Makeup Practice - Track Marks

To try and add some special effects makeup to my Claudia design, I tried looking at pictures of track marks on arms and tried to recreate them with supracolour, I wanted to include bruising down the veins. I attempted this twice as pictured below and once again with sculpt gel (not pictured). Unfortunately I am not happy with the outcome of either of these attempts and I do not think it looks good enough to be used for my shoot as it isn't realistic enough. Because of this I am going to stick with using glycerine and blood as these are products that I am more comfortable enough with using as I am not the strongest in the area of special effects.

Hair Trials

Claudia 

One of my first designs for Claudia was to scalp braid the hair all round the head and then mess up the back of the hair with backcomb and glycerine. 

As a practice I scalp braided three sections of the hair as this is a technique that I have never used before. after experimenting with this I realised it isnt appropriate for my character Claudia as it doesn't really fit in with the 90's grunge style/ heroin chic look that I am trying to achieve.

 After trying out this design this is the style that I think will be most appropriate for my character, I have created this by parting the hair in a zig zag style so it is messy, then spraying it with water and glycerine to make it look matted and unkept and slightly backcombed it to add texture. This look will go perfect with my models hair because she has dark brown hair that is slightly wavy and also fits the unkept image of my character.

Mrs. Laderman

This is the modern sleek ponytail with triangle parting, all though I really like this hairstyle, I found it really difficult to get the definition that it needed. And on reflection I think it is far too modern for my character and lacks the glamorous impact I am after. 

This is my first attempt of fingerwaves, I created this by combing damp hair with my comb and using my finger I would clamp the hair down with grips. I then left it to set and dry after hair spraying it. I think this was quite successful for my first attempt, however I think it is far too 1920's and I am going for a more sleek 1930's vibe. When I am doing my design I think it would be best to curl the hair and let it set then manipulate the waves I have made with clips to get more of a 1930's look.

Claudia Hair Designs

Claudia Hair Designs

When designing the hair for Claudia I needed to make sure that her hair was unkept and matted, this fits in with the fact that she is an addict as her appearance wouldn't be very polished. The way I will show this is by incorporating trends of the 1990's and making them look distressed to mach my character.

These are the images that I have been inspired by when designing the hair for Claudia, I have looked at classic 90's styles and have found ways to make them look more distressed and grungy.

Design 1

For my first design I have created a messy hairstyle with a zig zag parting. To create this i will part the hair in a zig zag style and will distress the hair with backcombing, water and glycerine to make it look greasy and wet. 

This is the design that I am going to use on my character as I feel like it provides a subtle nod towards the 1990's without being too obvious or in your face.

Design 2

For the second design I have created a simpler messy style, the hair will be longer and slightly more wavy and more of the classic 90's grunge look. It will be parted down the middle and will hang loose around the face.

Again with this hairstyle I will be spraying water and glycerine in the hair to make it look limp and sweaty.

The reason I have  not chose this hair is because I think it is too simple for my character and also is not suitable for my model who has just cut her hair into a long bob style.




Design 3

For my third design I tried to go a little different, the whole front of the hair would be cornrowed, I have got inspiration for this from the 90's trend of wearing butterfly clips in the hair. The back of the hair will then be matted and messy.

All though I do really like this hair, I have decided against using it for my character as I do not feel like it suits her appearance, it is edging more over into 90's hip hop rather than grunge and will look far too done which will not compliment my characters appearance.

Claudia Face Charts

Claudia Face Charts

For my Claudia designs I have tried to show the era that she died in (90's) and also visible signs of her addiction through makeup, the best way that I could do this was by using glycerine to make the skin look waxy and dead, track marks and also by creating slept in, grungy makeup looks that are heavily influenced by the 1990's.

These are the images that have inspired me when designing makeup for Claudia, I have focused on dark smoked out eyes and pale skin, for that heroin chic look.

Design 1



















 The first design I have created is a more natural look, the skin will be heavily contoured around the temples and cheekbones and there will be shading around the eyes to make the model look tired and emaciated, the skin will have glycerine over it to make it look waxy. For the eyes black mascara will be liberally applied to create a clogged look and the lips will be dark brown and messily applied. I have also included track marks on the neck for this design. This look has been heavily inspired by the 90's no makeup/ neutral makeup look. I have decided against this makeup look as I feel that I want the makeup to be more grungy to give a better impact on the viewers.

Design 2

The second look that I have created includes  a matte base, and matte brown shadows on the eye and a lighter matte brown lip. The liner will be smudged around the eyes to create a messier look. I have not gone for this makeup design as I feel it lacks character effect and will be too pretty for my character.

Design 3

The final makeup design is the one that I will be applying to my model. Like the first design I have contoured the skin to make it look emaciated and ill and I will be covering the skin in glycerine to make it look waxxy. For the eyes I will be using a creme base and will blend it out with my fingers, to darken it I will be applying a blue/brown shadow all over the lid and loads of black eyeliner under the eyes to messily smoke them out. I will be applying brown mascara to the eyebrows and eyelashes. For the lips I will be brushing a blue eyeshadow all over them and then applying gloss to make them look like they are lacking oxygen. I think this is the most appropriate look for my character as I feel it is the best way I can incorporate character effects without using special effects.

Mrs. Laderman Hair Designs

When designing the hair for Mrs. Laderman I wanted to make sure that her look was sleek and polished, this is because she is a woman of power so she has the time to look after herself and keep her hair groomed and polished. This in a way is how I will show her status of power as she has the time to make an effort with herself and look glamorous, however most of the styles I have created are very soft, which I will contrast with harsh makeup.

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These are some of the images that have inspired me visually when creating my hair designs, I want the hair that I create to reflect the shine and smoothness of the hair. I think they are all very glamorous and high fashion so they will be perfect for my character. All images are from Runway shows and one from a magazine editorial.

Design 1

The first hairstyle that I have created for Mrs. Laderman is a sleek low ponytail with a triangle parting down the centre of the hair, this will create the look of a widows peak and will be quite geometric and modern. 

To create this I will straighten all the hair and use gel so you can see the comb marks in the hair. 

As this is a more modern hairstyle I would be designing this for if she was at a fashion show and would pair it with quite elaborate high fashion makeup.




Design 2

The second hairstyle I have created is inspired by 1930s icons, I will be creating a sleek fingerwaved hairstyle. 

To create this I will make sure the hair is sleek and free of flyaways, and then use straighteners to create a fingerwaved effect, then set it with clips and hairspray.

This will be a really polished look that will be very soft and will contrast the harshness of the makeup.

If I was pairing this hairstyle with a more elaborate editorial design I would apply gold leaf or a strip of metallic colour down the parting.


Design 3

The final design is a sleek chignon hairstyle. This design is similar to the previous two as it is sleek and feminine, but this one is very classic but modern at the same time. 

To create this I would wither use all of my models own hair or use a hair net filled with padding and smooth the hair over it so it was neat and sleek. 

Mrs. Laderman Face Charts

For my Mrs. Laderman designs I have tried to represent power and her villainous attitude through makeup, I have found that the best way to do this is by using a strong angular contour, and winging the eyes out to make them look more feline as this is associated with being very sexual. powerful and also mysterious. I have also chosen to include a lot of redin my designs as this can represent passion, love and also danger.

These are the images that have visually inspired me when creating the makeup for Mrs. Laderman, again I have gone with images from catwalks and editorials as these are what inspires me the most when designing makeup. I particularly like the bleached brows and the use of graphic liner. 

When designing these makeups, I will first shoot them with the makeup only, then with the blood coming down from the mouth to show that something is wrong.

Design 1

The first design I have created has a little bit of a twist on the classic glamour look, I want the brows to be pointed and slanted to give an angry powerful expression to the face, this a long with  the dramatic winged liner will be how I have portrayed power through makeup. To finish off I have chosen a red lip to represent danger, and passion. Perfect for a femme fatale.

 

 Products...

• Face - Strobe cream, Face and body & Kryolan foundation, dermacolor concealer and illamasqua loose set powder.
• Eyes - Ends of eyebrows blocked, MAC Brun eyeshadow, Black liner, white on lower lash line. Fake eyelashes.
• Lips - Red, Mixture of the two red shades in supracolor pallette. Clear gloss.
• Highlight and Contour - Elf contouring pallette and strobe cream.

Design 2

For my second design I wanted something softer and more glamorous, this will be more of an everyday look and will give the viewer a false sense of security about my character, as she will be looking quite soft. I will create this by applying a light sparkling eye-shadow all over the lid, and pairing this with soft fluttering eyelashes.However because my character is evil I have contrasted this softness with a deep burgundy matte lip, and bleached eyebrows. This juxtaposition will leave the characters feeling uneasy and aware of my characters evil side.

  
Products...

• Face - Kryolan matte primer, Kryolan foundation, dermacolour concealer and Illamasqua loose set.
• Eyes - Makeup geek Ice Queen all over the lid, Eye gloss, Lashes. White eyeliner in the inner corner.
• Lips - Burgundy lip liner, burgundy lip and powder so it looks matte.
• Highlight and Contour - Illamasqa shade and light duo.

Design 3

The third look that I have designed is more for if she was attending a fashion show/ event. I have gone for the same idea as the first design, but have created this with different colours for the wing. I have also designed this with blood all over the mouth and neck .

Products...

• Face - Kryolan satin primer, Kryolan foundation mixed with MAC face and body, dermacolour concealer and Illamasqua loose set.
• Eyes - Maybelline colour tattoo in On and on bronze or Cranberry. Coco bear through the crease and eye gloss. Lashes. 
• Lips - Fake blood. 
• Highlight and Contour - Illamasqua shade duo and Bobbi Brown shimmer brick in beige.

Horror in Fashion - Alexander McQueen A/W 2009

As an introduction to the new unit we played about in class creating makeups from runway shows that were inspired by horror. I chose to try and create a look from Alexander McQueens A/W 2009 show this was his controversial Horn of Plenty collection, which included a set littered with stylized trash and fabrics that were meant to look like garbage bags, the models had white washed faces, exaggerated lacquered lips and headpieces made from all sorts of trash.

These images are my recreation of of the look above, I chose this design because I thought that creating the perfect circle would be really challenging to do. I created this look by applying a light coverage of a foundation that was a few shades lighter than my models skin tone and contoured with a shade that was slightly darker, lightly applied some shadow to the crease reaching up towards the temples, and blocked the brows with foundation. Doing the lip line was even more challenging than I thought it would be, and my application ended up being slightly wonky and not as circular as I wanted it to be, I also think it would benefit from being extended more at the sides of the mouth, my design looks to pouty. I really enjoyed doing this look and think if I recreated it I would either use a stencil or draw an outline with a white pencil to get a precise shape.

Hair Trials

To give me a better understanding of how I wanted to do the hair for my character I experimented by using different designs and techniques to see what looked best and what would work best for my character.

This fist image on the left is the 3rd hair design I did. I am not happy with the outcome of this, I don't think it looks very
Victorian and was also hard to make it look neat.

I decided to go with my first hair design, and to do this I found the best way would be to part the hair into sections and plait them, then run over them with the hair straighteners, this will give me the wave that I want for the hair, I have took inspiration for this from portraiture of women in the Victorian times. This set of 3 images below show how I plaited the hair, I first thought that it would be best to section into 4 and then split these into half to create the wave, but when doing this on my Katie head this didn't give me enough definition, so I have pictured the plaits as larger.

To finalise my design I tried out my design on a person to see how it would look on the day. I found that to make the plaits bigger I needed to section the hair into 6 equal vertical sections. I then made sure the hair is in a centre parting and brushed the hair back off the face in a sort  of S shape. I did this because this incorporates the late Victorian style whilst still having the majority loose.

Hair Designs

These are the 4 hair designs that I have created for my Character Carmilla, throughout the book there is a large emphasis to her having dark hair that is worn down, this is a very provocative way to wear hair and would not be seen out of the bedroom, so I have created hairstyles that are mainly down to emphasise this trait in my character. All of my hairstyles have designed to be late Victorian.

Design 1 - My first design is created by putting the hair into braids, and going over them with a straightening iron, when took out it would be parted in the centre and pulled back and pinned, with the rest loose. This is the design which I would like to try out most on my character because I feel like is the most undone style, whilst still looking like a late Victorian style.

Design 2 - My second design was an elaboration on the first design, the hair would be set with rollers in the front, the back would be made into a bun, with the bottom down and curled into ringlets, the front of the hair would be sectioned into a middle parting and pinned around the bun. After designing this hairstyle I feel like it is too elaborate for my character.

Design 3 - For this design I focused on creating more detail in the back, the back of the hair will be pulled back into a ponytail, twisted to about half way up then wrapped into a bun shape. I don't think this is the best hair design I have done as I don't think it looks very Victorian.

Design 4 - My final hair design is my favourite, I looked at Victorian paintings where women had their hair down with a frizzy wave to their hair and a short fringe. This is my preferred hairstyle to do for my final assessment, but again like the last one I don't think it is suitable enough to be classed as late Victorian, I think I need something more obvious.

Continuity Notes Makeup & Hair

Hair (Part 1)

1. Create a centre parting.
2. Divide each side into 3 equal sections.
3. Plait these sections.
4. Run straighteners over plaits.

Makeup

1. Cleanse, Tone and Moisturise
2. Apply satin primer
3. Mix 1 part Kryolan palest foundation with 1 part white skin base & apply over face with flat foundation brush. Blend with kabuki brush.
4. Mix 1 part darkest Kryolan foundation with 2 parts moisturiser and apply on temples from arch of brow to top of hair, and from the ear along the cheekbone and to the jaw. And finally in a semi circle under the eye.
5. Blend with foundation brush and kabuki brush.
6. Use white Supracolour lightly to highlight.
7. Apply powder along the t zone.
8. Define crease of the eye with cozy grey and brun, and take brun along the lower lashline. Lightly fill in brows.
9. Define under eye circles with cozy grey.
10. Apply the red Kryolan eyeshadow in waterline and around the tear duct.
11. Slightly wing out the corner of the eyes with liner and continue this up until the pupil of the eye.
12. Apply mascara to the top lashes only and clear to the brows.
13. Mix 1pt red Supracolour to 2pt moisturiser and apply from the apples of the cheeks to the jaw. and dab onto the lips getting darker in the middle.

Hair (Part 2)

1. Remove braids.
2. Brush front layer of hair back, and pin high on the crown of the head at both sides.
3. Hairspray away all of the baby hairs.

Final Design

 This is my final makeup design that I have chosen after experimenting with all of my designs. I have took what went well and what didn't go well and I have combined them together to create this final design. This is created for the final scene when she is found in her tomb. I wanted her to look gaunt and unwell, but still overall beautiful. The skin will be pale, and I will lightly use contouring to make her look emaciated, this will be blended under the eyes like eye bags and I will also shade the neck and collarbones to make them look slimmer. I will apply the blush lightly to look flushed and the lipstick to look bitten. The brows will be full, and I will define the eyes slightly with a bit of brown, focusing the colour near the bridge of the nose to look unnatural. To finish the look off I will use liner to make the eyes look more feline and blend some red into the lower lash line and tear duct area so the eyes look sore.

This is the quick trial I did on myself to see how this final makeup design looked, I am overall pretty happy with the outcome, the makeup is subtle and suitable for HD. The parts that I am not happy with and need to work on is I don't think the base is pale enough so when applying this to my model I will mix in more white Supracolour, and I will also make the brows more rounded, as my eyebrows look to modern and arched. I am happy with the contouring because it has brought out the bones on my neck without looking overly obvious that it has been contoured.

Products

• Moisturiser/ Primer - Nivea, Satin primer
• Skin - Kryolan palest foundation & White skin base.
• Blush - Red Supracolour & nivea
• Contour/ Highlight - Kryolan darkest foundation colour & white Supracolour.
• Eyeshadow - Cozy Grey. Brun & Red Kryolan
• Liner - Black
• Mascara - Black & Clear
• Lip - Red Supracolour & Nivea

Makeup Trials

To get a better idea of what makeup I want to do for my final makeup I tested out my different makeup designs to see what looks best and also to test what techniques will want to use.

 This was my first idea for a makeup design, this was simply a Victorian makeup, and is meant to be pretty straight, with a porcelain base, rosy cheeks, slight definition round the eyes and full brows. To get the blush and lips to look more natural I used the red in the Supracolour palette and blended this into the skin using my fingers, this makes it look more like a flush rather than a blush application. Overall I don't mind this makeup application, the lighting in the kitchen is awful so its hard to get a good view of what the makeup looked like in the flesh, however I think the base needs to be lighter and more flawless. At the moment I feel it looks too patchy and dry, so before applying this I need to make sure the skin is very moisturised, and maybe use a satin primer rather than the matte one. To finish I also think it would be good if I used some Vaseline on the lips or mixed the Supracolour with Vaseline to make the lip colour look more natural.

 

For this second trial I started to play about with contouring to make the face look more structured, I applied this over the previous makeup so the base was too dry and it did not blend very well, as you can see the line from the cheek to the jaw, although this isn't so obvious on an iPhone camera, this would be very visible on a HD camera.

After taking my criticism for the last makeup into consideration, I took all the base makeup off and applied a liberal amount of moisturiser, then applied the base, this time a lot thicker than before, I still think that the foundation still isn't light enough so when I do it again I will probably mix in some white skin base. I then contoured the face with a dark foundation from the Kryolan palette (the darkest one) and mixed this with moisturiser to thin it down, I applied this to the cheeks, under the eyes, and onto the for head and blended thoroughly, The light in my kitchen along with the iPhone quality camera doesn't pick it up because it is very subtle but it will show up on HD camera. I then applied the blush with a stippling brush mixed with moisturiser, this made it even more natural than the first application which I really liked so I will use this technique in my final makeup application, I used the same on the lips. In this makeup I applied eyelash glue to the lips to create a dry lip effect but I feel like this is neither here nor there and I think the makeup could do without it so I will not use this in my final design, instead I will simply apply Vaseline over the top to give it a shine.

Makeup Designs

 Design 1


This is my first design that I created for my character Carmilla. I designed this makeup for the duration of the film, so this is pretty much just a straight Victorian makeup to help enhance her features and make her look beautiful. The skin is pale and porcelain with flushed cheeks, full brows, dark lashes, bitten lips and a slight bit of definition in the cheekbones and crease of the eye. I really like this design, but for my assessment I would like to do something a little bit more challenging, and I don't think this conveys the character of Carmilla enough.

Design 2

To make my design more interesting I started looking at the final chapter of the book, where she is executed in her tomb. I thought about how she would look in this scene and decided that I wanted to make something a little bit shocking and over the top. By tracing the natural bone structure of the face I wanted to make the face look emaciated and ill, paired with dry chapped lips and also sweat. This would shock the viewer because it would be completely different to how beautiful she would be during the day. However when trying this design, it was hard to make it good for HD, I think this design is a little bit too theatrical.

Design 3

For my third design I started to think about how I could keep most of the characteristics of the first design and convey the character subtly. I did this by making the eyes more feline like, I will subtly wing out the outer corner of the eye, this will be a subtle nod towards the cat like form she takes at night, and also I will use a red eyeliner or eyeshadow to blend red onto the lower lash line, this will convey lack of sleep. I also want this design to have chapped lips but with red bitten lips over the top, to show the thirst she has for blood.

To help me get the best idea of how I want my character to look I will try these designs out on a model, and then will choose the makeup that will be most suitable for my assessment.





Continuity Practice

As a first attempt at continuity I helped out one of the photography students on a photoshoot, her theme was film noir and I was required to create a dramatic smokey look with a bold lip. For her shoot she had to shoot once, get feedback and then shoot again so I thought this would be a good time to practice continuity.

These are the two images from the shoot, the left picture being the first attempt and the right the second. During the first shoot all the makeup bays were taken so I had to do the makeup under the studio lights so you cant see the makeup as clearly. The makeups I think are very similar, but I do think that the second attempt looks a lot more polished, the shape of the smokey eye is a lot more sleek, and so is the hair and the eyebrows. I also see that the lipsticks arent exactly the same colour. I found that it was really hard to keep continuity between these two images, and this was definitely challenging to do with only a picture for a reference. This has taught me that I need to write notes to help me.

Overall I am really pleased with the second makeup, the contour doesn't look muddy and I think the shape of the eye that I have created is really effective. However I think the hair could be slicked back a little bit better. I really found it fun working with a photographer and it is definately something I need to do more in order to build up contacts and also images for my portfolio, this is the first one I had done and I was really anxious about if I had done the makeup right and if they would like it or not, but after doing it I realised how laid back it is and the girl I worked with was really appreciative of my work, this put me at ease and has made me excited to get involved with more projects.

Final images from Shoots.