Masking Beauty

After the fashion bridal shoot with photographer Rachael-Emily, we both wanted to work together again and do something more creative. I had a few masks knocking around at home which I have never known what to use them for, so I thought they could work as something to base the shoot around. Here are some of the photos I found during my research which I used as inspiration:

From this we wanted to work with the themes like vanity, emotion, masking beauty and theatre. I wanted to make sure that the makeup still stood out next to and behind the masks, so I kept to the theatrical theme with silver tears, bright red lips, and big eyelash clad eyes. Rachael and I clubbed together some accessories such as an old mirror, simple white dress and a fur coat which worked really well together and helped to pull some of the other themes together. Rachael did an amazing job of using light and shadow to create some awesome shapes and images, I was very impressed! Our model, Paige looks beautiful in these photos too and really helps to bring our themes to life. Here are the finished results and we were all really pleased with them, we got some amazing shots!

Finally, we also ventured up to the cliffs in Peacehaven where we took some editorial photos in the foliage. You cannot see the makeup so well in these ones but I was still glad to be a part of it and get some additional images which show great diversity and composition. Poor Paige was freezing though and had to pose bare foot!

Bald and Beautiful

Since starting my makeup course, I can't help but question and analyse everything I see in films and on television in terms of how they managed to create the makeup. One thing that I have seen alot is the use of bald caps, whether that be to merely cover hair, or to transform a person into another creature altogether.

They are surprisingly difficult to apply and very time consuming, although I am sure it comes with practice. You can purchase different sizes or thickness bald caps and ours were fairly thin. We were only provided with 2 bald caps in our kits so there was no pressure! Once the model's hair has been slicked back or wrapped and the bald cap is on (you may need a few extra hands!) the bald cap needs to be stuck on with spirit gum and then the edges blended into the skin with acetone. This is the hard part, blending the edges so that it cannot be seen, and unfortunately you can see them in my photos :(  But practice makes perfect!

Goblins

Films such as Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings and television shows like Dr Who have fascinated me. How the designers and makeup artists create such lifelike creatures really inspires me and this is why I really enjoyed our prosthetics module at college where I constructed a goblin character.

I wanted to recreate a goblin and so used a prosthetic nose and ears. The prosthetics are made of latex, stuck on with an adhesive called Prosaide and then need to blended into the skin with more latex. The trick is to build up layers and try to thin out the latex so that it looks more natural. We also used hairdryers to dry the latex quicker. Once they are secure they need to be blended to the natural skin colour or the chosen colour of the creature. If the prosthetic piece is a significantly different colour then it may need to be lightened or darkened first and then matched to the skin colour in order to make it more convincing. Here are some images of both my boyfriend and a college friend as a goblin!