Contemporary References to Elizabethan Era

I am going to start looking at contemporary Elizabethan makeup looks and seeing and understanding how artists have used this and put their own mark on it. I want to create something different and original but I still want others to recognise that it is from the Elizabethan era. 

Below are a few images that I have collected to help inspire me when creating my face charts.

Kirsty Mitchell

Wonderland - 'The White Queen'

Image from: http://media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/20/75/cd/2075cd228746f92bbbc6af9ac1afb37d.jpg

Image from: http://media-cache-ec0.pinimg.com/736x/98/a1/f0/98a1f003d561aee8b561f5e75f15bdc1.jpg

You can see clear relation to the Elizabethan era here. From the pale face, the blocked out eyebrows the heart-shaped hair, the jewels. It has all the aspects of the Elizabethan era but with a modern twist. This will help me when I come to design my makeup look.

Katarzyna Konieczka 

'Nekromantik Collecton'

Image from: http://www.morfae.com/data/0991/01.jpg

Image from: https://m1.behance.net/rendition/modules/12071404/disp/9dc5d27a8dfbc92c05d2f458590e5f0e.jpg

Her work is very unusual but I can see an Elizabethan theme, the makeup is simple and the hair has been curled or frizzed and put up into a bun, just like from the Elizabethan era.


Alexander McQueen
Fall 2014

Image from: http://www.allure.com/beauty-trends/blogs/daily-beauty-reporter/2014/03/backstage-beauty-alexander-mcqueen-fall-2014.html

This look is extremely inspired by the Elizabethan era! The eyebrows have been blocked out and the face is pale. The eyes are kept simple with a little bit of eyeshadow and the cheeks are rouged. Their foreheads are quite big as well and there are some plaits in the fringe. This is a very modern version of the Elizabethan era and I really like how they have captured it by keeping it so simple.

Fall/Winter 1999

Image from: https://c2.staticflickr.com/4/3419/3391071687_3da35610f8.jpg

The simple makeup and the plaited up hair give this look an Elizabethan feel to me. The hair at the top looks crimped and frizzed which was a very popular hairstyle back in the 16th century.

MTV Geordie Shore
Series 9 Advert

Image from: http://www.mtv.co.uk/sites/default/files/styles/carousel_wide/public/mtv_uk/subjects/cover/2014/09/30/gs-hero-s9_fade.jpg?itok=-_psbFHa

Image from: http://i2.cdnds.net/14/37/618x443/uktv-geordie-shore-series-9.jpg

Video from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zT05zwovOV8

This is the advert for the new series of Geordie Shore, when I saw this I just had to post it, especially being one of my favourite programmes! Vicky's hair is very Elizabethan as it has been curled or frizzed and has been put up into a bun. Her eyes are quite dramatic but her face is very plain and simple. Her outfit is also quite Elizabethan as she is wearing ruffles and a corset just how they did in the 16th century. She is in charge of the house and is now known as "Queen V" and is wearing a crown. I think this look is quite a contemporary version of the Elizabethan era and it is interesting to see how people are still using this look today to advertise. 

Face Charts

In our lecture, we had to create a contemporary Elizabethan makeup design. This is what I came up with in the time we had to complete it.

I wanted to keep the face pale but make the features stand out. I chose to use the colours black and purple as this works well being on a pale face. I have made the eyes dramatic and flicked them out going up towards the temples. I have contoured the cheeks using purple and I have used black and purple to ombre the lips. For a finishing touch I added in the hair and added a jewel headpiece.


I also experimented with another design at home. I wanted to try out neutral colours and golds to see how the colours would turn out.

 I wanted to keep the pale face the same and create a look where it had just simple makeup. I have used neutral colours for the eyes and have blended them from light to darker colours. I used the same colour I put on the eyes for the cheeks, I didn't want to contour so I applied the eyeshadow to the apple of the cheek. I then used a darker colour for the lips and only applied it softly in the middle of the lips. I wanted to give the impression that the lips were small.

The colour red pops into mind when I think of the Elizabethans, I think its because red represents royalty. I didn't want it to be too harsh on the pale face so I softened it down by using more pink tones. I would block out the eyebrows and then use the pink on the eyes and flick it out to shape the eye. I wanted to try something different so I contoured the cheeks and again, I wanted the lips to appear smaller so I painted on a heart shape for the middle and then I softened the rest of the lips out with a lighter pink. 

I wanted to keep this one more Elizabethan than contemporary. I would use white to make the face pale and apply white eyeshadow to the eyes and a white mascara. I would use orange eyeshadow on the eyebrows and around the eyes and use purple underneath as these colours compliment each other. I would then bring the eyeshadow down to the apple of the cheeks and ombre the lips using orange and yellow colours.