Colour Correction
In Friday’s lesson, Jasmin went over colour correction and how to apply it. Then we got into pairs and practiced on one side of each other’s face.
photos: Colour correction
Ellie’s skin has a lot of redness, mainly on her cheeks and forehead so I used a green colour corrector to neutralise it since red and green are complementary colours. I also used a little bit of orange on the inner corner under her eyes.
I think it went well overall. The red was mostly unnoticeable but I think I should have used some more where her spots are even though they’re quite small. I also think I should have used some purple under the eyes and around the mouth because there’s some yellow. It wasn’t as noticeable in person but it looks more prominent on camera so in the future I’ll check how the skin looks on camera before applying makeup.
Foundation matching
In the lesson, we looked at different types of foundations, skin undertones and matching foundation to a client’s undertones. I’m going to do further research into these to better understand them. After that, we were told to get into a pair with someone and match their foundation shade.
I did my model’s skincare using products for combination skin and then used a hydrating primer on her cheeks and a blurring primer on her t-zone since blurring primers are usually better for oily skin. I think it would have been better to use a hydrating primer for everything because the blurring primer made the skin look pale and dull and I also didn’t really like the texture of it.
Earlier in the lesson we’d all found the undertones of our skin and she told me she had a cool undertone. I swatched 3 colours on my model’s skin. The first swatch was too warm but close in shade to her skin tone. I tried a shade that I knew wasn’t the right shade but was cooler after that so I planned on mixing it with a darker shade to make it match. After that I swatched a foundation that looked cool on the palette and was a close shade to her skin but it was too warm and slightly darker than her skin.
In the end, I mixed the 2nd and 3rd shades that I tried, mainly using the 3rd one and just using a small amount of the 2nd shade to cool it so it wasn’t too light.
I applied it with a flat, round brush and blended it in circular motions to get even coverage across the face. Because I was using cream foundation, it had more medium coverage. I blended it down the neck a little bit so it matched the neck but I didn’t need to do too much since the colour on the face and neck were very similar.
I’m happy with how it went. The match was almost perfect except the white from the primer still showed through a little on the T-zone.
Patch tests on Performing Arts
Since we’ll be working on Performing Arts students for the performance at Undercliffe Cemetery, we did patch tests on them to check for any allergies to latex, pros aide or spirit gum. I think it went well. I got through 3 people and I felt comfortable doing it. I filled out the forms easily.
One of the actors didn’t give me the right information so I had to get it from Steph and I couldn’t follow up and ask if he had a reaction.
Braiding
On Friday, we started learning how to braid and practiced on the doll heads.
I struggled with the braids, especially the overhand braids. I mainly struggled with keeping the tension, as well as using my fingers to get all the strands to cross over each other properly.
I practiced a large dutch braid. I think i find smaller braids slightly easier because I can keep the pieces of hair in my hands easier but they kept falling out and I lost track of where I was which led to double-knotting at points. I also struggled with adding hair into the braids and more specifically adding an even amount into each section. The braids were sagging really badly around the neck and some of the hair on the side hadn’t gone in so I just decided to make a small braid which didn’t take me much time and came out a lot better.
No makeup makeup
We practiced no makeup makeup makeup on one side of the face to see the difference compared to the face without any makeup.
I think this went well. My model didn’t really need any colour correction so I just applied a little bit of foundation which I mixed with moisturiser to make it more light to sheer coverage. I also added some colour to the lips in a shade that closely matched her natural lip colour. I did ask my model to take her eyeliner off before but she wouldn’t so I worked around it.
In the afternoon, we added to the no makeup makeup to fit our characters for The Crucible.
Since my character, Mary is described as alternative with chavvy features, I brought in the alternative features by using black eyeshadow and using a dark brown as a transition colour close to the brow, as well as using a black liner on the lips. I also used the same black liner to fill in my model’s brows. To show the character is also a chav, I used a lot of bronzer around the forehead, on the cheek, and on the nose. I think this mostly worked because there was a good balance between the alternative and chavvy elements of the look. I think the blending on the forehead and the broown eyeshadow could have been a bit more seamless. I also think the lips would have looked better if I used a lip liner in a similar colour to the lipstick then got my model to blend it, and then add the black liner over so it doesn’t look muddy.
Since I’m also doing Sophie’s character, who is completely alternative, at the cemetery, I added to the eyeliner my model already had on and tried to make it look more like eyeliner worn in traditional goth makeup. I think it went well. I just did it quickly but if I took more time I think it would have been cleaner.
Crucible Practice
I don’t really like how this went. I tried to use a cool contour but it was too dark and made the makeup appear muddy. I think it looked significantly more like chav makeup than alternative makeup. I don’t think it blended well, especially around the forehead.
Editorial hair
We were given some photos of editorial hairstyles and tried to recreate them on the mannequin heads.
Looking at the reference image, I thought it’d work well if I pulled half of the hair into a ponytail then so I could later put it into a bun or smooth it out and pin it into place to match the back after I style the front pieces using lots of gel.
I don’t think it really worked. I sectioned off 2 wide sections at the front and combed a lot of gel into them. I sectioned them into 3 smaller sections on each side and tried to mould them to the contours of the face, adding more gel and hairspray to keep it in place. I think if I used a hair dyer and held them in place with a tail comb while drying them to keep them in place.
I didn’t get time to do the back but if I were to do the full head again I wouldn’t put it into a half ponytail and instead would put in a lot of gel and pins to get the shape then spray it to get rid of any fly aways.
Bridal makeup
Bridal makeup isn’t for me, which I already knew. I attempted a soft glam style of bridal makeup. I think one the right side, the contour and blush were much better blended than the left, however I don’t think the contour was the right shade for my model’s skin and a cooler shade slightly under the cheekbone to create a natural shadow would have been better with subtle bronzing on top of the cheekbone. I think the eyeshadow looks okay but I need to practice eyeliner more and get a brown gel/liquid liner instead of a pencil because I find creating neat, sharp lines with pencil liners difficult because they pull on the skin a lot more. I tried to make the brows more even using a brown pencil but it didn’t look even, but I think that’s also because my model’s brows are naturally very uneven and if I tried to even it out by adding more under or over the natural brow it wouldn’t have looked right, especially when my model makes any facial expressions, which if I was working for someone’s wedding day, they of course would be showing a lot of emotion.
Bridal hair
I tried to create volume with the hair by teasing it, but instead of creating volume at the front, I ended up focusing the volume at the back. In the future, I’ll tease the hair from the front and work back instead of back to front. I think the twists looked okay but they would’ve been better if I pushed them up to the bottom of the teased section and pinned them instead of having a gap. Overall, I think it looked okay except for those things.
Rick-Racking
Editorial Texture
During the lesson we were introduced to the basics of fashion and editorial makeup and tasked us to create a complete hair and makeup look using something from the store cupboard to add a 3D element. I chose to use some feathers.
When doing my model’s skincare, I moisturised twice to make the skin look fresh because I knew that I didn’t want to use foundation. I stared with the eyes, using a deep purple with the darkest shade in the inner corner above the crease to create a shadow. When I got to the outer corner, I blended it upwards to make it more dramatic. I used a gel liner on the lash line to give it some definition and created a wing with the purple eyeshadow. For the lips, I used a deep burgundy eyeshadow on a thin liner brush to line the lips instead of a traditional lip liner. I think this worked relatively well except it could have been neater, particularly on the top lip. I used a darker magenta lipstick and got my model to blot it a few times with tissue paper so it would last well.
I wasn’t originally sure how to incorporate the feathers so I tried putting them in my model’s ponytail which she already had in. I felt like it needed more so I asked Jasmin what I should add/change. She said to use more feathers and suggested using them round the eyes and said to change the hairstyle.
I decided to take the ponytail out and put in 2 small braids that went just past the crown and I pushed feathers into the braids. I added feathers around the eyes which I attached with lash glue. I think it would have looked better if I cut the ends of the feathers first but overall I’m happy with the look.
Monochrome eye
Jasmin tasked us to pick a colour to create a look from that focused on just the eyes. She told us to make a moodboard of things we associate with the colour and create a moodboard. For the moodboard I founnd reference pictures on pinterest that inspired me and fit my ideas.
To fit the ideas of night and the supernatural, I wanted to use a deeper purple and emphasise bags under the eyes in a glamorous way. I used glitter to fit the ideas of fantasy and magic I associate with the colour purple. I think it looks good overall. I think that the lining could’ve been better and I could’ve added more glitter to make it more dramatic.
Editorial Brief
We were each given a random brief to create a look from. I got the theme of Luxury Decadence, which is about elegance and grandeur, with decadence referring to moral failing. This made me think of the French rococo era and Marie Antoinette when the aristocracy were living extravagant lifestyles while the poor were starving, leading to the French revolution.
I wanted to use soft pastel colours and