Hey, it's the episode where Tyra photographs the girls! Coming at least a month early, and maybe two. But I'm getting ahead of myself. The girls first get a lesson in time-sensitive makeup from Sam Fine, since they might have to dash off to a casting call at any second. He tells them that concealer, bronzer, mascara and gloss are all you need.
They then head to Wal-Mart, as you do when you've just learned an important beauty lesson, where they meet up with Nigel and his wife, Crissy. They have a challenge in which they must create a perfect "model basic" look by tromping through stations set up at Wal-Mart's clothing, shoes, makeup and photo departments. At each station there are fewer items than girls, so some are eliminated along the way.
Only the first three girls to cross the finish line get judged by Nigel and Crissy -- these are Bianca, Sundai and Erin. There's some controversy around Erin, who pushes and shoves and grabs her way through the race, and also goes so far as to toss Ashley's model comp card photo (which she has to pick up at the last station before crossing the finish line) on the floor. Though it's Sundai who wins this challenge (and a photo on Wal-Mart's website along with a $1,000 gift certificate), Erin still vows to do whatever it takes to be the ultimate victor.
The girls are mucho excited and nervous when they discover that Tyra will be photographing them this week. She'll be doing a beauty shot -- an important genre for shrimpy models -- that features the girls wearing scarves on their heads. And then, twist! Tyra and Jay will determine on-set which girl had the strongest photo for the week, and that girl will have immunity from elimination. It's just the first step in Tyra bypassing the judges entirely, which we all should have expected.
At the shoot, Laura proves herself to be a model who needs wind, Sundai learns to relax her lips, Jennifer pulls her own hair and screams, Brittany's covered face results in her best shot to date, Bianca once again leans on Jesus, Rae produces an angelic photo, Kara does nothing but rely on her DNA, Erin knows how to model but fails as a human being, Nicole has talent but also a strange resemblance to Gollum in the hands, and Ashley fails in two different outfits. Common denominator in that failure? Her.
Brittany gets the best photo of the week and corresponding immunity, and also gets to do a photo shoot for Tyra's website featuring two "models that Tyra discovered." The other girls are visibly not happy for her. At panel, the judges crack up at the mention of Laura's grandma Wanda Sue, who makes all of her clothing. You might think that they're just anti-yokel, but the fact is that grandma Wanda Sue makes some questionable design choices. Let's just say that Tim Gunn would be very concerned. Jennifer, Rae, Nicole and Erin all join Brittany at the top of the heap, while Ashley and Bianca land in the bottom two. Third time's a charm as Bianca is finally ousted.
Discuss this episode in our forums, then see why vloggers Val & Beth think that Tyra should start accepting older models, as well, in TV is the Answer. And check back soon for the full weecap!
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