Glow Up star Ophelia is made up to be back at Shropshire college
An ex-Shropshire student who has risen to fame as a global makeup artist star has paid a return visit to her former college for the first time in six years.
Ophelia Liu, 28, who studied at Acton Burnell-based Concord College from 2009 to 2013, rose to stardom following her appearance on BBC’s Glow Up (season 2) in 2020.
The renowned competition show – now available on Netflix – enables aspiring makeup artists to navigate colourful challenges to win a career-making opportunity in the beauty industry.
Last December Ophelia was named in Tatler as Asia’s Most Influential – ‘a definitive directory of people shaping Asia.’
This is specifically a flagship list of 300 individuals spanning 19 categories ranging from the arts to finance and sustainability.
Currently a freelance makeup artist with her own clothing business, Ophelia returned to Concord to design the ‘looks’ for the college’s upcoming musical production.
In addition, she ran workshops for groups of students involved as well as catching up with former teachers.
Ophelia said: “I have done makeup master classes, but never taught in a classroom setting. I really enjoyed the experience.
“Concord’s head of art Mr Anthony Hudson got in touch after seeing me on Glow Up and it was great to speak to him. I was nervous about what the teachers would think of me after all these years.
“I have enjoyed the opportunity to have a free reign to design the looks for the upcoming show.
“The students now have the opportunity to try out their own designs as they have learned all the techniques – I wish them the best.”
Mr Hudson said: “The reaction from students has been overwhelmingly positive. It’s been a fantastic opportunity for learning, having fun and connecting.
“It was particularly interesting watching our students learn how to build the trust between the model and the makeup artist.”
He added: “A huge thanks to Ophelia for taking the time out of her busy schedule to come and see us to support our students and our performance. We hope she will come back to pass her experience on to our students in the future.”
