Experimentation with Contemporary Elizabethan Make-up Design.

 

 

     I'm going to talk about some of my contemporary Elizabethan Make-up designs. Inspired by many different things. The first one I'm not sure if I like. How I had pictured it in my head wasn't how it came out to look. The first look has been inspired by images and words in a song. The images are of contemporary make-up which I really liked and struck me so I wanted to try and incorporate something like it into my designs. The inspiration from the song is the following paragraph

         '' loving him is like driving a new Maserati down a dead end street. Loving him is like trying to change your mind once your already falling through the free fall, losing him was blue like iv never known, missing him was dark grey all alone but loving him was red, burring red ''

So basically the story behind the make-up is when I heard the song from Taylor swift called Red. It reminded me very much of queen Elizabeth before she had her love affair and become a very powerful ruler. ''Loving him was like driving a new Maserati down a dead end street'' this to me gives me an image of freedom which is what a lot of the Elizabethans had, epically the woman in terms of other countries in the world at the time, Which reflects the powder to be free on the face without any real sort of structure, to allow the powder to drop to the bottom of the eye and just wipe it or smudge it. The colours are from the song which are also colours worn by the Elizabethans which were royal colours and meant you had power or where important.
  From the colours in the song, I got this image of a woman who had been emotionally hurt which is much like queen Elizabeth in terms of her love affair and having it not work out, she was hurt by this. And by proving to her people she was loyal to them and to keep her level of power she chose to stay single, not so much because she wanted to but because she felt like she had to or she would lose what she had. So I kept the colours near the eyes to reflect pain and emotion as when a person is upset or sad they tend to cry which comes from the eyes I wanted to use the red blush and the white face to make a very clear Elizabethan reference and chose the colour red as that is the colour of power and also is the title of the song. This colour red means so much to both Taylor swift and in the Elizabethan times. Iv kept the lip a simple undefined pale pink to represent the lip in Elizabeth times as this is a look mostly based around emotion and culture I felt to have another clear Elizabethan reference to keep the lip referencing the lip they would have used.

I would really love some feed back on this as I'm a bit unsure about the idea if it fits the brief correctly or if I have gone off on a bit of a tangent

My second look I created was inspired by the Viven Westwood runway look where you take part of the Elizabethan feature and apply it and also from the lash pigmentation class we did with our lecturer Lara where she showed us how to pigment the colour of the lashes to make them any colour you want. I really liked the way it look and felt it gave a very interesting twist on the Elizabethan look, also because in class we have been working so much with lashes in the past few weeks and colours I thought it all blended in really well with everything we have learned in the past few weeks, and what better way to practice everything then to combine some of the techniques.




This is my second experiment look. I quite like this one. I would like to add something to the lip to make it that bit more modern and give it quite a twist. I chose the colour red because I like that colour lipstick on me and because I used my hair extensions to do the pin curls and two of them were red so I felt it made since. I also like using the colour red throughout my look as going back to my original idea the colour red meant power, and authority and was a symbolic colour in Elizabethan times. I'm thinking of using red Christmas bulb decorations in place of the pin curls as my hair being short has encountered a lot of problems when trying to make the pin curls look decent. Plus I also wanted to add a modern twist or accessory to the look so I thought they would be kinda fun to play around with and maybe a bit more different to what other people would chose. Plus its so close to Christmas we might aswell try and include it!  I have a few other looks that I would like to try out aswell so I will post up about 4 or 5 more

 

Contemporary Elizabethan make-up and inspirations for my own Designs

I think that this photo has a lot of Elizabethan References in a very modern way, The high collar, the hair, and I really love the colours in this around the eyes, also the really pale white face and soft pink natural lip is a very clear Elizabethan reference.  

 I just love this image so much I'd really like to try and figure out a way to do something like it in my own design. I love the freedom that the make-up has, that it is unstructured and a bit more on the abstract side. REALLY love this!

This reminded me of like Elizabethan meets Alaska. Quite a weird combination I know but when I looked at this I just saw Elizabethan influences. The more kinda white skin, the lavish accessories, the big hats and the royal colours used through the whole colour scheme within the make-up and styling. The soft pastel colours in the lips, the blue obviously being more modern and contemporary.

Then we have Viven Westwood which gave me lots of inspiration for a make-up design. The white blank face with no real definition in it. But I love how the whole face isn't covered in the white,  There's parts on the forehead etc that aren't covered. Taking parts of the Elizabethan Make-up, I really like this idea ALOT.


                 This is possibly one of my favourite images, I love Z!INK magazine , The white pale skin is a reference to the Elizabethan make-up style., the red circle blush has been applied more up on the cheek bone closer to the eye area to have a more contemporary twist on it. The eye brow has also been covered, but has had green placed over it instead of leaving it the basic white colour. You can see that the ears are also covered with the same white pale colour and has been used down onto the neck as well.



      This one has very obviously and clear Elizabethan References. White face, Big curly hair, the lace and frizzles on the collar making the face look very delicate which is what the Elizabethans strived to achieve. But then there is this very modern and dark lip fully defined and winged black eye liner . The collar has been made to be over large and to exaggerate it .

Elizabethan Make-up applied in studio.

This is my Elizabethan make-up applied and photographed in the make-up studio. I used the Illamasqua white foundation base and I mixed it with a matt primer to create a very matt finish. Before applying the base I applied a rich moisturiser to the face and neck as my partners skin was quite dry and I find the white base to look quite dry on the skin and if you don't moisturize really well before apply it , it just doesn't sit well on the skin. I used a buffing foundation brush to apply it as I find they give a better finish and I find them easier to use. I applied the base to the face, neck and ears so that every where that would be visible would be the pale white colour. I then went over the base with a large kabuki brush to really buff the base and work it into the skin. For the eye brows I covered them with the same base as I did doing the face and then after I had the face and neck really buffed I went back over the brows and really focused on the eye brows with a brow brush applying a base through the hairs of the brow and not onto the skin.
 I then applied a white face powder using cotton wool pads in a rocking motion applying lots of powder all over the face to create that same texture that the Elizabethan's had in their make-up and to give that really matt finish like they had. Once the powder was applied I then applied a small amount of powder pink blush in a circle motion to the apple of the cheek area and didn't blend it back to the ear or on the cheek bone but instead just blended the edges so it didn't look like a clown make-up. I then applied a small bit of pink blush to the lip area undefined to represent what they would have done .
It was quite interesting to do the Elizabethan make-up and it gave me some inspiration for my final design. Looking at the photos of the make-up  I find is always better then looking at the make-up through the mirror or directly at the person. I think I should have focused a bit more around the eye area and really brought the base closer to the eye area and to really powder it around the area and eye lid aswell. I think a small bit more powder could have been done around the forehead and nose area just to give it that really matt finish. Feed back on this of any kind would be hugely appreciated. ! :)  

Make-up and hair I have done outside of University

A bit of a fashion stylist I am! I created the entire look,
Hair, make-up and outfit... Even the pose!

 

Same model testing just a different look

I was working on a high fashion photo shoot for a model testing, my look was midway complete

This is one of my favourite looks that I created (With the help of photo shop  and an awesome photographer of course)
Some special effects that I did as a refresher at home

last minute 1950s photoshoot .. Always have your kit at the ready!

The new Elizabethan Era, Are we the ''New Elizabethans''?

In the Fundamentals of Hair and Make-up we were conparing and contrasting todays society , people and culture to examine who could be the new Elizabethan of todays era? After carefull consideration, I have chosen as one of my ''New Elizabethan's'' , Kate Middleton. I have chosen Kate for a number of reasons the main reason being much like queen Elizabeth , alot of magazines, people and society look up to Kate as a fashion icon. Her outfits are splashed all over the newspapers and magazines, she is talked about constantly for her hair, her make-up and her style. Theres plently of talk about how pretty she is and this is exactly how queen Elizabeth was talked about. At the time everyone thought she was just the bees knee's . Everyone wanted her hair colour, she influenced fashion, hair and make-up and I feel Kate has too in a similar way (Plus shes also royal)
    When Kate is photographed there is never really a bad photo of her, this is also similar to what Queen Elizabeth had ordered. I do believe she has had an impact on society as a whole, I think she has created a brillent role model for young people to look up and though she has lots of responsibilty to carry on her shoulders she still acts like a normal person, does normal things etc.

             

    I chose the magazine covers for photos of Kate to highlight my point further about her being talked about constantly,  not only her life, but her fashion, her style and her just in general. I also chose a different selection of magazine covers to show that it wasnt just one magazine that talked about her alot, it was mostly all magazines that talked about her.
  Also alot of the hair styles that Kate wears reflects Elizabethan hair and the style of the time. She wears lots of icon clothes and hats which was much like Queen Elizabeth, Her country is very found of her which is another point her and queen Elizabethen share so I really really think and feel that Kate gives a very good example of The New Elizabethen.

The second person I have chosen , is Karl Lagerfeld the current designer and head of Chanel.
  Iv chosen Karl because of his influences within the fashion industry. He isn't afraid to take risks within the fashion industry and I think that helps to make him so successful. He has taken Chanel from Strength to strength in recent years.
  He is the reason for ''the little black dress'' , which has influenced so many other fashion houses from high street brands right up to the designer brands. The idea of the little black dress has been designed and then redesigned by so many different fashion houses. I feel Karl has really made Chanel what it is today. He is able to make what people want without them even knowing it , which I think is very inspiring. Chanel sort of lost its identity in the 60's and Karl was able to find this again , he was able to bring it back up to strength. He somehow turned it into a bad girl chic . He is famous for his iconic look of a high collar, white hair and black glasses. I think Karl , like a lot of the Elizabethans will be remembered long long after he is dead, not just as the face and head of Chanel. But for his inspirational designs, His way of shaping fashion into what it is today and pushing forward with designs even when people have criticized him for them. Much like queen Elizabeth when everyone was telling her to get married and she stood her ground on what she wanted so has Karl on fashion and his designs.
  
He has basically reinvented chanel which is one of the most historic fashion houses. He also isn't just a fashion designer not only for chanel, but he is also a photographer, costume designer, director, and illustrator. He also designs for Fendi and chloe.


My third chosen person for the new Elizabethan is Walt Disney . Iv chosen Walt because I fell when he was alive he really shaped the way people make fictional characters in television. Even now that he is dead his work is still remembered, studied and continued on. Plus he made my childhood very happy watching Micky Mouse every morning!
    Walt Disney is known throughout the world much like the Elizabethans. He is also a major  figure  all over the world. He started what is now the best known motion picture producers company in the world known as Walt Disney Productions. He created the most iconic fictional character that is widely known  all over the world, Micky Mouse. In his life time he won 22 academy awards from 59 nominations which has given him more then any other person in history. I believe he has influenced society with his designs.I think he has contributed to young kids having and developing an imitation.
   Any Icionic film or well known television production that you can think of, more then likely he has been involved in the making of it to some description and I think he will always be remembered and studied not just in this century but in many many to come. 



     

My make-up experiment with PAPERSELF lashes

    So today in my Make up class we had a demo on Lash pigmentation and applying false lashes.
PAPERSELF lashes sponsored the lashes for us to use so it was really exciting and fun to experiment with. The make-up was based on Elizabethan make-up with contemporary complimentary colours.
   The colours I chose for this particular look were purple and yellow. I felt these colours worked well on my model's skin tone and colour for her eyes. As the Elizabethans tried to achieve a very flawless look that's what I tried to achieve with highlighting and contouring the face in complimentary colours that weren't  natural or commonly used in Make-up
   

As you can see from the photos I used Yellow the lighter colour for highlighting and the purple, the darker colour for contouring the face and I used a purple with a brown undertone for the eye liner around the eye area. I kinda think this colour suited the models eye colour and made the eye really pop as to say.
 I created my look by first cleansing, toning and moisturising the skin. I then applied a base to the skin and really worked it into the skin and buffed it into the skin. I then applied concealer to the under eye area to conceal any dark circles and uneven skin tone. I then concealed any blemishes thatwas on the skin. I didnt contour the face with concealer as I didnt feel it was necessary as the colours I used to contour were quite strong and unnatural I felt that it wouldnt make much of a difference to the skin anyway. Once I was happy with the base and concealer, I then started working on the eyes and doing the liner. I applied a purple liner with a brown undertone to it . I then measured, fitted and applied my lashes to the eye area. When I was happy with them I then moved on to contouring the face first working with the lighter yellow colour and then the deep purple tones, I feel it showed up quite well in the photograph without being to over powering as the lashes is what I wanted to make the look not the contouring of the face.
  I really enjoyed working with the PAPERSELF Lashes and it was very enjoyable to be using such a well known brand.