Day Look: Final Look

This is a re-shoot for my Urban Decay inspired day look, as previously I made some errors that I wanted to improve on.  Overall I feel that the finished outcome is a lot better than the original attempt.  I am really happy with the skin coverage that I have achieved, and I first thought that more contouring would have been better but then decided that for the day look I wanted a more natural feel and so was happy with the slight contouring that I created.  I am happy with the make-up design of a nude eye and pinky gloss on the lips and I think that it works nicely alongside the hairstyle.

The hairstyle works well because it is quite simple, yet the two plaits add an extra detail.  It is not a very smooth or sleek hairstyle, but that is the effect that I wanted to create.  This is because Urban Decay's campaigns for their Naked ranges feature models with slightly messy hair, which I have tried to replicate here.  Overall I am happy with the outcome from this shoot.

Studio: Hair Masterclass

In this weeks studio session we had a hair masterclass in plaiting.  We learnt how to create an 11 strand plait and a weave braid.

Equipment needed:

- Hair brush

- Pintail comb

- Hair band

- Hair grips

How to create an 11 Strand Plait:
- Begin by sectioning your model's hair into three.
- With the middle section at the back, create a 5 strand plait (see post below on plaiting).
NOTE: Be sure not to make the 5 strand plait too tight, as you need to introduce other pieces of hair.
- With the section on the right of the plait create a standard 3 strand plait.
- When one of the 3 strand pieces comes next to the 5 strand plait, bring it in and through the 5 strand plait.
- Repeat the method of the 3 strand plait with the section on the left of the 5 strand plait.

How to create a Weave Braid:
- Begin at the top of the head with a 5 strand plait, being sure to keep the hair strands separate.
- Do one line of a 5 strand and then take another piece of hair from the head, taking it under and over the other strands and to the other sections on the other side.
- Repeat on the other side, and keep going until you have introduced all of the hair.
- Once you have introduced all of the hair that you want, weave the strands through the other strands.

11 Strand Plait.                                                                                  Weave Braid.

Evaluation:

I found the 11 strand plait simple to create, however I didn't create equal sections, meaning that the right side of the plait was a lot smaller than the left.  The weave braid was really tricky and quite fiddly because there were so many different sections of hair.  I found it difficult to keep hold of all of the different sections and keeping them separate.  This caused confusion and lead to me dropping some pieces and losing the tightness of the plait.  These techniques can be brought forward when I am considering hairstyles for my different Urban Decay inspired looks.

Timed Assessment: Day Look

I feel that my timed assessment went quite well and I completed the look with time to spare at the end, however there is a lot that could be done better in order to achieve a better overall finish.  To begin with my model would ideally have bare shoulders, so as not to distract from the hair and make-up designs.  With the make-up there are quite a few errors that I have not corrected properly.  For example the bags under my model's eyes and the powdery texture that seems to have formed around the chin area even though I did not powder my model's skin.  This is due to dry skin in this area, which I should have moisturised more before applying the foundation.  Another thing that I have noticed is that there is a difference in skin colour between the front of the neck and the back of the neck, which is where I stopped the foundation without realising that it showed up so much on camera.

Despite the errors in the make-up application, I am very pleased with the hairstyle that I have created  and I will keep this design for when I re-shoot the look for my final Urban Decay inspired daytime look.  I will most likely keep the make-up design as well but make corrections in the areas that I have commented on above.  Overall I think that the hairstyle and make-up design work well together, and once I have made the changes I think that this could be quite a successful look.

Day Look: Inspiration & Ideas

INSPIRATION:

Make-up & Hair Moodboard

Having been disappointed with my original day look test shoot, I have decided to go back to the beginning and look for more ideas.  In my moodboard you can see my inspiration for the day look, including plaits, dewy skin, pink lips and the Urban Decay Naked lip gloss that I would like to use.

For my Urban Decay inspired day look, I want to create a natural make-up look with a loose, effortless hairstyle.  I think that a dewy base with slight contour and blush, along with a pink tinted lip colour will make a nice make-up day style.  For the eyes I will use a bit of mascara, with either no eyeshadow, or a nude smokey eye.  With the hair, I'd like to create some loose plaits.  I will either style the hair into one big plait, or some smaller plaits going into a loose ponytail.


IDEAS:

Face Chart 1                                              Face Chart 2                                              Face Chart 3

Above are three face charts that I have designed for my Urban Decay inspired Day Look.  I have kept them all quite simple, with neutral tones running throughout.  Below is how you would create each look.

FACE CHART 1:
- Begin by applying Kryolan foundation and primer to the skin
- Contour using a darker shade of foundation and the powder around the nose creases to prevent any shine
- Darken the contour with a bronzing powder and apply Illamasqua's Ambition blusher to the cheeks
- Fill in the eyebrows using Sleek's Au Naturel eyeshadow palette
- Apply Naked eyeshadow from Urban Decay's Naked palette
- Coat the eyelashes with Rimmel London's Scandal Eyes mascara
- Finish by applying MAC's Creme in your Coffee lipstick and Urban Decay's Naked Sesso lipgloss

FACE CHART 2:
- Begin by applying Kryolan foundation and primer to the skin
- Contour using a darker shade of foundation and the powder around the nose creases to prevent any shine
- Darken the contour with a bronzing powder and apply Illamasqua's Ambition blusher to the cheeks
- Fill in the eyebrows using Sleek's Au Naturel eyeshadow palette
- Prep the eyelids with Urban Decay's Eyeshadow Primer Potion
- Apply Dare eyeshadow across the eyelids and Stun in the creases; both from Urban Decay's Naked on the Run palette
- Coat the eyelashes with Rimmel London's Scandal Eyes mascara
- Finish by applying Urban Decay's Naked Sesso lipgloss

FACE CHART 3:
- Begin by applying Kryolan foundation and primer to the skin
- Contour using a darker shade of foundation and the powder around the nose creases to prevent any shine
- Darken the contour with a bronzing powder and apply Illamasqua's Tremble blusher to the cheeks
- Fill in the eyebrows using Sleek's Au Naturel eyeshadow palette
- Prep the eyelids with Urban Decay's Eyeshadow Primer Potion and apply a small amount of translucent powder to them
- Coat the eyelashes with Rimmel London's Scandal Eyes mascara
- Finish by applying MAC's Twig lipstick

Hair Chart

Above is the hair chart that I have designed for my Urban Decay inspired Day Look.  I want to create a soft hairstyle to fit nicely with the soft make-up that I will create, so after researching and finding some inspiration from 'boho' styled hair I came up with the above.  It consists of a slightly off-centre parting with two small inverted fishtail plaits towards the front of the hairline on each side of the parting.  The rest of the hair will then be brought back, along with the plaits, into a low ponytail, kept together with a small hairband and some hair wrapped around and pinned in place.

Photo References:
- ALLISON BARBER (2012) The Truth About the “Dewy” Look [digital image] [viewed 7th March 2015]. Available from: https://allisonbarberamakeup.wordpress.com/2012/06/20/the-truth-about-the-dewy-look/
- ANON (2014) Boho Braids [digital image] [viewed 7th March 2015]. Available from: http://ohmaidarling.com/2014/04/18/boho-braids/
- ANON (N.D.) Bringing Back Boho [digital image] [viewed 7th March 2015]. Available from: http://hair.allwomenstalk.com/beautiful-beach-ready-hairstyles/4
- ANON (N.D.) Loose Curl Hairstyle [digital image] [viewed 7th March 2015]. Available from: http://globezhair.tk/loose-curls-hairstyle.html
- DANEEN (2014) Urban Decay Naked Lipgloss [digital image] [viewed 7th March 2015]. Available from: http://spoiledpretty.com/2014/01/urban-decay-naked-lipgloss/
- MELANIE (2013) The Boho Braid [digital image] [viewed 7th March 2015]. Available from: http://artzycreations.com/30-beautiful-braided-tutorials/
- TGL (2007) Who Invented Make-up? [digital image] [viewed 7th March 2015]. Available from: http://www.theglamourouslife.com/articles/who-invented-make-up.html
- URBAN DECAY (N.D.) Naked3 Eyeshadow Palette [digital image] [viewed 7th March 2015]. Available from: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/269582727668547382/
- URBAN DECAY (N.D.) Urban Decay Naked Advertisement [digital image] [viewed 7th March 2015]. Available from: http://www.justluxe.com/fine-living/health/feature-1825532.php

Colour Challenge #2

Following last weeks colour theory challenge, this week we were given the original coloured image and asked to recreate it.  Below is the original colour copy by Ayami Nishimura and my own attempt.

I did not have the same colours as the original image so I created a similar version with the colours in my kit.  Again, I found it hard to create the right shape around the eyebrows, and I think it was harder this week because black is harder to correct.  I think that I blended the colours in the cheek area a lot better and overall I think that it is an improvement from the complementary look that I created before.  However there are ways in which I could make it a lot better.  For example I would make the colours  in the cheeks brighter, make the lip colour brighter and correct the eyebrow shape.

References:

- RANKIN (N.D.) Texture & Colour Play by Ayami Nishimura [digital image] [viewed 27th Feb 2015]. Available from:http://www.musebeautyproblog.com/tag/ayami-nishimura/

Studio: Hair Shapes and Silhouettes

The shapes and silhouettes that hairstyles create are important for a strong overall finish.  In class this week we were looking at creating sleek hairstyles with strong shapes, from prepping the hair to creating a ponytail and other hairstyles.

Equipment needed:

- Water spray

- Serum

- Hair dryer

- Paddle brush

- Hair straighteners

- Hair bands

- Pintail comb

- Hair grips

How to Prep the hair:

- Begin by wetting down your model's hair with a water spray and add a small amount of serum into the hair too.

- Blow dry the hair straight using a paddle brush.

NOTE: Do not create lift at the root.

- Hold the paddle brush under the section of hair with the nozzle of the hair dryer pointing down to make the hair lay flat as you blow-dry.

- Create a middle parting and work with the back section of hair first before working on the side sections.

- Straighten the hair once you have blow-dried it straight to create a perfectly flat finish.

Sleek hair.

How to create a Sleek Ponytail:

- Brush the hair through and then brush it back off of the face, taking a section of your model's hair to where you want the ponytail to sit.

NOTE: The ponytail should sit on the crown of the head.

- Hold it in place and work around the head, brushing the hair up and bringing more hair into the ponytail as you go.

- Change from a brush to a comb in order to get the hair extra flat and then tie in place.

NOTE: If you want extra height on the ponytail you can add another hair band a bit further up.

- Take a bit of serum in your hands and brush them over your model's hair to tidy and get rid of any baby hairs.

Sleek ponytail.

How to create a Softer Finish:

- Bring the front section of hair back (created from temple to temple), but pin it out of the way whilst you work with the sides.

- Bring side sections of hair around the head and pin with grips in a criss cross.

NOTE: Be sure to keep the sections flat.

- Bring the top section over the side sections and make sure that it is flat.

NOTE: You can create this same style with some lift by backcombing the underneath of the top section before bringing it over the side sections.

Sleek, soft finish.

Sleek, soft finish with added height.

Evaluation:

These hairstyles were  fairly simple to create and good techniques to learn in order to help me design my final looks for my chosen brand.  The ponytail was the trickiest to do, as I found it hard to keep the hair flat and in the right place.  Also, when I tried to tie it in place, the hair began to bunch in the hair band, making the hair bumpy.  I think that these simple hairstyles could be effective for some of my future looks that I will be creating.

Colour Challenge

RANKIN (N.D.) Texture & Colour Play by Ayami Nishimura [digital image] [viewed 27th Feb 2015]. Available from:http://www.musebeautyproblog.com/tag/ayami-nishimura/
(EDITED B&W BY ME)

In class, we were given this photo and a colour scheme to stick to.  The colour scheme that I was given was complementary, so I chose to work with the colours blue and orange.

I found the task fun but quite challenging.  It was interesting to depict the different areas of colour from the black and white picture that we were given, however I found it very difficult to recreate the shapes seen on the model's face with the same perfection.  The shape of the eyebrows proved to be especially difficult, as I couldn't get the right shape shown in the image and I couldn't get the two sides equal.

Below is my complementary colour version of the image.

I think that this was a good exercise and it really got me thinking about choosing the right colours and the shades within those colours in order to create an effective look.  I will transfer the skills that I have learnt here when designing the looks for my brand.