Ageing Makeup

Creating Aged Skin

Equipment:

-Cleanser, toner and moisturiser

-Base

      -Supracolour palette

      -Brushes

      -Disposible mascara wand

      -Mixing palette

      -Latex

      -Sponge

      -Hairdryer

Instructions:

-  Prepare the face.

- Apply a small amount of base, the same colour as the skin.

- Take the base over the lips whilst the model pinches her lips. This creates a cracked effect.

- Using the grease based Supracolour palette, apply a dark brown/grey around the eyes, nose, cheekbones and temples to make the face appear gaunt, emphasising the hollows.

- Blend in with fingers.

- Ask the model to screw their face up to show creases in the skin. Apply a darker shade in the creases of the skin and blend in with fingers to create the effect of wrinkles.

- Get a lighter shade and highlight the raised parts of the creases to emphasise.

- Using a disposable mascara wand, apply grey to the eyebrow in a backwards motion.

Creping of the skin:

- Stretch skin so it is taught.

      -Apply latex onto skin using a sponge.

      - Pinch skin to create ‘wrinkles’.

-Dry the latex using a hairdryer, making sure that the temperature is suitable.

 *I struggled with the latex to create wrinkles, as I put a bit too much latex on the skin, and did not wait for it to dry properly, so it created more of a "blistered" effect.

Pinterest

Pinterest

This week, in Seema's lesson, we were given the task of creating a Pinterest account and finding images that represented the keywords: Cold/Cruel, Passionate/Romantic and Eccentric/Decaying.
This is my Pinterest link: http://www.pinterest.com/leesnyman/

The images I found the most interesting or relevant were:

Cold Hair

http://www.pinterest.com/pin/219269075581659752/

I love this image because it literally looks like her hair has been frozen. It is scraped right away from her face, and is quite a harsh hairstyle. Whenever I think of a 'cold' character, I automatically picture them with hair scraped severely back. The way the hair is set into the two cone shapes, also makes me think of Malificent, from Sleeping Beauty, who is one of the coldest, cruelest characters of them all.

Eccentric Hair

http://www.pinterest.com/pin/219269075581659906/

This hairstyle is eccentric to me, because it is not a hairstyle you would see anywhere normally. All the different textures and shades make it really interesting to look at, and it would definitely stand out among other softer hairstyles. 

Romantic Hair

http://www.pinterest.com/pin/219269075581659656/

When I think of Romantic hair, I immediately think of soft curls and waves. The hair is free flowing and this image is extremely romantic to me. The flowers definitely add to that.

Creating a French Pleat

Creating a French Pleat: 

Equipment needed:

-Dry shampoo
-Pintail comb
-Tongs
-Grips
-Pins
-Clips
-Hairspray

Instructions:

-Apply dry shampoo to roots in sections.
-Section hair at the crown down to the front of the ears and pin the front section forward.
-The back section of the hair is to be tonged to create direction, lift and curled ends, which are easier to mould into the pleat.
-Section the hair into workable sections. Slightly backcomb then curl.
-The first curl is the top back section and this is to be curled under facing downwards. This is then clipped in place to set.
-The second and third curls are next to each other below the first curl in ‘brick’ formation.
-The sides are then curled vertically and inwards towards the back.
-Curls in the back section are curled in direction of the roll.
-Once the whole of the back section has been curled, release them and gently comb them together. Be sure to leave the first three curls.
-Pull the hair over to one side and secure by cross gripping with Kirby grips.
-Then roll the hair around your hand to create the effect of a roll.
-Once happy with the shape, secure into place using pins. Slot the pins into the cross gripping to secure the roll.
-Release the top three curls, secure some padding, backcomb the section of hair, then swirl around the roll and pin into place.
-Release the front section of hair, backcomb and bring over the top.
Once you are happy with the positioning of the hair, set with hairspray.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     

Miss Havisham

Miss Havisham

Miss Havisham's character is typically described as "eccentric", "wealthy" and "insane".  The SparkNotes description of her character is "Miss Havisham is the wealthy, eccentric old woman who lives in a manor called Satis House near Pip’s village. She is manic and often seems insane, flitting around her house in a faded wedding dress, keeping a decaying feast on her table, and surrounding herself with clocks stopped at twenty minutes to nine. As a young woman, Miss Havisham was jilted by her fiancé minutes before her wedding, and now she has a vendetta against all men. She deliberately raises Estella to be the tool of her revenge, training her beautiful ward to break men’s hearts."

Personally I find Miss Havisham to be a very sad woman, who went through something awful when she was younger, and refuses to move on, choosing instead to dwell on the pain and keep it very much alive. It is almost as if she has some kind of Post-traumatic stress disorder and the people around her don't know how to deal with it, so they just indulge her. 
She is a deteriorating woman, someone who stopped taking care of herself years ago. She has not been outdoors or seen any kind of daylight in years and chooses to live in her wedding dress that she has not changed out of since the day she was jilted by her fiancée. 

I watched the 2012 film, with Helena Bonham Carter playing Miss Havisham, and the BBC drama adaptation, with Gillian Anderson starring as Miss Havisham. I found it really interesting how both of these women played the same character so differently. It was interesting to see how other people perceived Miss Havisham. Helena Bonham Carter played a much more theatrical, almost aggressive version of Miss Havisham. She seemed far more spiteful and she definitely captured the eccentricity. 

Gillian Anderson played a much softer side of Miss Havisham. She seemed far more fragile, and delicate and a lot closer the Miss Havisham I had in mind. In terms of the hair, make up and styling, I found Gillian Anderson much more accurate to what I had in mind. I thought her dress was much more historically accurate, and her make up definitely matched the deteriorating description of Miss Havisham in the book. 

 I especially liked the dry, chapped lips she was given, as it gave a much more realistic feel to her character, as someone who didn't eat or drink properly, wash, or go outside, would have horribly dry, decaying skin. She would be dehydrated and would probably look much older than her actual age. 
Miss Havisham also had the same hairstyle she had on her wedding day. This would also mean her hair would be horribly dry, broken and decaying. She would probably have some kind of scalp condition. These are all things I would like to explore for my final Miss Havisham look. 

Imagery: What Represents Gothic to me

Below are some images that I've found that when looked at, have that dark yet beautiful feel to them. 

Introduction: Great Expectations

When we were first told that our project was going to be centered around the theme of  'Gothic Horror', I immediately began to think of various images and films to do with Gothic subcultures and fashions of today. However, when I found out that we had to read 'Great Expectations' I became more intrigued, as I started to think more along the lines of Victorian Gothic, Gothic architecture, and the general mood of Gothic Fiction. I began thinking of the darkness associated with that period. Real events of the time, such as the murders of Jack the Ripper, sprang to mind as well as fictional novels like Frankenstein, Dracula and of course, Great Expectations.

I had never read Great Expectations before, and I must admit,  I did struggle quite a bit to get into the book. After reading some Spark notes however, I began to understand the themes and major chacters a lot better, which definitey made it easier to understand! I decided to try and watch the films as well to get an idea of other peoples perceptions of the characters and themes. I started with the 2012 adaptation of the film, with Jeremy Irvine as Pip, and Helena Bonham-Carter as Miss Havisham. I really enjoyed this film, and I thought it was really well done. I thought the underlying Gothic element was really apparent throughout the film and there was a constant feeling of darkness, even when it was meant to be happy. I was, however,  a little disappointed with Helena Bonham-Carters portrayal of Miss Havisham.

http://www.livelikeavip.com/wp-content/uploads/greatexpectations_02_large-helenabonhamcarter.jpg

 I thought that her character was just a little too over the top. I had imagined Miss Havisham to be a lot softer, broken and a little creepy. I thought Helena Bonham Carter's Miss Havisham was a little too theatrical. To me, Miss Havisham was a woman who was ashamed of what had happened to her, she was bitter and fragile-mentally and physically. She would be someone who is quiet and lives in her head a lot, not loud and theatrical and attention seeking, like the film version. From a hair and makeup perspective however, I thought that the hair, makeup and styling in the film was just incredible. The hairstyles- espcecially those of Estella and Miss Havisham was so intricate and spoke volumes about the characters. The makeup- especially Estella's, was not quite historically accurate, as I believe she was a little moe madeup than she would have been at the time, but I thought it worked  really well. Estella's dresses in the film I thought were beautifully designed and really fitted with the picture I had of Estella in my mind. They dictated the perfect image of the wealth she had, along with the element of darkness associated with her character. The could have put her in white, floaty dresses but this would have changed her character completely. All of her outfits are quite restricted and dark,  just like her.

http://www.aceshowbiz.com/still/00006902/great-expecations-image06.html

After watching the film, I then decided to watch the BBC adaptation of the book. I loved this version of the story, and I thought it was much more historically accurate than the film. Gillian Anderson's portrayal of Miss Havisham was much more believable and much closer to the idea I had in my head than Helena Bonham Carter's version. She seemed to be fragile (mentally and physically), broken and quitely manipulative, just as I'd imagined her to be. From a makeup perspective, her makeup seemed a lot more "believable", and less theatrical. The nervous tick that she had with constantly twisting the skin on er hand until it was raw, made me feel physically ncomfortable whilst watching it, which I think is brilliant, because I think that had she been a real person, she would have been quite uncomfortable to be around.

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8X6YWqIBhOQXgZj0Fzgi38eoNPwPPzgyDJhB0pavr4D6rPG5ChFGByYaoY2FIJXjWG_1VRfIyu5BO-U5h4Qfj4Uj4aU3pDMkMIkJdRmvINpc7BueeEci8J1SvWV7LI810rjarMNlC18ah/s1600/Miss+HH.jpg

The hair, makeup and styling in the BBC adaptation was very different to the film. I thought it was much more historically accurate, and it was much more 'period'. 



Introduction

This term, our projects will all be centered around the theme of 'Gothic Horror'. I will use this blog to document my journey through each project and theme and post research, designs trials, and practicals on here, along with my final results.  

I am so excited to begin this new chapter and explore new ideas, designs and techniques!