Face Off Season 2 Finale

THE FINALE HAS FINALLY COME AND WE HAVE BEEN BROUGHT UNTO THE PROMISED LAND OF SPECIAL EFFECT MAKE-UP!!  *ahem*

Well after a very strange season that I began to doubt half-way through, I can honestly say I was damn excited for the finale.  While the final three competitors aren’t as interesting of personalities as the Season 1 finalists, their talent is equal.  Rayce has consistently proven himself as a great sculptor and a master designer this season, Ian has shown that even though he lacks confidence his designs come out surprisingly wonderful most of the time (lets call him the wild card), and RJ is the creative powerhouse of the bunch.

The designs that got them to the finale were;

This was Rayce's design that got him to the finale. He thought he was going home due to technical difficulties with the tail, but in the end it came together.

Ian's design was a bit safer than most, but wonderfully executed.

RJ made a VelociRapper. Heh, cool.

So let’s get to the finale!!  Who won? Was it amazing?  Was it a let down?  Hit the jump to find out!

Also at the end of the article I will include a gallery of highlights from Season 2, including some of the competitors entry designs that earned them a spot on the show.

Right from the get go RJ, Ian, and Rayce are given more back story than we have seen all season.  RJ is a teacher and could use the prize money (100,000$) and the exposure to keep doing what he loves (make-up).  Ian is the youngest and a fresh graduate from make-up school.  And Rayce is a tattoo artist with four kids and is shocked at how far he’s made it.  Immediately the episode teases what is to come; a huge stage filled with people cheering, a dance routine, and all the old contestants coming back to help out.

For the first challenge they are given three film categories; Sci-fi, horror, and fantasy and they each must pick one, design three characters based off of the genre, and then the prosthetics must hold up to a choreographed dance routine in an auditorium filled with people.  All of the old contestants are brought out and split into teams to assist the final three.  Right off the bat, Rayce’s concept idea is impressive.  A creature representing darkness, a creature representing light, and a bastardization of both in the form of a dual faced monstrosity.

Rayce's final make-up. Did it win him the competition? Read on to find out.

Choreographers quickly come in and tell them which ideas will work and, unfortunately, that RJ’s first idea won’t work due to restriction to the dancers.  His fix is a little cliché but his execution is awesome.  He begins mixing in make-up ideas from every school of thought.  Despite a minor hiccup over a phoenix beak that looked too parrot-like he quickly takes a strong lead.

RJ's finale make-up. Did it win him the competition? Read on to find out

Tensions are apparently high and it reads all over the finalists faces.  McKinzie Westmore’s father, Michael Westmore (winner of nine Emmy awards and he did a ton of Star Trek make-up), comes in and gives his thoughts, including a cool idea of highlighting the eyes with a LED. As a recent student, Ian isn’t used to being the teacher of his group and runs into a road bump over sculpt times and then another bump when his “Luciferian” has its hand casts fail.

Not much is seen of Rayce’s work suspiciously.  Time is up and they all head to the Alex Theater for last looks and they all get their own trailer!  Just like a real movie set.  It was very cool.  They are pressed for time and Ian and Rayce weren’t 100% happy with their work when time is up but they had no choice. They enter an auditorium filled with people and are told that the audience will get to vote on the winner and it will be taken into consideration by the judges.  I felt a little iffy about it, but oh well. It is reality tv after all.

The dance sequence was simply awesome.  You have to watch it if you can find it online.  It was set to one of my favorite songs too!  “Cinema” by Benny Benasi.  Here let me share the righteous tune with you.

Although Rayce’s characters took a little damage from the dance routine, they turned out simply amazing.  I stress amazing.  As soon as a picture is available I will have it up for y’all.  RJ’s was good too, although I wasn’t fond of the phoenix.  I loved his mother earth character though.  Ian’s was good but lacked uniformity among his characters.  In the end the audience voted on Rayce.

And after the evil commercial break Rayce was crowned winner, given 100 thousand dollars, the keys to his new car, and he drove off into the sunset.

If you would like to watch a short video of the judges making their decisions (you get to see a glimpse of the finalists creations) click HERE.

The third season beings this summer.  See you there!

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