Evaluation of the year

Evaluation of my Studies

This year has been a crazy one! It has definitely tested me, and I have found that I like rising to a challenge (organising our own shoots) and have really enjoyed trying new things (writing a blog)! It has really brought out a side to me that I didn’t know i had, I had no idea that I worked so well under pressure so that’s a pretty good thing to discover about yourself!

I have learnt so many new techniques and my product knowledge has grown so much. I think my favourite project has been our independent one where we had source a photographer and model, I chose to source a model and photographer I didn’t know by posting an advert online, I was so nervous about it, but in the end it went so well, and I was so happy! Getting those final images back and creating the magazine cover was one of my proudest moments from this course.

The year has definitely tested my mental strength; the workload has been quite testing at times, but at the same time it has taught me that if I really try I can rise to the occasion and produce not only what is expected of me but beyond that!

My personal strengths have come as a shock to me; I have found that I have a real passion for hair styling, and that I enjoy free styling with makeup when before I started the course I was so sure that I preferred doing structural makeup- if I had steps or a guide. I think my time keeping has been very good, and my organisational skills have improved so much as well! I think my weaknesses lie in not believing in myself as much as I should although i have got better as the years progressed!

I have loved the versatility of the course; one week I have been recreating a period portrait, or a theatrical character, and the next I could be doing a high fashion runway inspired look!  It has really kept me on my toes and opened my eyes to all the different areas of makeup and what they offer/entail. I went into the course thinking that special effects would be my favourite and that fashion wouldn’t really interest me, but now I love my fashion lessons!

It has also been really great to meet industry professionals and get an insight into what my future could be like! One of my favourite workshops was one we did with ‘This Mornings’ and ‘Strictly Come Dancing’s’ Bryony Blake, I thought she was amazing and the task she had us do was so much fun! She paired us up and gave us each a dress and we had to create a makeup inspired by the dress.

The most important `thing this course has given me is confidence; I recently got my first proper paid makeup and hair job doing a music video for the band Walking On Cars for their song ‘Catch me if you can’. It was the most amazing experience! Being on set and having to go from location to location, keeping consistent continuity and running in to do touch ups was so much fun, my adrenaline was pumping the entire day! If it wasn’t for this course I would have never had the confidence to put myself out there!

Overall I have loved every minute of the course, and wouldn’t change anything! Roll on next year!

Here are some pictures of hair and makeup designs I have achieved;

Recreation of the Gibson Girl 

Recreation of Marilyn Monrow

My recreation of an i-D magazine cover 

My end of year design inspired by high fashion and day of the dead

Assessment day!

Final Assessment...

So the day finally came!  And I can't get over just how well it went, everything ran smoothly without a single hiccup so that was great!

I thought my make up and hair application went the best it ever went, and I feel the shots are going to be great!

I arrived early so my model and I could get a coffee and I could get my mood-board laminated. 

I went into the assessment room at 10.50 to set up, my time slot was 11. I followed all health and safety guidelines, made sure my model was comfortable and content throughout, I even ran down to the canteen to get her a straw so she could have a drink so my ombre lip didn't get ruined! My time keeping was better than I thought I managed to finish completely with about 120 minutes to spare!

Here are some pictures from the day;

   

Final practice before final assessment!

Final Practice...

My model before once I had cleansed, toned, and moisturised my models skin

I then applied primer to my models face

I started by applying a full coverage cream foundation from makeup forever to the lids in my desired shape in order to make the colours as bright as possible.

I then applied colour shadows over the white using a shadow palette from Make up Revolution 

I then blended the colours together

I then applied white full coverage foundation to my models skin really buffing it in, the foundation went so much better onto my models skin, in comparison to the white aqua colour I previously used! I then went over with vanilla pigment from MAC using a powder brush. I applied matte bronzer to the cheekbones, 'bleached' the brows using spirit gum and concealer, and finally a hot pink, peach and white ombre lip using my make up forever flash palette. I was really happy with the make up application I fell 100% confident in the products I have chosen and in my make up application, and of course in my models ability! I just can't wait to do it now!

I tried out two of my hair designs as I wasn't 100% sure what I wanted yet I started by trying the braided loop.
I sectioned the hair down the middle.
I took s small section of hair at the nape of the neck and took a two weft extension and clipped it round the small section, I continued to clip extensions round the section until I was happy with the thickness. 

I then sprayed my postiche brush with hair spray and brushed my models hair back off her face, keeping it neat and tight to the head. 

I then secured the section with a hair band, and created a fishtail plait.

I then looped the fish tail braid around to make a circle and secured with a bobby pin.

Overall I wasn't really happy with this style it was just ,missing something for me which was a shock for me as I really thought this would be my favourite style! 

I then took out the previous style and created the all down style, I took small sections starting at the nape of the neck back combing the top of the sections before clipping a weft onto it. I stopped clipping in extensions when I reached the crown of my models head, as the front sections of her hair are very damaged so are very short and thin therefore I would really struggle to disguise the extensions! They didn't really need to apply any more anyway as my mask will be sitting across the top of the head.

The final look (obviously the extensions will be super straight on assessment day but they were still wet!)

Side view

Other side

Back view

Hair and make up without the mask 

Side view without mask

Im really happy with the second hair design and 100% this is what ill be doing for my assessment, I also think it really compliments the make up and mask design, it makes the look really clean.

Styling and Accessories for the final shoot...

Styling and accessorising the final design...

So as my final design is quite colourful I have sourced a few colourful options,as well as some black options as my mask has black diamontes and black detailing on a white background, so that could link in nicely.

Here are some of my options;

I love this dress it's from Topshop the colours match really well with the colours I have in the mask and in the make up but I feel it may be too much!

I love this little body suit it would look amazing with my design as it contracts with the white in the mask, and the white skin, it also will pick up on the black accenting in my mask.

These two bralettes I love although I'm warming towards the one with the black background more as I think the white background would get swallowed by the white skin. 

This is one of my necklace options I love the beading detailing I think they look quite similar to rosary beads which are linked to day of the dead festival.

This necklace is so colourful, I really like it but I think it would clash with the roses on my mask as the flowers are different and the shades aren't exactly the same.

I like this cross but I'm not keen on the rope it's on for the style of shoot!

Overall I have decided on the black lace bodysuit paired with the black necklace!

My model can wear it with jeans or leggings as the shot is only head and shoulders. 

I think the black will work so well with the white skin of my model and the black and white accents in my mask, and I think it will let the colour shine. 

Dying the hair extensions

My model has just got her white blonde hair toned with pink and lilac shades so I've had to dye the hair extensions I wanted to use in the assessment; the colours are really good though and tie in really well with my theme.

I started by brushing through the extensions, I then ran warm water and wet the hair extions weft by weft. I then took a grape size blob of silver shampoo for each weft, a little more for the 4 clip quadruple weft, and ran it through the hair being careful not to go against the grain or rub it in too much. I left it in for 10 mins, I then repeated with the silver conditioner.

Next I repeated the same technique using the pink shampoo and conditioner.

I left the extensions to dry on a towel overnight. 

Below are step by step pictures.

Hair extensions when I bought them

Coloured shampoos and conditioners from bleach London I used a silver and then a pink.

After the using the silver shampoo and conditioner

After using the pink shampoo and conditioner

The packaging from Dirty Looks hair extensions

Final result!!

I'm super happy with the result of the colour it blends into her hair colour so well, I can't wait to see them with the make up and mask!

Final Design!

My final design...

This is my chosen final design bar the freckles! 

For the make up I will be using Make up forever colour flash palette with colour shadow palette from make up revolution.

For the skin I will be using make up forever full coverage cream foundation with MAC vanilla pigment to highlight.
I will be taking the white all the way down onto sections of skin that will be seen on camera.

For the brows I will be using spirit gum and a La Maquillage concealer palette to give a bleached effect!

The lashes will be kept bare

The lips will be ombre using Make up Forever colour flash palette.

I will be using a matte bronzer to contour the cheekbones.

This is my final hair design, my model has very short and thin hair, so I will be using clip in extensions to give the hair extra length and volume, I want the hair to be swept back off the face in a wet look style, then  from mid length to the bottom  it to be completely dry and poker straight.

To do this I will need to buy a full head set of clip in extensions, I will also be using straighteners, wet look gel, heat protection spray, a pintail comb, and a regular denman brush.

My model has bleach white blonde hair with pink and purple toning, so I will have to dye the extensions to match her hair colour as there is nowhere that sells extensions of that colour unless you custom order, but that is far to expensive so I will be doing it myself! 


I have taken inspiration for my design from all of my research on this blog, I have really attention to detail with each element; hair, make up and the mask itself. My mask will be part of the design, I want everything to flow together.

I will later be posting dying the hair extensions and accessories to go with my look.

Hair & make-up face chart design ideas...

Make up face charts:

These are some face chart designs I have come up with for my day of the dead theme I have chosen;

Idea 1

This design is inspired by Andrew Gallimore

Idea 2

This is inspired by Lan and the editorial Dia De Los Meurtos published in Marie Claire magazine in 2008.

Idea 3

This idea is inspired by a majority of research I have done.

Hair Charts:

Idea 1

This look composed of the hair being brushed away from the face in a wet look style, with sections from the sides taken round the back tied and then looped back through itself to make a twist.

Idea 2

This look consists of the hair being scraped back off the face using wet look gel, taking the wet look down about 1 quarter of the hair, with the rest being dry and poker straight.

Idea 3

This idea consists of the hair being sectioned in the middle parting and each section being pulled tight and secured using clear rubber bands at the nape of the neck. I will then fishtail each pony tail, then looped into a circle and secured with bobby grips.

Lan Nguyen make up inspiration for my final major project,,,

Lan Nguyen

1.

Born in Ireland from a Vietnamese origin; Lan has become an established in the fashion and beauty industry. She originally came from an art background and studied fashion at Central St.Martins University in London. Self taught in make up she pursued her career to heading and designing key shows and is a name at London Fashion Week. She has contributed to many editorials such as; Russian Vogue, Vanity Fair, Elle UK, Glamour & Grazia (2. Lan-makeup.com, 2015). She has collaborated with photographers such as Rankin and David Bailey, and singers such as Paloma Faith and the Sugar babes.

For me her journey really inspires me she worked her way up and her talent is incredible. The reason I picked her as inspiration for this project is for her use of colour and texture in her make up - it's amazing! Below are some of my favourite works by Lan;

3.
I love these colours together the died silk headscarf in the same colours looks so good paired with it too! That's something I hadn't considered matching the hair to the headdress!

4. 
Love the contrast of black and white in this image I think it works so well, part of my mask is black and white and part really colourful, so I would love to bring be able to create a happy medium between the two.

5. 

6. 

7. 
Her use of diamontes here is amazing! The pairing with the glitter base and the amazing bead head piece is so inspiring, A key with her worl is she has a amazing ability to link all aspects of her designs. 

8. 
I love the stencil effect of this mask and the discreet use of diamonds, which then link to the beautiful necklace. The brows are amazing too.

References:

1. Static3.kryolan.com, (2015). [online] Available at: https://static3.kryolan.com/sites/all/themes/kryolan/images/gfa/artists/lan_nguyen-grealis.jpg [Accessed 14 May 2015].

2. Lan-makeup.com, (2015). Lan Nguyen - Makeup Artist. [online] Available at: http://www.lan-makeup.com/bio/ [Accessed 14 May 2015].

3. S-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com, (2015). [online] Available at: https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/96/7e/61/967e615975bcfa199a0a8e9d23b7c83f.jpg [Accessed 14 May 2015].

4. 1.bp.blogspot.com, (2015). [online] Available at: https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDYiYM4yV-yWapyoOz86Qc3RDVwk8kWMAx__ortfzdYH7GOFK0Jggd4kXkE5KrggthI-AeE67kl03SVURDjDIpzcHizuuJiJDD5O3Vvv26hmizVvUY4IXdZrY27oWehPIgorLuhyphenhyphenEltQjV/s1600/p73%252BWC6Y8050.jpg [Accessed 14 May 2015].

5. Pst.postris.com, (2015). [online] Available at: http://pst.postris.com/posts/10251_906681202_l.jpg [Accessed 14 May 2015].

6. Lan-makeup.com, (2015). [online] Available at: http://www.lan-makeup.com/images/beauty/JPEG/beauty84.jpg [Accessed 14 May 2015].

7. Darkbeautymag.com, (2015). [online] Available at: http://www.darkbeautymag.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/Camille-Sanson-makeup-Lan-Nguyen.jpg [Accessed 14 May 2015].

8. S-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com, (2015). [online] Available at: https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/0b/b1/92/0bb1925032ea1a1d8b085ca1a87166f6.jpg [Accessed 14 May 2015].