One of my favorite TV shows is on Syfy, and is the special FX makeup version of Project Runway. Instead of making fabulous outfits, these artists create characters using molds, castings, prosthetics, make-up and body paint. The show is hosted by actress McKenzie Westmore, with judges (l to r) Glenn Hetrick, Ve Neil and Patrick Tatopoulus.

I was obsessed with this show when it was on last year, and I am so excited it just returned for its second season. Throughout the new season I’ll be posting up photos, talking about what I liked and what I didn’t like and if I think the winner should’ve won, and if the person asked to leave deserved to leave. I’ll put those spoilers under a jump link so I (hopefully) don’t ruin it for anyone. I’m also planning to wait a few days before posting my thoughts, which should give those of you also watching it time to catch up.

The first episode was called Return to Oz. We’re introduced to the new cast, who are immediately given a Foundation Challenge. Basically this is a “simple” challenge where every person does some sort of makeup, and the winner is given immunity at the Spotlight Challenge (which is the BIG challenge of the show).

The winner was Jerry, with his pink/purple sprite makeup job.

I felt a little “eh” with this makeup. I was also a little perturbed that not all the models were shown. They quickly flashed through them all, but really focused on the top two and bottom two. (Brea found herself in the bottom- her makeup was horrible).

The Spotlight challenge revolved around reimagining four of The Wizard of Oz’s iconic characters: the Cowardly Lion, the Tin Woodman, the Wicked Witch of the West, and the Scarecrow. The cast was divided up to boys vs. girls, which was an interesting way to go. Immediately the boys noticed how good at sculpting the girls were, and the girls outshines the boys with their ability to work together (minus the lion team).

Tara was working alone on the scarecrow, and DAMN that girl has so mad carving skills. The boys could not stop checking out her work, which bodes well for the girls!

My favorite overall was Tara’s scarecrow. She put so much thought at detail into him, I really wanted her to win.

I was amused that both teams ended up in a similar dystropian-style reimagining of Oz. Although their ideas were different and none of their characters looked the same, you could almost mix and match them. (Spoilers behind the jump)

Overall, the girls had much stronger looks. Minus that lion. The body painter really failed at painting his body! And where did those tribal tattoos come from? No one else looks tribal!
(All images are girls on the left, boys on the right)

The boy’s lion was fantastic. I just wish the girl playing the part acted more hungry than scared when she was on stage, but that’s an actor issue, not makeup.

Both tin woodmen were disappointing, although I liked the idea of the girl’s version much better, because it fits with the original idea of how the tin woodman came to be (enchanted axe, cuts off body parts, he replaces them with tin until he’s made of all tin). I agreed with the judges that the straight-down-the-face line of line in the facemask looked off.

The girl’s witch was way better than the boy’s. I loved her gold skin, her warts- all of it. The boy’s witch looked like wrinkled deli meats, to be honest. She was too much- too much nose, too much hair. I loved the way the girl’s witch wasn’t dried out and rotting, like the other characters were. She’s a witch. She can “fix” herself.

And, of course, my favorite! The girl’s scarecrow. Lord, Tara did a fantastic job. Even the boy’s scarecrow looks cool, but he reminds me of Oogy Boogy from The Nightmare Before Christmas.

All four girl’s creations

All four boy’s creations

The girls won! Sadly, Tara didn’t get the overall win, but Brea did, which I thought was awesome. She went from the bottom to the top. Unfortunately for Greg, he was kicked off because of the tin woodman’s chest piece. I’m glad it wasn’t my man Nix. I love that mustache.

The next episode is on January 18 at 10 p.m. on Syfy. I can’t wait!

(Photos from Syfy.com)