Practising Look 3 Hair and Makeup

Makeup

In my previous practice I decided to make the skin look dewy and luminous to give a more ethereal, dream-like look. I applied Mac strobe cream all over her face and then applied a satin finish foundation on top for a natural glow. I initially tried using Benefit Hoola bronzer, however this looked too dark and warm, giving her a bronzed look. I therefore used a grey toned brown eye shadow to create a very subtle contour. I added white eye shadow on the high points of her face to brighten her skin and give a soft reverse contour. I used the Ofra Highlighting Wheel to add the luminous glow to the high points of her face, including the tops of her cheek bones and down her nose, as it gives an intense highlight with a white pigment. I will add more white eye shadow all over her chin to brighten this area and add softness, as my model has a very defined chin crease so the white eyeshadow will lighten the shadowed area, making it less obvious. 

I experimented with adding red supra colour onto her eye brows, setting them with powder and then adding white on top; however the red and white mixed together to make her eye brows look pink. I therefore will just use white supra colour on the brows, making sure to coat every hair thoroughly to get rid of the dull, grey look. The model's eye creases look as though they've been contoured, which they haven't, so I will apply more white eye shadow to this area the brighten the eyes, giving them an ethereal, feminine look. I added a strip of white along the upper lash line; however I think it looks too harsh against the soft surrounding makeup, drawing too much attention to the fake lash line, so I will not include this next time. I applied white supra colour all over the black fake eyelashes to achieve a soft, feathery lash effect. I will apply the lip colour just before the model goes on set as the Mac white lipmix looked smooth and even when first applied, but bunched in the middle of her bottom lip after about an hour. I will moisturise her lips at the beginning of the makeup application to ensure there are no dry patches for the white lipmix to cling to.

I will add a white contact lens in the model's left eye for the shoot to reflect the lasting effects of discrimination; however I did not have these when practising, so I edited her left eye to make it look blind to give the over all effect of the makeup. The white contact adds a sinister twist to the ethereal makeup, highlighting that even when She feels free from discrimination, it will always haunt her subconscious.


Hair

After practising this hairstyle previously I found my biggest challenge was the front section of hair as I couldn't mould it to my desired position. I experimented with positioned, as shown below, until I came up with one I felt was most appropriate. Another aspect I had to work on what covering my model's scalp between bun sections. I considered only doing two buns; however I was concerned this wouldn't give the padding and extensions enough support so I created three buns but made sure each section was blended into the next. I found that starting from the bottom section and then blending the other sections into that worked most effectively as I could see where all the gaps were easily. I saturated the model's natural hair in oil before starting to ensure there were no fly aways and I achieved a smooth, slick look. 

I need to buy more blonde waved hair pins as I found these secured the hair most effectively and were easier to hide. I had to use black grips in this practice and I found them difficult to cover with hair. I didn't re-plait the hair extensions from last time and found it looked more natural than before because of the slightly messy texture. I will keep these extensions in a safe place so they look exactly like this for the shoot.

I initially experimented with heavily back combing the front of the natural hair and brought it forwards to extend the mohawk shape; however it was extremely unstable so if the model moved sharply, which she would in the scene, the hair would fall or move. I also found the ends looked scraggly and unhealthy, taking the strength and power away from the look.  

I next experimented with brushing the hair back and over the mohawk with a curled end as I thought this would be more secure and give a more structured silhouette; however the hair didn't blend well with the extensions, making the hair look fake, and the hair looked like a solid block from the front view, losing all the detail.

After experimenting with positioning the back combed hair in a variety of positions, I decided to try slicking it back and extending the mohawk forwards, fortunately the plait was long enough to achieve this. This design gave a strong silhouette and it will be more stable for her to move her head around in the scene with the power paint. Some of the white padding is visible in the image above; however this was because I was focusing on experimenting with the front section. There was enough hair to pull over the padding so I will make sure I do that for a seamless look. This design looks intricate and flattering from the front view, which the other designs didn't, as it shows the twisted hair and entwined white leatherette. 

I experimented with adding a light coat of white hair spray to the chosen design to emphasise She's purity and complement the monotone look of her makeup and styling. The white dusting makes the hair look more editorial, as it transforms the look to become less wearable and more high fashion. The white spray emphasises the hair's texture by grabbing hold of each strand to create an eery cobweb effect, to reflect how her painful experiences as a victim of discrimination are in her past and concealed over for her new carefree life to begin. I will judge whether this will look too much after I have seen the model's styling in person and she has had her fitting.