Season 3 of Face Off, featuring our very own Makeup Design for Film & Television grad Sarah Elizabeth, premiered last night on Syfy and Space! This unique reality competition series features 12 makeup artists battling it out for a 2012 Toyota Camry hybrid, $100,000 cash, and the opportunity to teach a Makeup Forever Master Class in New York and Paris. In case you missed it, the full episode is available for streaming online. If you are in the US, visit Syfy. In Canada, Space has the episode for you.

Read below for a quick recap of Episode 1 – A Force To Be Reckoned With. Warning – contains spoilers!

To kick off the season, the makeup artists converged on a Los Angeles rooftop to meet and mingle at a pool party hosted by actor and guest judge, Sean Astin. Face Off host McKenzie Westmore got things started with the first challenge – to create an original face makeup that showcases their artistic sensibility. Sarah created a superhero look that, while striking, wasn’t enough to earn her top spot and immunity in the next challenge.

That big challenge came the following day. The artists, each paired off with another contestant, were given three days to create a character that could be found in the famous cantina scene in Star Wars. The artists worked in stages to create their prosthetic pieces, first coming up with a design, then creating the sculpture, molding it, and then finally applying it to their model. Sarah and her partner, Laura, created an elaborate makeup to portray a femme fatale, bounty hunter who would have looked right at home in the film.

The judges, three-time Oscar winner Ve Neill (Pirates of the Caribbean, Edward Scissorhands), Glenn Hetrick (Heroes, Buffy the Vampire Slayer), Patrick Tatopoulos (Underworld, Independence Day), and Neville Page (Avatar, Prometheus) had high praise for Sarah and Laura, calling their character “clever”, “beautiful”, and “the cleanest makeup” they’ve ever seen on the show. While they loved the sculpting, makeup application, and costuming of Sarah and Laura’s character, the judges decided that seasoned vets Rod and Roy deserved first place for their original and ambitious creation that included an elaborate prosthetic body and an exoskeleton.

Ultimately, Sarah and Laura finished in second place, which shows great promise for Sarah in episodes to come. While the show did have some character related drama. including one contestant walking off the show near the end of the episode, the series focuses a great deal on the artistry and skill that is required to work in makeup at this level. Each week, contestants will be required to step up their game to stay on the show and have a shot at making it to the live finale, which airs on October 31st.

Check out the video below for a sneak peak of next week’s episode, Pirate Treasure, and tune into Syfy or Space next Tuesday night to catch the full episode.

Take a look at our recaps of episodes Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven, Eight, and Nine as well as a Q&A with Sarah about the show.