LCF graduate Craig Hamilton joins BBC3's Glow Up

BA (Hons) Hair, Make-up and Prosthetics for Performance graduate, Craig Hamilton, has been selected for the new series of BBC3's 'Glow Up: Britain's Next Make-Up Star.' LCF have had some notable alumni in the show previously, and this season is no change. We caught up with Craig to find out more about the show, beginning his make-up journey and where he hopes to take his expertise next.

So tell us, where did your makeup journey begin?

After finishing my GCSE’S I struggled with finding something I wanted to do as a career. I always loved the arts, so I decided to start there. It wasn’t until my final year on my Art and Design course where I fell into the world of make up. Practicing SFX on myself and fellow classmates sparked a passion that I never had before. From there, I attended different make courses that specialised in all fields of makeup.

What did you enjoy the most about your time on the BA Hair, Make-up and Prosthetics course at LCF?

Getting into LCF is one of the biggest achievements of my life and graduating is probably an even bigger one. My course taught me everything about the world of special effects make up and wigs. I didn’t realise how much there was to actually learn until I attended there. While I was studying there I was lucky enough to be selected for an opportunity to travel to Taiwan, to represent LCF and teach at Hungkuang University. That experience was truly magical and I'm eternally grateful to have been given this. LCF has opened so many doors for me and I made some friend for life there. ·

What have you been up to during life after graduation?

The hustle doesn’t stop, after graduating I went full time working as a retail makeup artist to support myself living in London. But outside of that, I networked and freelanced as much as I could. Every job that came up I said yes to it, this helped in building up clients and connections to be rebooked.

Tell us about Glow up! How did that come about and how are you finding the competition so far?

So I've always been a fan of the show and I actually applied for season 2 but was unsuccessful, so when I had the chance to apply again for season 3 I gave it another shot. The pandemic had just hit, so work was slow and I was off, so getting cast was such a blessing and really what I needed. Week 1 was challenging for me, as you could tell and I found myself in the face-off chair which is not ideal. I was shaking, but I knew I was not going to give up. Beating the seat in Week 1, I knew I had to bring it the following week, which lead me winning the challenge in Week 2, where the prize was, the look I Designed, would appear in POSE Season 3. It felt so good to win something after telling myself to push through Week 1 and for the prize for my look to be featured in POSE, was unreal and mind blowing.

What are you hoping to do next?

I honestly just want to keeping working and push myself to succeed in this industry and become a successful freelancer, where I continue to push my creativity and design, and show the world what I can do.

Any tips or advice for those graduating soon and looking to follow in your footsteps?

My main advice for anyone starting off in the industry, is don’t stop hustling and say yes to everything. You never know who you are going to meet or what a job can lead to, and you will be surprised at what can happen. Try to gain experience all fields of make up to have a clear understanding what you enjoy the most, whether that is music, beauty or TV and film. Its always good to explore all option and push yourself to be as creative as possible even at times where you might not feel comfortable.

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