Brighton MET student wins first prize in national makeup competition 

Irene Rico Llavador, a Brighton MET student studying Media, Hair and Makeup, has recently won a national Halloween makeup competition run by makeup brand Kryolan.  

The competition, which was sent to students up and down the country, tasked entrants with using cosmetic products only to create the scariest and spookiest looks they could, using either themselves or a model. 

For finishing first place, Irene won £100 worth of Kryolan products and a free one-day workshop at the Kryolan store in Covent Garden, London. 

Irene talked about her design, saying: “The first ideas I had was for an underwater creature, and I went to an event where they were doing a demonstration on how to use bald caps, and I thought maybe this is my main thing for the makeup. 

“I really like doing makeup, so I thought this competition would be a good idea. When I asked my lecturer, she said don’t get your hopes up because of how many people enter. I thought, well then, I want to win this, I want to be the best, so I think that pushed me to do better. 

“I was just looking at my phone in class, and I got an email from Kryolan saying I had won. It was very unexpected, and to get it during the middle of class as well. I ran to Caroline, my lecturer, and she was also very surprised, and everyone was really happy for me. 

“I’m just really happy, I think it proves I can do this as a job and a profession. I’m really looking forward to the workshop in London, as I think it will help me learn some new things.” 

Caroline Hand, Irene’s lecturer, added: “I received an email from Kyrolan UK, offering a Halloween competition for students. I thought I’ll give it out to students. 

“Irene has been an absolute pleasure to teach, she soaks up everything I teach her, and then develops it further, she is the ideal student. 

“I am really proud of her, she has done amazing things and is going to have an amazing career, her designs are amazing, her work ethic is fabulous. She really thinks outside the box with her makeup designs, I am really looking forward to seeing good things from her in the future.” 

If you would like to read more about the Hair & Beauty courses we offer, please visit – https://www.brightonmet.ac.uk/study-with-us/subjects/hairdressing-and-barbering/