keep its lights on — even in the most intimate of formats. Maura Higgins, the Longford-born Love Island alumna, stepped into the role of host for RTE's Irish adaptation of the BBC makeup competition Glow Up, earning an estimated €30,000 for the privilege. The production, which required contestants to live in sealed bubbles and submit to regular PCR testing, became something of a quiet testament to human ingenuity — the stubborn insistence that creativity, even when it demands closeness, need not be extinguished by circumstance.
- Makeup artistry is irreducibly intimate — you cannot judge a contour from six feet away — and that tension sat at the heart of every production decision made on this show.
- Contestants were sealed into a shared bubble for the duration of filming, models were tested before arrival and their movements restricted, and PCR tests cycled through the entire cast and crew on a rolling basis.
- The format itself had to be surgically altered: where the BBC original required multiple model-application challenges, the Irish version limited competitors to one, substituting a self-application challenge to reduce close contact.
- RTE secured €120,000 in sponsorship across eight one-hour episodes, with that funding helping to cover Higgins's fee — described by an industry source as sitting at the upper range of what the broadcaster typically pays a presenter.
- Higgins distributed a portion of her earnings as designer gifts to crew members — YSL, Prada, and Balenciaga bags among them — a gesture that landed somewhere between genuine warmth and the quiet confidence of a well-paid professional.
- The show aired, the protocols held, and what remained was a small but instructive proof of concept: that intimate television formats could survive a pandemic if the precautions were taken seriously enough.
Maura Higgins, the Longford native who rose to prominence on Love Island, secured the hosting role for RTE's Irish version of the BBC makeup competition Glow Up, earning an estimated €30,000 for the engagement. The show slotted into RTE's autumn schedule — but getting it to air required a level of logistical precision that few entertainment productions had previously demanded.
The central challenge was structural: makeup artistry is intimate by nature, and no amount of pandemic protocol can change the physics of applying foundation or blending shadow. Production company Indiepics, working alongside RTE's specialist Covid consultant, effectively rebuilt the format from scratch. Competing artists lived together in a sealed bubble throughout filming. Models were tested before arriving on set and kept their movements to a minimum thereafter. PCR testing ran on a regular cycle for everyone involved — hosts, artists, judges, and crew alike — while sanitizing stations and higher-grade masks became fixtures of the working environment.
The format itself was modified from the BBC original. Rather than applying makeup to models across multiple challenges, Irish competitors were limited to a single model-application challenge, with a second challenge requiring them to work on themselves instead — a quiet but significant departure that reduced close contact without dismantling the show's competitive core.
On the financial side, RTE confirmed it had secured €120,000 in sponsorship across the eight one-hour episodes, with that revenue helping to support Higgins's fee. An industry source described the sum as sitting at the higher end of the broadcaster's typical presenter range. Higgins, who was at the time in a relationship with Strictly Come Dancing's Giovanni Pernice, reportedly directed a portion of her earnings back toward the crew in the form of designer gifts — a quilted YSL bag, a Prada shoulder bag, a Balenciaga tote — distributed among her makeup artist, hairstylist, and publicist.
What the production ultimately demonstrated was less about celebrity or cosmetics than about adaptation. The show was made. It aired. And in doing so, it offered a small but legible proof that television — even the kind that depends on human closeness — could find its way through, provided the precautions were treated as seriously as the work itself.
Maura Higgins, the Love Island alumna from Longford, has landed a hosting gig for RTE's Irish adaptation of the BBC makeup competition Glow Up, pulling in an estimated €30,000 for the role. The show launched as part of RTE's autumn programming slate, but getting it made during the pandemic required the kind of logistical choreography usually reserved for surgical theaters.
The format itself—aspiring makeup artists competing while being judged by celebrity guests—presents an obvious problem in a Covid world. Makeup application is intimate work. You cannot do it from six feet away. You cannot do it through plexiglass. So the production company Indiepics and RTE's specialist Covid consultant had to rebuild the show from the ground up.
The ten competing makeup artists lived together in a bubble throughout filming. The models who appeared on set were tested before arrival and instructed to minimize their movements from that point forward. Everyone involved—Higgins, the artists, the models, the judges, the crew—underwent regular PCR testing. Sanitizing stations dotted the set. Higher-grade masks were distributed to all participants. The show's format itself was altered from the BBC original: instead of applying makeup to models for multiple challenges, the Irish competitors were restricted to one makeup application challenge, with the other main challenge requiring them to do their own makeup instead.
RTE confirmed to the Irish Sun that the broadcaster had secured sponsorship for the eight one-hour episodes, with a company paying €120,000 to attach their name to the series. That sponsorship money helped underwrite Higgins's fee, which an industry source characterized as the upper end of what RTE typically pays a presenter.
Higgins, who is dating Strictly Come Dancing's Giovanni Pernice, apparently took some of her earnings and distributed them among the crew. Makeup artist Suzy Clarke received a quilted YSL bag valued at around €1,750. Hairstylist Carl Bembridge got a Prada shoulder bag worth €1,150. PR representative Jacey Lillie White was gifted a Balenciaga hourglass tote priced at €1,650. The gesture suggested either genuine warmth or the kind of professional generosity that comes with a six-figure paycheck.
What emerged from the production was a case study in how broadcasters adapted intimate formats to pandemic constraints. The show worked. It aired. The protocols held. And it demonstrated that some television could still be made when the stakes—and the precautions—were taken seriously enough.
Citas Notables
Pulling off a high profile make-up show during Covid was a hell of a job for RTE. Putting make-up on somebody is so intimate, it's certainly not something you can do from a distance.— TV insider quoted by the Irish Sun
La Conversación del Hearth Otra perspectiva de la historia
Why was this show so hard to make during Covid, compared to other television?
Because makeup is hands-on work. You're leaning in close to someone's face, touching their skin, breathing the same air. You can't film that from a distance. Most other shows could pivot to remote or socially distanced formats. This one couldn't.
So they basically rewrote the competition itself?
They did. In the original BBC version, contestants apply makeup to models across multiple challenges. Here, they limited that to one challenge and had the competitors do their own makeup for the other main one. It's a different show, technically.
The bubble living arrangement—was that standard practice, or unique to this?
It was a deliberate choice to control variables. If the ten artists were living together, they couldn't bring the virus in from outside. It's the same logic sports leagues used. You contain the risk by containing the people.
And Maura Higgins giving away designer bags to crew—was that part of the budget, or her own money?
Her own. She made €30,000 for hosting. The bags alone totaled around €4,500. It reads as genuine generosity, or at least the kind of gesture someone makes when they've had a good experience working with people.
What does this tell us about how television adapted?
That when the format demanded it, broadcasters got creative rather than canceling. They didn't water down the show or move it online. They found ways to make the intimate thing work safely. It cost more, required more testing, more coordination. But it was possible.