Timed Assessment - As The Makeup Artist

On Wednesday 3rd December it was my timed assessment as the makeup artist! Hannah gave me her design and we practiced until I felt confident in doing it. It helped that me and Hannah had good communication skills and it meant that we could practice in and outside of lesson and she could direct  me with how she wanted her design to look. We both came prepared to our assessment, Hannah bringing in her notes, designs and anything extra she used for her design and I came along with my full makeup kit and brushes. I set up the workstation neatly and as soon as we were allowed to start, I got on right away. I feel that I did a good job in the assessment and I believe I got the mask equal on both sides which is good as it needed to be symmetrical. I learnt from last time that I needed to make the contour around the face and cheekbones stronger so that it didn't fade when the light hit it and I believe I have improved on this area. If I were to improve and do the assessment again, I would divide my time equally and spend a certain amount on each part of the face such as the eyes, lips and cheeks, rather than just focusing all my time on getting the mask symmetrical for example. I believe this would have helped more as I would have been able to spend a fair amount of time on each feature to allow me for any mistakes made. 

3 Brushes Challenge

In our lesson we had to either design a face chart or practice our partners design for the timed assessment, but there was a catch - we could only use 3 brushes so we had to choose wisely. I wanted to practice my partners design so I could gain more confidence and I chose my foundation buffer brush, a small sized brush and an angled brush. It was really interesting actually as I'm so used to picking up any brush and using it to create the design so I had to choose very carefully.

I think I did quite a good job though as I just used the buffer brush to apply and buff in the foundation. I used the small brush to paint the white mask and blend in the pink around the hairline and to contour and I used the angled brush for the detail; so the lips and the outline of the mask. It was a lot harder obviously, as you only had these 3 brushes to work with but I really enjoyed it and I love a challenge!

Timed Assessment - As The Designer

Today was our assessment and my partner, Hannah was the makeup artist and I was the designer. I gave her my design and we practiced a lot to make sure she felt confident in doing it. I felt that having all the practice time we did in and outside of our lessons helped as it meant we could communicate and I could direct Hannah and she would practice and try out ways that worked best for her. We both came prepared to the lesson, Hannah set up her workstation neatly and got to work as soon as we were allowed too! Hannah bought in all her makeup products and I bought in all the extra products that I used to create this. I think she did a great job today and I this was the best I think she has ever done it and I know she will agree with me. The eyebrows looked fab and worked well and she blended the colours nicely and understood the shape of what I wanted. The colours look bright and vivid here, but as soon as you get under the light in the studio - thats where the colours seem to fade slightly. I think Hannah did a great job however if I were to tell her how to improve, I would tell her to build the layers of colour up and test it under the light so that when it comes to taking the photographs the colours wouldn't look so drowned out.

Elizabethan Selfie!

Image taken by Shahana Hanif

Final Design and Prep for Assessment

My Final Design

I have FINALLY chosen my final design, after lots of experiments and practising to see what worked (and what didn't!) I have finally come up with this idea. My eyebrows just weren't covering so I decided to use paper lashes and I painted them white. I felt this took the attention away from the hairs coming through. I also painted them orange using Kyrolan Supracolor as this helped blend the colours in with my design. I have also added the pearls to the outside corners of the eyes to add in Elizabethan accessories and I also like how I have reduced the length of the lips by adding the foundation to the corners.

I have written up in neat, the notes of the products used to create my design and the steps of exactly how to create this. I have even drawn diagrams so that my partner understands what I am asking and exactly what colours should go where. I have also drawn the shape of the eye makeup so my partner can copy that exactly to see how I want it to look on my face.

I have bought any additional products that I have used that aren't in my kit so my partner can create my look, but my partner knows how to create this look now so I have confidence for the assessment tomorrow as we work well in a team. 

Final Practice of my Design

Todays lesson was a practice session before the assessment tomorrow. It was all about last-minute experimentation to see if things look better when they are placed differently. It was also a good practice for Hannah as this is the first time that we have used the eyelashes. 

Experimentation

We used glue today instead of soap, and as you can see my eyebrows just don't seem to cover! This is why I have chosen the idea to use paper lashes as this draws the attention away from the hairs that come through. Sharon told us to not be so gentle on each other when blocking out the eyebrows and to brush it through backwards before and then apply the glue. I will take this advice on board especially when it comes to me doing the makeup!

We experimented with the positioning of the paper eyelashes and I just couldn't choose whether I preferred them under the eyebrows or on the eyebrows. I had to ask Sharon for her opinion as I was so indecisive! She told me that she preferred it stuck on the eyebrow as it made my eye look a weird shape being slightly under and when I look back on the photos I agree with her. It will need to be shaped correctly to my eyebrow and maybe even cut down to size if necessary. 

The next decision I then had to make was where I wanted the pearls to go! After minutes of deciding and asking my classmates what they preferred, I came to an agreement that I preferred them on the outside corner of my eyes as it photographs better for some reason. I am relieved as I now know exactly how I want my design to look and my so does my partner. 

I think me and Hannah communicate and work well together as we are always practising and exchanging photographs of designs and work we have done outside of lesson and if we both don't like how one of us has done their designs then we say something and we work hard to change it to make it better. I feel confident for the assessment as we always come in organised and ready to get on with it!

Referencing back to Elizabeth The Golden Age

In my design, I was very influenced by this film and I have chosen many elements from it and incorporated it in my design. I wasn't happy with my design originally as I felt it was too simple and it didn't work well on my face as we are struggling getting my eyebrows to cover. My eyes in the design are very simple so I was looking at the film again and I studied the accessories and I came up with the idea to incorporate pearls. I thought these would look great on the eyes. I didn't want it to look to much as I go by the saying "less is more" so I decided to use 1 in each corner of the eye and I feel it works quite well and it has Elizabethan elements in it.

Image from: http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/01081/connected-graphics_1081884a.jpg

The paper eyelashes that I want to use look just like the ruffles that this lady is wearing. I wanted something elegant and delicate and these are almost identical to the eyelashes that I have got.

Image from: https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/8c/a9/dd/8ca9dde10a2b57392c6b4ee54dd450ac.jpg

I am pleased with my design, after many trials and errors I finally got there to create something that I think will work the best on my face. I have included many elements from the Elizabethan era in my design and I have made it look very contemporary by blending the eyes and cheeks into one. I have stuck to some traditional Elizabethan ideas but I have incorporated them with a twist which is what I love about it. I can't wait to see how it turns out in my assessment! 

Practising my Partners Design in Lesson

In our lecture, we had a practice session so I created my models makeup design on her face for the first time. She bought in the face charts which told me the products she used and obviously how she wanted the makeup so I set up and started right away.

The products and equipment I used to create her makeup.

 My models design.

Firstly, I blocked out her eyebrows using glue (which I found for her eyebrows was a lot easier than soap!) They covered pretty well and I am pleased with how it turned out, they don't even really show up that much on camera which is good. I then mixed my models skin colour (FS38 and G177) with Illamasqua skin base to create her exact colour. 

Once I had covered the face, I then used skin base and Kryolan supracolor white to create the masked effect, which as you can see is slightly higher on the right hand side. Which is why it always helps to see what your pictures will turn out like under the lights as it picks up things you didn't know where there. After I studied the eyes again under normal light, the makeup looked higher the other side which was really strange. So I went back and worked on it to make it more equal.

I then added in the purple and pink eyeshadow to create the heart shape at the top of he forehead and also for the contouring which as Lottie picked up on, the colour looks faded as soon as the light hits on it. She told me to go back in and apply a couple of more layers so that the colours stand out and won't fade under the lighting.

As you can see, I have gone back and tried to make the face as symmetrical as possible and I think it looks a lot better then before. It might be a good idea to get a white eyeliner or pencil and draw the outline on the face first rather than just using the supracolor straight on and then keep building it up to make it even. I will talk to my model and maybe use that for the assessment to ensure that I can get it as even as possible. 

Overall I am really pleased with how this has turned out. This was the second time I have done this makeup and the first time that I have done it on my model and the feedback that I got from her was great. She was really happy with it which makes me feel like I have done a good job at creating what she designed. Lottie also advised me and Hannah to get some lip liners for our kits so that we could use this to outline the lips before going straight in with grease-based products as this is harder to remove then pencil. I will see what my partner says about outlining the mask first, but I think this will be the only way (other than creating a stencil) for me to get the most symmetrical look.

Practising my Partner's Design

Unfortunately I was ill and wasn't able to attend lessons to practice my partners design on her face. I still practiced - it just had to be on myself! This helped me understand exactly what my partner wanted and what products she used. Below is my partner's design and my first attempt at it. 

Mixing the foundation on my hand and some of the products that I used. 

Firstly, I matched my skin colour with the Kryolan Ultrafoundation palette (Alabaster and FS 38) and mixed it in with Illamasqua skin base as my face is naturally pale. I then used supracolor white (070) to create the mask effect that my partner wanted. 

 I then used the supracolor palette and used 081 as the liner and lila for the middle as my partner wanted the lips to be ombre. I then added gold over the top to create the shimmery effect.

My partner wanted a beauty mark so I used 071 from supracolor to create this. 

I showed my partner my outcome and she was pleased with it - and so am I. For my first attempt I think I have created it well. My partner is still unsure whether she wants the eyebrows blocked out or not, but we will have another practice and try out different styles to see which works best on her as the design will be on her face (not mine!)