Glow Up: How make-up helps with my wellbeing

Marketing and meditation may seem poles apart in energy, but it's a pairing Glow Up contestant Rahual successfully brought together early on his career path.

“I started off with mindfulness Mondays,” he told BBC Bitesize about his job in event management, which also involved maintaining a positive workplace culture. “I would set up in the games room, black out all the windows, put on some mood music and really set the vibe. Sometimes I had sessions where there were two people - if it’s two people or 10, I’m gonna give it my all.”

The corporate world was one of just many places “proud Brummie” Rahual found himself on his way to working in make-up. Along the way, he became a photographer, did some training as a dentist and - as a child - worked as an actor, appearing in a cereal commercial and having a regular role in a radio drama series on the BBC’s Asian Network. It was his time in theatre which first exposed the young Rahual to the make-up world and sparked something within him that other career choices never could. “I used it as almost a therapeutic outlet throughout the years,” he explained, “because it was a therapy for me, I didn’t consider it could also be a career.

“As the years progressed, I would slowly start to do a few freelance bookings, so the make-up has always been there, but I’d never taken it seriously. I took a little bit of a plunge and a risk and left a comfortable corporate job and thought, ‘right, I need to do something that makes me happy’.”

That ‘something’ has also been good for Rahual’s wellbeing, and not just in bringing him to the attention of the Glow Up team.

Why make-up can be a feeling - and a transformation

“For me," Rahual continued, "I think make-up is more than just an art, it’s a feeling and something that can evoke a feeling within us. It can transform us, it can take us to another place and that has always been a big part of my interest.”

He continued: “Watching that transformation, not only physically - but energetically, it really does something. There’s something quite beautiful and magical about how it can really change the energy in somebody… Quite often we are boxed in and expected to fit into certain norms - societal expectation - how we should dress, how we should present ourselves and what is appropriate for certain environments. With make-up, that really breaks all of those rules. It’s also a quite liberating act when there isn’t a rule book.”

Giving yourself a boost - even on a gloomy day

Our moods change all the time and even if Rahual isn’t feeling at his most positive, make-up is one way of giving himself a boost, as he explained: “You can transmit your energy through make-up, it doesn’t necessarily always have to be from a place of happiness. It’s like how an artist would throw a paint at a canvas and that would then become something admired by others. Make-up is the same thing.”

Once Rahual has the brushes out, he finds the best looks are where he can “feel the energy” in what he is creating, rather than applying make-up for the sake of it. It’s all part of how he feels: “Polished and put together and ready to face the world and be my most empowered self. Throughout my journey, there’s been times when I felt a bit conscious of being a male wearing make-up, sometimes it can have a stigma. I’ve had to work through understanding the power that it has. There’s been times where I’ve decided not to wear make-up where I usually would and it’s had an opposite effect, it’s made me feel less of myself and not as confident.”

Rahual also noted that he’s now seeing a rise in male clientele who want make-up, for special occasions such as weddings, and also everyday life.

Passing that positivity on to others

Working with others is another way Rahual enjoys creating an atmosphere of wellbeing. He offers to help clients relax with breathing exercises before starting work on their face, especially when the occasion can be stressful.

“I have worked with many brides,” he explained, “and being with the bride on the morning of her wedding when she’s not necessarily had interactions with many other people, it’s a big responsibility for me.”

He continued: “My method is to create an ambience and an environment to enable that. We’ll listen to affirmations together - I’ll do a facial, like a mini-spa, and get ready for the day.

“There’s so many moving parts to a wedding day, by the time they are ready and they get to look into the mirror, it’s evoking that strength from within and realising that, ‘yes, I’m ready for this’.

“That’s one of the reasons I’ve pursued this path. It brings me so much joy, seeing those moments.”

Series 7 of Glow Up is on BBC Three and also on BBC iPlayer.

This article was published in May 2025