Originally aired on the Game Show Network in the US, the three seasons of Skins Wars have now made their way to Netflix. Hosted by Rebecca Romijn, this is a reality competition show that pits body painters against each other for the chance to win $100,000.
Think along the lines of Blown Away (glass blowing), Bake Off (baking) or The Big Flower Fight (flower sculptures) and you get the idea of Skin Wars.
Like most shows in this genre, contestants are whittled down with one body painter getting eliminated in each episode. That decision is made following two different challenges. The first is a ‘mini' challenge and generally involves covering a smaller area of the body with the artists given three hours to complete the task.
That generates a winner who is then given an advantage going into the second, and bigger challenge. This is the big one. In season one the body painters were given four hours to paint. But in seasons two and three, this was increased to five or even six hours, depending on what was being asked of them.
Once completed, the models then head to the judging room and parade down the catwalk for the judges. Those judges are Craig Tracy, Robin Slonina, RuPaul Charles plus one guest. Between them, they decide who has done the best job and who has unfortunately missed the mark. The winner is announced and the loser washes off their canvas and heads home. That happens until the grand final when the best three compete for the $100,000.
There is a lot to really like about Skin Wars. The art is simply incredible. The skill level is insane and the range of tasks is interesting enough to keep you engaged. In fact, the only criticism of the show has nothing to do with the content. It's the editing for Netflix.
There must have been a million ad breaks when the show aired on tv so what we now get is repetition, repetition, repetition. It's as if producers think the audience is so stupid they can't remember what happened two minutes earlier. Very frustrating.
But other than that small gripe, Skin Wars is a total binge-fest. You will love some of the contestants and genuinely dislike others. Waiting eagerly to see them get booted home is part of the fun. So if you love competitive reality shows, Skin Wars will be right up your street.
jose
I really like the fact that this show allows or eventually allows these people to express themselves and see who they are as a person; actually it is a growing process which I can respect. Maybe all people should go through this process of finding out who we really are after leaving the show and watching it. if we need to push ourselves or draw back. if we are selfish or a meek person.
However I did not like Allison. She was fake/is fake. She really manipulated and played on the emotions of the judges and other contestants. I think she stole and copied. I guess she gave off a bad vibe and it came forth even from behind the camera