Overall Evaluation Of The Project

At the start of the project, when we were introduced to the brief, I was not too keen on the project and mainly about the history side of things, but to my surprise, I have actually enjoyed all of the different elements of this project, ranging from learning Elizabethan styles and techniques to modern contouring in the studio, to watching films and different interpretations in class. I believe I have learnt a lot - in fact a lot more than I thought I would, and all of the things that I have been taught will benefit me in the future. 

This project has allowed me to gain a lot of knowledge about the Elizabethan era, and understand why they would do certain things to themselves, e.g. like using poisonous products on their skin. It has taught me the traditional and desired style of make-up that you would have worn if you were an Elizabethan, but it has also opened up my eyes and allowed me to see connections between the era and today's modern society, and how some of their influences still come into play, even today! 

I feel I have conquered many hurdles, for example, things such as time management, learning how to evaluate and simple things like how to even create a blog! But overall it has been very beneficial, and I hope that the rest of the course is able to teach me the same amount of knowledge, whilst allowing me to enjoy the journey at the same time. 

Timed Assessment - In The Role Of The Designer/Assesor

Overall, I was fairly happy with how my design had been carried out by the make-up artist. I was very happy with the eyes - the eyeshadow was blended well and created a very modern smokey eye, paired with eyeliner and mascara. I was also satisfied with the brows and how they had been filled in, as well as with the coverage of the skin coloured foundation. The lips were also coloured as I desired, and the make-up artist did well in remembering to cover the neck and ears.

However, my main problem when it came to the look was that the red cheeks had been applied on top of the skin colour and this is not what I wanted - I wanted the modern look to be in the middle of the face and for it then to fade out into Elizabethan. To fix this, my partner should have brought the white skin base up higher, above the lips, to ensure that the red apples of the cheeks were only applied where the skin underneath was white. Also, when applying the white base, it was quite noticeable that the make-up artist was struggling creating an even base, and had to remove parts and re-apply; I believe the reason for this was because she would powder and then put white skin base on top, and powder again, etc. I think she perhaps should have made sure the base was thick enough first, and then applied the powder at the end, once she was satisfied. The only other problem I had was that the make-up artist actually forgot to do a client consultation before she began applying any products to my face, and clearly, if I was a brand new client, this would be crucial.

Other than that, everything about the process was successful - the make-up artist came prepared, was professional and had good studio etiquette. She asked me any questions she had, or anything she was unsure about and I think that we communicated well throughout the process.

Considering all of the above, I would award my partner with a B3. 

Assessment - Further Practicing Of My Design

I feel that my partner has definitely improved from the last time we practiced my design. For example, I am now very happy with eyes - they are not too dark, the blending is done perfectly, and we actually used cello tape to create a good even shape on both sides. 

I still feel the foundation and white base need to be more even and slightly thicker, in order to show more of a contrast between the 2, however, we have actually decided to use a slightly darker foundation in the middle of the face to help us achieve this. I also think the blusher is slightly too high up on the face, because it goes quite far into the skin coloured section of the face, when it needs to be limited to only the white section of the face. 

Other than that, I am happy with the look, and feel that the make-up artist is carrying out the look that I am wanting to achieve. 

Assessment - My Final Step-by-step Instructions For My Design

1. Cleanse, tone and moisturise the face
2. Apply Foxy all over the lid and up to the brow
3. Put Tease on top of this, but stop slightly below the brow bone
4. Apply Busted all over the lid and into the crease, followed by Blackout in the outer corner of the lid and into the crease
5. Apply Verve in the inner corner and then blended it all out 
6. Apply Blackout under the eye and join this up with the eyeshadow on the outer lid
7. Apply mascara to both the top and bottom lashes
8. Apply black eyeliner in to the waterline and blend this with the eyeshadow beneath 
9. Add false eyelashes to the top set of lashes
10. Fill in the eyebrows using eyeshadow
11. Apply the skin colour foundation all around the eyes, going no lower than the bottom of the nose
12. Then apply the white skin base to the rest of the remaining skin, including the ears and neck, trying to create quite a smooth transition between the colours
13. Use a much darker/lighter foundation to create contouring and highlighting in the sections that fall within the skin colour, e.g. the nose, and very high point of the cheekbones and forehead
14. Blend this out and apply a translucent powder before going over the contouring again slightly, using a powder-based product
15. Apply a red blusher to the apples of the cheeks, but only the parts that fall within the white section of the face
16. Use a mixture of the red and brown blusher and apply this to the lips

Products and Equipment needed:

• Kryolan Foundation
• Illamasqua white skin base
• Naked 2 palette
• Avon eyeshadow palette (for filling in eyebrows)
• Kryolan Glamour Glow palette
• Illamasqua translucent powder
• False eyelashes
• Eyelash glue
• Mascara
• Disposable mascara wands
• Kryolan Blusher palette
• Foundation brush
• Blusher brush
• 3x eyeshadow brushes
• Blending brush
• A puff

Assessment - My Partner Practicing My Design

For a first attempt, I think my partner did quite well - she understood the concept of my idea and what I wanted, and executed it quite well. 

I feel she did the eyes quite well, but I would ideally like them to be not so dark and black the whole way through, so that you could see the transition between the different colours. She applied the mascara and filled in the eyebrows well. Next time, we just need to ensure we add eyeliner to the waterline, and false eyelashes.

For the skin-coloured part of the face, we have decided to next time, use a slightly darker foundation so that you can see more of a contrast between the 2 colours. I would also like for the skin colour to continue slightly above the eyebrows, so that there was a nice blend/fade and it did not go directly from modern eyebrows to a pale face. For the white skin colour, I would like the top of the forehead and chin to be even lighter and more even (e.g. on the chin), but the blend between the 2 colours is done well. 

The contouring on the face is done well, as is the actual shape of the blusher. My only improvement here would be that the make-up artist needs to be more precise in which area it is being applied to, e.g. the blusher should only be in the areas where the face is white, and the contouring should only be in the area where it is skin colour. 

The lips are the perfect colour and are done well.

Overall, the make-up artist has done very well for the first practice, and I feel with a few more practices, she will be able to achieve the exact look I am going for. I have given her my feedback regarding this practice for her to take into consideration for the next time. 

Timed Assessment - In The Role Of The Make-up Artist

I think the designer did well in terms of coming up with an original design, which had elements of both modern society and the Elizabethan era. For example, the blocked out eyebrows were a good Elizabethan influence, and I liked the way in which she incorporated with this with a modern look, and that the design actually worked together, e.g. it did not look disjointed. 

The only constructive criticism I have is that perhaps the design was slightly too modern and that it did not incorporate enough Elizabethan influences. For example, the contouring, highlighting, smokey eye, false lashes and red lips all looked very contemporary, so perhaps the designer could've had a paler face, or red cheeks, or something slightly more traditionally Elizabethan. 

I found the designer very cooperative - she was able to clearly communicate her ideas both in class, and out of class (e.g. if I needed to ask any questions or practice), and she provided a good informative face chart throughout, as well as clear step-by-step notes for me on the day of the assessment. She was also willing to offer me any advice, and guide/inform me of how she carried out the make-up look the first time she tried it, and provided any extra products that I would need that were not in my kit. Overall, I would be very willing and happy to collaborate and work with my partner again.

Self-reflection Of The Timed Assessment

Overall, I was reasonably satisfied with the look that I created, but being truthful, I believe I have carried out the design more successfully in previous practice sessions than what I did in the actual assessment... I do not know why this was the case, perhaps nerves, but going into the assessment I felt confident and prepared, just when it came to actually doing the look, it did not turn out exactly how I wanted it to. 

For example, I feel the eyebrows were not blocked out to the best of my ability, and that I have carried this out more effectively in the past. Also, the eyeshadow on either side was not quite symmetrical - one of the eyes (left) appears slightly smoother and more rounded, whereas the other (right) appears to be slightly sharper and be more defined. Furthermore, where my model was stood waiting to have her photograph taken, it was very stuffy and some of the make-up began to move and slip off the face, e.g. her lips had smudged slightly at the top - this taught me a valuable lesson for the future and to take my make-up into the photography studio to touch up whilst photographs are being taken.

However the rest of the look was carried out successfully, for example, the application of concealer and foundation, the false eyelashes, and the smokey eyes (apart from the slight difference in shape) were the correct colour, and blended correctly. I feel my station was set up appropriately, and that I remained professional with how I looked and health and safety, and the actual process/technique of applying the make-up. Also, I was able to complete the look within the required time, and the main thing was that the designer was happy and satisfied with the overall look. 

This process has allowed me to learn that practice makes perfect, and that although I felt fairly confident beforehand, mistakes can still happen, and I perhaps should of practiced more nearer the time, instead of practicing quite a lot consecutively and then leaving it a just under a week, before carrying out the final look. I have also learnt to just stay calm and enjoy what I am doing, because comparing practice sessions (where I was much more relaxed and at ease) and the assessment (where I was more uptight and worried), the more successful of the two was the relaxed ones, which I had more fun in.