The second episode of Face Off, a makeup reality competition series featuring Makeup Design for Film & Television grad Sarah Elizabeth, aired last night. In case you missed it, the episode is available online on Space in Canada and Syfy in the US. You can also take a look at our Episode 1 recap and a Q&A with Sarah about the show.

Recap below – contains spoilers!

Episode 2 kicked off with the first individual challenge of the season and the first challenge of the series to have a cash prize for first place. $5,000 to be exact. The 11 remaining contestants were all very keen to prove themselves, and of course, to win the cash. The challenge was to create an original pirate character that has become one with the sea. Each makeup artist was given a pirate themed item as inspiration for their character. From netting to barnacles to a spyglass, it was interesting to see the wheels turning as they considered what to do.

The artists had three days to create their character, beginning with the sculpting phase, followed by the molding phase, and finally finishing it off with the application phase and last looks. Sarah received sea urchins as her items of inspiration and her creation was a pirate wench who has become infested by sea urchins. The urchins have since begun crawling out of her body. After Sarah received glowing comments from resident judge Ve Neill during the molding phase and compliments on her costume work, it was clear that Sarah was once again a front runner in the week’s challenge.

After the judges saw everyone’s work, Sarah, Laura, and Roy found themselves in the top spots but in the end, it was Sarah’s slime oozing pirate wench who took first place! The judges said Sarah “exudes confidence” and called her creation “amazing”, saying that it had a “wonderful rhythm that kept it dynamic and your eyes interested.” If that wasn’t high enough praise, one judge even said that character’s haunted look took their breathe away!

Sarah’s plan with the cash? Flying her parents and brother from Indiana to Vancouver for a visit. Going home this week was CC, an Atlanta-based makeup artist who had considerably less experience than many of the competitors on the show. The judges felt her pirate character lacked direction and that she needs to work on her skill set.

Congrats on your win this week, Sarah!

Check out a a preview for next week’s episode, Year of the Dragon.

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