My Trial of Charlottes Design

Last Week I did my first trial of Charlottes Make Up Design. Her design featured a extreme contour in dark red tones, countering the nose, eyes and cheekbones. On the eyes there is a burgundy liner, topped with a thinner line of gold liner. She also decided during the practice that it would be an effective detail to also bring the burgundy colour onto the lashes. The Lipstick for this look needs to be applied in the shape of a heart.

When I first saw Charlottes design I felt fairly confident regarding most of the aspects such as the contouring and liner, but felt like it might take me some practice to achieve the lip shape with as much precision as I would like. While completing the design, we took pictures to check that the strong contour was coming up on the camera. At first although the contouring looked dramatic to the eye, it needed to be stronger to show up on camera. During the practice we realised that I did not have the correct brushes used to create such a precise liner look. For the sake of the practice we did try out a thicker line, but Charlotte decided she wanted to stick with her original idea, and we would find a suitable brush in time for the next practice. As predicted, I really struggled to achieve the heart shape lip. Once again this was partly due to lacking a thin enough brush, and we agreed to find one for next week. We used a Burgundy Supra Colour shade, which we agreed after the practice was too slippery a product, as even when Charlotte talked, the precise shape smudged. We discussed which product would be better, and agreed on the Lip Mix from MAC as it is smudge proof and long lasting.

Overall, I was not satisfied with the look I created in the trial. However I do feel that it was extremely beneficial, as we realised what tools we were lacking and which products would be best to use. I now feel that with one more practice I will be in a confident position to carry out Charlottes design.

The New Elizabethans

Wikipedia. (2014). Keira Knightly. Available: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keira_Knightley. Last accessed 5th December 2014.

I have picked Keira Knightly as someone whom I feel shares some characteristics with a Elizabethan. As an actress, Keira is always In the public eye, but I feel that she deals with her fame in a very graceful way that reminds me of Queen Elizabeth. Kiera wears a lot of royal colours such as dark red, emeralds and a lot of gold. Like the queen she is a strong woman who voices her opinions, speaking out in interviews against photoshopping. Keira has been Photoshopped multiple times during her career, and recently was photographed topless, which was featured without touch ups in a magazine. The point Keira was trying to make here is that in future she wants to be in control of the image of herself that people see, and does not want to be edited to be shown as something she isn't. Queen Elizabeth monitored her portraits so that only ones that she had approved could be seen, and although Keira is against modifying an image, she is still controlling what the public see.

Although set in the 18th Century, Keira's hair in 'The Dutchess' reminds be of the
hairstyles seen in Elizabethan times. 

BBC. (2014). The Dutchess. Available: http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcfilms/film/the_duchess. Last accessed 5th December 2014.

Taming of the Shrew

The BBC adaptation of Shakespeare's 'Taming of the Shrew' is a contemporary version of the classic play. Setting this adaptation in modern times makes the storyline more relatable to modern day watchers, while featuring characters which could be interoperated as New Elizabethans. 

The main character Catherine clearly imposes fear on those around her as you can see in the scene where she is storming through the corridor, all of the other politicians look down, avoid eye contact and shy away from her. As a political leader, people fear and respect her at the same time which I feel is something which could make her comparable to Elizabeth. It was always suggested to Elizabeth that she should get married, just as Catherine is told it would be beneficial for her to marry. Its also hinted at in the film that Catherine is a virgin, which clearly links to Elizabeth as she is known for being 'The Virgin Queen'.  I feel like Catherine's style of dressing hints at Elizabethan fashions as she is often shown wearing very low, square necklines and her clothing is always cinched in at the waist.  Even her wedding dress has been adapted to fit in with this style. The colours used in are very Elizabethan inspired, with lots of Oxblood and Emerald colours. 

I feel like Bianca is also a New Elizabethan. Bianca is a celebrity, so sets trends in fashion and is looked up to in the same way that the public idolised the royals in Elizabethan times. In her house she has pictures of herself, which is something which would be very common in Royalty in Elizabeths era. Elizabeth used portraits as a way of promoting herself, she censored her portraits so she was in control of the way the public saw her. Celebrities today also do this through the use of photoshop. In Elizabethan times, there were no celebrities so the queen was the one person that was idolised and that set the standard for beauty. 

Before becoming queen, Elizabeth mostly dated titled men. As Petruchieo also dresses in a very Tudor style for a modern day adaptation, wearing royal colours and a skirt. His clothing also features a lot of ruffles and pleats, which were very common in mens Elizabethan style. I really enjoyed this adaptation as I found it interesting that although the play has been modernised, there are still a lot of links to Elizabethan colours, costume and culture. 

Leonardo Da Vinci

Leonardo Da Vinci was a highly influencial Polymath scientist, mathematician, inventor, painter, sculptor, architect and more. Born in Italy in 1452, he was the illegitimate son of a lawyer. Leonardo was mostly renowned as a painter, and is famous for work such as the Mona Lisa and the last supper.  He spent a large amount of his life in Milan, with a gap in the middle when the french invaded in 1499. He was referred to as the Renaissance Man as he was so influential in that time in so many areas. 

BBC. (2014). Leonardo Da Vinci. Available: http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/da_vinci_leonardo.shtml. Last accessed 29th November 2014.

Leonardo Da Vinci.org. (2014). Leonardo Da Vinci. Available: http://www.leonardoda-vinci.org. Last accessed 5th December 2014.

Inspiration Pictures

I love the lace used on the eyebrows here, I think this would look great with a hair look also using lace.

The colours used here are very Elizabethan as they are very rich and royal.  The eyebrows have been blocked out which is a particularly Elizabethan trait. 

The main thing which feels very Elizabethan about this look is the pale face, but I love the shadowy eye make up. I feel with a red lip this look could become very Elizabethan inspired.  

This is a very classically elizabethan look, with the white face and red lips. 

                 

I love this look, I feel that it could be adapted to create a heart shape on the face but I also think the original triangle works well. 

I love this modern take on Elizabethan make up, the skin and lips are very typical, but the dark eye make up was not seen at the time so adds a contemporary twist. 

Multiple. (2014). Elizabethan Make Up. Available: http://uk.pinterest.com/search/pins/?rs=ac&len=2&q=elizabethan+makeup&term_meta%5B%5D=elizabethan%7Cautocomplete%7C0&term_meta%5B%5D=makeup%7Cautocomplete%7C0. Last accessed 29th November 2014.

Drawing Skills

In class we were shown examples of some lines, 3D Shapes, and gradients of shading. To begin with we practiced drawing straight lines free hand. We then did a gradient of each of our pencils so we could get used to how the different textures benefited different styles of drawing. I then started practicing drawing the 3D shapes and applying shading correctly to show where the light was coming from. I learned from this exercice I prefer to work with a softer pencil as I find it much easier to blend out shadows ect. I found the exercise quite challenging as I do not have much experience and it is not something that comes naturally to me, but It was helpful to get practice in drawing simple shapes and learning about where to apply shading. I can understand the way learning about the way light hits an object directly relates to applying make up and understanding where to place the products to make them most of the facial features and lighting set up used.

Korena Buckley Analytical Review: The Danger Dress

Body image is a very serious issue in the fashion industry which is built around high fashion brands, being advertised by supermodels. The blogging industry has recently blown up and it is giving more ‘real’ people the opportunity to have an opinion and an influence on others. I think that this post is trying to show readers that being body conscious is normal, and telling them to own their insecurities. The author of the blog is trying to show a wearable way of feeling comfortable while still looking good. ‘Rumi’ is the author of ‘Fashion Toast’. I think she is trying to take a very calm approach to body image issues, and voice her opinion that sometimes simplicity is best. In the pictures which she uses, the colour blue is very prominant. I find blue very calming, but the poses used in the picture  are very confident. Overall I feel that the point of this post is to encourage women to feel confident in their appreerance, and tofall back on to a simple style which makes them feel comfortable.