The promotional images for MAC's Summer 2012 collection Heavenly Creatures radiate intergalactic glamour, but I also feel like they have a slight Elizabethan vibe. The look itself seems as though mainly mineral products have been used, creating beautiful light reflective shines on areas such as the eyelids, brow bone and cheeks. The eyebrows have been blocked out and covered in a white product. Not only does this create quite an alien look, but it is also reminiscent of Elizabethan beauty standards: a higher forehead being more attractive.
The skin is so pale it appears to be almost translucent, and the plum lipstick creates a stark contrast to this. I think the darker lip really compliments the light shades used for the eye makeup, it beautifully accentuates all features but still keeps everything in proportion, which is difficult to do when there are no eyebrows. I especially love the silver and blue shades used around the eye area, and I think the silver highlight on the brow bone is stunning. For my contemporary Elizabethan character I want to create something that looks quite alien and futuristic, but that also shows clear reference to Elizabethan glamour, and I think using pale colours with a lot of shimmer could make this look work quite well.
Some of the promotional images for Illamasqua's A/W11 Collection Theatre of the Nameless really reminded me of the Elizabethans, in particular the look pictured above. Although the collection was mainly inspired by the illicit nightlife of 1920's Berlin I think this particular look has an air of Elizabethan glamour. The models curly red hair and pale skin is very reminiscent of Queen Elizabeth, although the top of the hair style is quite flapper-esque. I like this combination as I think it works very well, and although they were from completely different eras Queen Elizabeth and the flappers of the 1920's were women far ahead of their time, challenging gender roles and revolutionizing the public perceptions of women.
I love the colour palette that Alex Box has used to create these looks, I think the red and purple tones work beautifully with the models pale complexion. The heavy contour is very striking and creates a dramatic theme, and the look in it's entirety is very theatrical. The skin has a beautiful, almost holographic alien gleam to it and I'd love to create skin like this for my contemporary Elizabethan look. I also really love the eyebrows; they're bold and harsh and make the model look slightly angry, but they flow so well with the rest of the look.
I remember seeing this campaign for the first time when I was 15 and just being absolutely mind-blow by the whole thing. The looks were so gothic and glamorous and to me at the time they really pushed the boundaries of what makeup could do. I had never seen lipstick like the shade the model is wearing in the image above. I found out that it was called Kontrol, went to the Illamasqua store and bought it, and to this day it is still one of my favourite lipsticks. I absolutely love unusual lip shades and I don't believe that any colour is unwearable. I think the look above is definitely one of the most iconic Illamasqua looks, and the Theatre of the Nameless is still such a poignant collection. I'd definitely love to use a similar colour palette for my contemporary Elizabethan makeup look, as I think the combination of purple and red shades works so well and really creates an air of Elizabethan regality.
Val Garland is one of my biggest inspirations in the makeup industry. I adore her work and I think her style is so unique and daring. I love that she completely pushes the boundaries with her looks and that she's not afraid to experiment with very avant-garde concepts.
image from Val Garland's MAC Masterclass 2013
Her roots lie in the alternative subcultures of 70's-80's Britain and I can really relate to this. It's clear to see that a lot of her inspiration comes from style tribes such as the Punks, Goths, Skinheads and the New Romantics, and I think it's so important to keep these revolutionary trends alive whilst modernizing them just as Val Garland does. Her work shows that it's okay to be spontaneous and it's okay to take a risk with your work, because a lot of the time it pays off and you end up creating something very innovative and exciting.
Val Garland for i-D Pre-Spring 2014
The following video is some backstage footage of Vivienne Westwood's SS12 show where you can see Val Garlands work and a short interview with her. I thought the two looks for this show were incredibly beautiful and I loved the different colour palettes. Val Garland describes the first look as a "demented 18th century baroque girl," and I can see exactly where she's coming from. I think the purple tones worked so well with the warmer colours such as yellow, orange, red and gold. The contrast was gorgeous and this particular colour scheme gave off a very regal vibe. The second look was described as a "stark warrior mask," and the main colour was blue. This look was very tribal and the use of prominent patterns around the face, especially around the brow area, gave the models an air of strength and power almost reminiscent of an Amazonian woman:
I think Val Garland always brings something completely different to the runway, her work is so easily identifiable because it's just totally unique. I truly admire the way in which she works: she's utterly fearless and I really hope I can achieve that liberated mindset one day.
The image I have chosen to analyse is one of the promotional images released for Lady Gaga's music video to her song G.U.Y, as I think it truly reflects wealth and riches through a wide variety of elements.
The setting is Hearst Castle in California, famously known for it's stunning Roman inspired architecture and it's lavish and opulent interior. The castle itself was extremely popular among the Hollywood elite in the 1920's and 1930's although to receive an invite to visit Hearst Castle was highly prestigious. Greta Garbo, the Marx brothers, Clark Gable, Charlie Chaplin and Joan Crawford are just some of the castle's famous guests.
Personally I think this whole image really gives off a Versace vibe, and although the swimming costume worn by Lady Gaga in this particular shot is by upcoming Spanish fashion label POL, her look really reminds me of a young Donatella Versace - with the obviously expensive long blonde hair extensions, black outfit, and an entourage of conventionally attractive men.
The main colours in this picture are blue and gold - obviously gold is commonly associated with wealth and prosperity, however blue is often representative of royalty, and this particular colour scheme definitely accentuates the theme of wealth within this image. The pairing of these two colours is also highly aesthetically pleasing and creates a serene and relaxed mood, whilst retaining the element of luxury.
Lady Gaga herself is the epitome of a wealthy, powerful woman. The way her body is positioned on the floating chaise-lounge shows that she is very much in control even though she is lying down, and her entourage seem more like servants, treating her with total adoration as though she is a modern goddess. The pose also slightly reminded me of Alexandre Cabanel's The Birth of Venus. She has adopted common stereotypical activities of the wealthy Ancient Romans and Grecians, for example reclining while being fed fruit by a slave. She is in the centre of the photo so is obviously supposed to be the main focus, also the fact that the chaise lounge is red while everything else in the image is blue or gold draws the viewers attention to Gaga even more.
The video for G.U.Y can be seen in full here. It is clear that throughout the film wealth, luxury and female empowerment are common themes, and the setting of the video almost seems like an otherworldly historical paradise:
For my Complimentary face chart I decided to work with purple and yellow, as I absolutely love the way they look together. I think when put side by side deep purples and bright yellows create a gorgeous contrast - they clash, but in a really striking way. I wanted everything about this look to be bold, so I designed it with a very dark lip, thick dark eyebrows and heavy eye makeup. I feel that yellow and purple are vivid, powerful colours when used to their full extent, and I wanted my design to reflect this. I wanted this look to have an air of gothic glamour to it, but also with a grungy feel, so I smudged the eyeliner and made the eyebrows look very untamed and hardly groomed.
For my analogous look I decided to use purples and blues, as I haven't really experimented with them much so far on this course, but I absolutely love the way they look together. When designing this look I was very inspired by outer space and I wanted to create something quite alien-esque, as I feel an affinity towards anything that looks like it came from another planet. I am often inspired by the solar system, and colours like blue and purple always remind me of meteorites and nebulae. The astral sphere on the forehead was inspired by David Bowie's iconic Ziggy Stardust makeup (by Pierre Laroche) but I also wanted to make it look somewhat lunar.
When applying my design I felt that the blue was far more dominant than the purple, so I decided to add in some purple contouring around the collarbone area in order to make the look more analogous. I think this worked well and I was happy with the result seeing as it wasn't planned. I also decided to not have any eyebrows because I think this gives the look more of an alien vibe. I also tried to stick to quite rounded, circular shapes to coincide with the astral sphere and general planetary theme. Overall I really enjoyed creating this look and I am pleased with the final result.
Products Used:
MAC Full Coverage Foundation in W10
MAC Studio Fix Concealer in NW15
Illamasqua Translucent Loose Powder
Illamasqua Sculpting Duo in Lumos and Heliopolis
MAC Mineralize Skinfinish in Lightscapade
Urban Decay Eyeshadows in Gonzo, Urban and Chaos (Electric Palette)
Sugarpill Eyeshadows in Poison Plum, Velocity, 2am, Mochi and Afterparty
For my monochromatic look I chose to work with the colour red. This look was heavily inspired by the makeup of Japan's geisha's - I often find inspiration from different cultures within Eastern Asia as I love their dramatic performance makeup and I think the colour schemes are beautiful.
Red is a very powerful colour and sometimes it is thought to be too overpowering, as a small amount of it can completely dominate an entire makeup look. However, I wanted to use the colour excessively on all of the key facial features. Because of how bold a colour red is I didn't want to use it to create a toned down look, and I tried to refrain from using the pink shades. I mainly wanted to portray the colour at full volume.
For my achromatic face chart I decided to create a very sculpted, angular, geometric-inspired look. I wanted to experiment with the ideas of contrasting shades and symmetry, so I chose to have a white eyebrow to provide stark contrast to the dark eye and lip makeup. As well as being achromatic, I wanted this look to focus on the use of shapes, and I chose more angular shapes because I think they work well to create a sharp, striking look. However, I also contrasted the hard edges with more curved shapes around the inner corner of the eye. I added the white dots (using Illamasqua Precision Ink in Scribe) to contrast the black eyeshadow.
Geometric eyeliner has been a recurring trend in the world of fashion and makeup for a long time now, and I thought that it would work really well with an achromatic look due to the impact made by dark, sharp edges. If I re-did this look I would definitely like to try the eyeliner in white, or maybe have one eye with black liner and one with white. I really enjoyed creating this look and would absolutely love to put it into practice at some point.
Colour theory is often seen as being the universal guide to colour mixing and colour combination. The colour wheel is the visual aid for this, showing the three main colour categories: primary, secondary and tertiary. The basic concepts of colour theory have been in existence since the 1400's in the writings of scholars such as Leone Battista Alberti and Leonardo da Vinci, but Isaac Newton is often credited as having discovered the main principles of colour theory through his experiments with light refraction, and in 1706 he developed the first colour wheel.
A simple colour wheel showing which category each colour falls into
The colour wheel is essential for understanding how colours are mixed to create different colours, and it shows us that infinite colour mixing is possible. The way in which the colour hues are organized in a circle shows the relationships between the individual colours in the three categories:
In the colour wheel above we can see that when red hues are mixed with yellow hues it creates orange hues. Red and yellow are both primary colours, and orange is the product of the combination of these two, meaning that it is a secondary colour. The secondary colours are created from mixing two primary colours and the tertiary colours are created by mixing a combination of primary and secondary colours. For example, when yellow hues (primary) and green hues (secondary) are mixed, yellow-greens are created (tertiary). By looking at a colour wheel we can see exactly what colours we need to combine in order to create the new colour of our choice.
In the arts, colour is the essential mean of conveying visual and sensual expression, whereas in psychology colours are the stimuli which influence behaviour and the psyche. Although these are two separate fields, interpretation of colour is key in both of them.
Defining Colour:
The three main factors of describing any colour is the lightness, the saturation and the hue. The hue is the specific tone of the colour and the saturation is the intensity of the hue. The level of saturation can be a grey tone, which means there is no saturation, or it can be extremely vivid, in which case there is a high level of saturation. Finally, the brightness of a colour is the level of lightness or darkness in a colour and this factor ranges from black (no brightness) to white (full brightness).
Colours can be divided into many different categories, and the following categories are very important when discussing colour theory:
Analogous: Similar shades which are located together on a colour wheel
Complementary: Colours which are located opposite eachother on a colour wheel
Achromatic: Blacks, whites and greys (also referred to as greyscale)
Neutral: Beige and brown hues, and colours with grey undertones
Chromatic colours: The colours featured on a colour wheel
Monochromatic: Working from one shade of a colour to another, for example the darkest shade of green to the lightest
Different shades of a colour can also be considered to be either "cool" or "warm." Cooler shades tend to have grey and blue undertones, whereas warmer colours have red and orange undertones. However, this doesn't mean to say that you can't have a cool red or a warm blue.
John Galliano's A/W 2007 show was an Elizabethan wonderland in pastel colour. In true Galliano fashion the collection screamed quirky grandeur, the show itself was the embodiment of avant-garde tea party debauchery, and Pat McGrath's makeup artistry complimented and contrasted each individual ensemble perfectly.
Each makeup look had the same basic structure: pale skin, thin/blocked out eyebrows, very rounded eyeshadow following the shape of the eye socket, and a prominent angular lip. Some looks had brighter blusher and the colours of the eyeshadow differed between models, although the inner corner of every eye was highlighted with a vivid shade which contrasted the general colour scheme of that specific look. I adore the variety of these looks, the colour palette seems endless but each look works so beautifully. I particularly love the combination of lilac and bright yellow and I think it's brilliant that Pat McGrath hasn't been afraid to put clashing colours together, because the final result is so striking and really captures the essence of the show through the medium of makeup.
Of all the makeup looks throughout the show the one pictured above is definitely my favourite. I absolutely love the shape of the eyeshadow, it completely rejuvenates the cliche "smokey cut-crease" by extending the shadow under the eye in a swirling motion. The blending on this look is flawless and I adore the white eyebrows. The achromatic eye paired with a striking dark wine-red lip is a stunning combination, and the pale skin and red hair screams Elizabethan glamour. I will definitely be using this image as inspiration for my final look, as I think this is a beautiful contemporary interpretation of classic historical beauty.
In our first face chart lesson with Kat we learned the basics of face charting and various techniques that makeup artists often use when planning looks. For my face chart I decided to use cream products, as we were not working on watercolour paper therefore cream products were a better base, and blending is much easier on normal paper when using creams. I usually use cream products for my face charts, as I find that they give the face more prominent definition than powders, and the smooth texture is a lot better to work into. I also like my face charts to have an element of realism, and I feel that with cream products you can achieve more realistic looking skin, but I have also been experimenting with powders more recently.
My look wasn't really pre-planned and I mostly made it up as I went along. I wanted to do something quite alien-esque, but with a gothic twist. I purposely left out the eyebrows, instead putting black eyeshadow (Kryolan Supracolour) all the way up to where the brow should be for a more avant-garde look.
For the lip I wanted quite a vampiric vibe, so I used a wine-red all over and then blended in black Lip Mix around the edges for a more dimensional effect. This gave the lip a purple tone, so I decided to use purple on the eyelid, and highlighted that with gold on the inner corner of the eye, just because I love the way purple and gold look together.
For the eyeliner and lashes I used the method I always use: Indian ink and a 000 paintbrush. I often use these materials for illustration, as I find they make it possible to achieve thin, precise linework with clean, sharp edges. For the eyeliner I opted for a more contemporary take on the classic "cat eye" making it into a double wing and also defining the crease.
Before this lesson I hadn't made any face charts in quite a long time, so this was really helpful and a great opportunity to just play around with different techniques and experiment with a totally unplanned look.
In Kat's lesson we began to learn avant-garde makeup techniques, starting with extreme contouring. Extreme contouring is an amplified version of everyday beauty contouring and is a technique often used in more experimental makeup looks, as it can be very diverse and used to create a wide variety of different effects. You can contour with any colour you like, and contouring different areas will change the appearance of the facial structure in different ways.
Essentially, contouring is using makeup to manipulate the natural structure of the face, shading areas to make them more defined and highlighting other areas to bring them out more. This is very useful in photography, as it means certain areas will catch the light and others will appear to have more of a shadow, therefore altering the face shape.
Kat's demo
In her demo Kat used a white base (Illamasqua Skin Base Foundation in Shade 01) as she was contouring with dark colours and a pale base would accentuate the contoured features even further. She focused on the cheekbone, nose and eye areas to create a more sculpted appearance to the models face. I think this look was really successful and work really well as an editorial piece.
My work
In her demo Kat used powder products to contour. I also decided to use powders, as I prefer working with powder prdoucts over creams - I find they blend better whilst retaining pigmentation. For the base I used Illamasqua Matte Primer, then a mixture of Illamasqua Skin Base in shade 01 and MAC Full Coverage Foundation in shade W10, and I set the base with Illamasqua Translucent Loose Powder. I would have like to have spent more time on the skin but our time was quite limited.
I began by contouring the cheek, following just under Amelia's natural cheekbone. I started with my lightest colour, Kryolan Glamour Glow in Glamour Tan, which I used to mark out the cheekbone. I also used the same product to mark out my contour on the nose and eye socket. I then worked into this with a slightly darker shade; Illamasqua Sculpting Powder in Heliopolis, blending out the Kryolan Glamour Glow as I worked. I used Heliopolis to work into the areas that I had already marked out with Glamour Tan, as I intended to work from the lightest colour to the darkest.
I then began to blend in the darker colours to make the contour more dramatic. I used Illamasqua Eyeshadow in Wolf in the inner corners of each contoured area, so the crease of the eye, from the inner browbone down the nose, and on the upper half of the cheekbone. Once I'd blended Wolf in, the contour was significantly darker, but I wanted to make it more extreme, so I decided to use Illamasqua Eyeshadow in Obsidian to give it a darker appearance and a more dramatic shadow. Because Obsidian is so dark and highly pigmented I only used a tiny amount, working into the areas where I had already used Wolf. I only used Obsidian on the upper third of the cheekbone, making sure I blended it into the hairline.
To highlight I used Illamasqua Sculpting Powder in Lumos along the cheekbone and down the length of the nose. To highlight the browbone I used Illamasqua Eyeshadow in Precipice. I also used a small amount of Precipice on the cheekbone, blending it with Lumos to create more of a highlight.
Out of all of our practical work so far I definitely enjoyed this task the most, as I love working with more avant garde and dramatic designs. I found this task relatively simple and I was happy with my blending, although I would have liked to have been able to spend more time on my piece. I will definitely be using the extreme contour in my future work as I think it's a very beautiful and eye-catching technique.
Recently we went on a course trip to London to visit the National Portrait Gallery and also to visit some of the makeup shops in the West End. This was such a fun trip and I had a really lovely time!
When we arrived in London we went straight to the National Portrait Gallery to visit The Real Tudors exhibition. Although I had already chosen my Elizabethan portrait it was still really great to see some of the original portraiture from the era. The work was absolutely mesmerizing and the artists of that time were highly skilled. I couldn't believe how hyper-realistic some of the work was, and it was amazing to be able to get so close to it, as you could barely even see the brush strokes. It was also interesting to see a collection of portraits of Henry VIII as none of them looked like the same person, and it still makes us wonder what he actually looked like, and which portrait was the most accurate.
After we finished looking around the National Portrait Gallery we headed into Covent Garden to go to the MAC Pro store where we received a 35% discount. There were so many useful products in the store and it was difficult to choose just a few! In the end I bought MAC's Full Coverage Foundation in shades W10 and NW45 for my kit, as we don't have an extremely light or dark foundation in our kit and I thought buying the lightest shade and one of the darkest would be practical for mixing.
We also went to the Illamasqua store on Beak Street where we received a 25% discount. I decided to get Skin Base Foundation in the darkest shade, as it was a lot darker than MAC's NW45 and I can now mix any base colour with the products in my kit. I purposely picked foundations that I thought would be good for using when working with cameras and that would mix well with the Kryolan foundation palette we already have.
The London trip was a really productive day, and it was lovely to be back in my city. I really enjoyed the trip and look forward to the next one!
The main inspiration for Alexander McQueen's AW13 collection (designed by Sarah Burton) was drawn from piety and Catholicism. The ten outfits were divided into subgroups: communion, nuns, popes, cardinals and angels. Although the collection primarily held religious connotations, the influence of Elizabethan fashion is evident within each outfit, and the outfits of the "cardinals" appear to be a nod to the Virgin Queen herself. The way the models walked through the venue actually seemed like some sort of procession within a church, and the venue perfectly coincided with the theme of the collection.
Communion looks 1 & 2 (photos from style.com)
The first looks to come down the runway were Communion. Dressed in virgin white, the models looked ethereal.The use of white lace, puffed sleeves and layering of skirts made these outfits seem reminiscent of elaborate baptismal costume, and I found the boxy cuts of the dresses to be almost like the cut of children's clothing. These looks definitely had an air of purity about them.
Close ups of looks 1 & 2 (photos from vogue.co.uk)
I absolutely loved the intricacy of the white lace, and I also thought the white finger caps with bells on were a beautiful touch. The shoes which accompanied the Communion looks really echoed Elizabethan regality, with gorgeous pearl detailing, and I also liked the more contemporary touch of a metal capped toe.
Nuns looks 3 & 4 (Photos from style.com)
The second subgroup were the Nuns, wearing outfits compromised of black leather and studs. The silhouette of their outfits really resembled some sort of punk rock habit, especially in Look 4 with the prominent white cut off at the shoulders, contrasting against the black leather.
Close ups of looks 3 & 4 (photos from vogue.co.uk)
I thought these looks were a really interesting take on the traditional costume of nuns, and I love that Sarah Burton has opted for a more punk vibe, especially with the knee-high black leather studded boots and pearl-encrusted knuckle-dusters.
Popes looks 5 & 6 (photos from style.com)
Then the Popes came down the runway and they were also wearing black. I absolutely loved these outfits and I felt they really had an air of gothic romanticism about them. The historic influence was so clear in these ensembles, and I thought the pattern on the bodices looked similar to the architecture of old churches and the structure of stained-glass windows.
Close ups of looks 5 & 6 (photos from vogue.co.uk)
I also think the combination of alternative streetstyle with historic fashion is a key theme in the Popes outfits, for example the pearl fishnet tights. These were probably one of my favourite accessories of the whole collection as I thought they complimented the outfits beautifully and were just such a unique concept.
Cardinals looks 7 & 8 (photos from style.com)
Of all the looks in the collection the Cardinals are definitely my favourite. It's clear that these looks were heavily inspired by the style of Queen Elizabeth. Although Queen Elizabeth was a Protestant and her reign returned England to Protestantism, she treated both Catholics and Protestants equally, unlike her sister Mary who reigned before her and executed hundreds of Protestants in her attempt to create a Catholic England. It's interesting that the McQueen collection has these contrasting religious and historical themes, but I think it works really well with the story behind the collection. The Cardinals outfits are absolutely stunning and I feel they really capture the essence of Elizabethan fashion. Although ruffs have been used in every outfit of this collection, I feel that they compliment looks 7 & 8 best. The colour scheme of these ensembles are beautiful and exude decadence, and I love the intricate embroidery.
Angels looks 9 & 10 (photos from style.com)
The last looks on the runway were the Angels. Saved for the finale, this contemporary take on the classic Christian angels were stunning. Substituting ostrich feather sleeves for wings, the religious reference was evident and the final looks tied together the whole show perfectly.
Throughout this collection there were many Elizabethan motifs; pearls, ruffs, intricate embroidery and all of these aspects worked very well with the religious theme of the collection. I really loved the use of the head cages in all of the looks, each one coordinating with it's individual outfit. I think these cages were quite reminiscent of Elizabethan headpieces and brought a really opulent feel to the collection in it's entirety.
photos from vogue.co.uk
The Alexander McQueen AW13 show can be seen in full here:
"It's like my mind is a tap of creativity and I can't turn it off... drip, drip, drip." - Alex Box
Last week I went back home to London, and had the amazing opportunity to see Alex Box's live performance at the Everyman Cinema in Selfridges. Watching Alex work is always such an intense experience, and I am always so moved by her work. The sheer emotion that she puts into her art seems to radiate throughout the entire room - her passion and dedication to her work is an overwhelming presence in itself.
The leaflet for the event along with some Illamasqua freebies - the Bronzing Powder Duo is now part of my uni kit!
As soon as Alex began to create her piece the room fell completely silent, the audience was utterly captivated. She begun with a beautiful contour which extended from the face on to the upper chest, defining the models collarbone and creating an almost skeletal appearance. Unfortunately I forgot to bring my camera to the performance so the pictures on this post will mostly be my rubbish quality iPhone photos :(
Picture from @zoelondondj on Twitter
After the contouring was finished the piece looked quite futuristic and alien-esque. The model was then styled with a headpiece and the stage was decorated with large white balloons. Alex began to create an on-screen light display which was projected on to the model. This reflected beautiful, wild strokes of colour on to the piece. The act in itself exuded creative liberation through free, expressive movement of light and colour.
Photo taken from Alex Box's official Facebook page
I thought that the way the light moved across the screen was absolutely beautiful. So far the look had been based mainly around pale shades, and this explosion of colour completely illuminated the piece.
Once this stage of the performance was finished Alex began to create a second headpiece, using what looked like a pre-made plastic/resin headpiece as a base, which she then pressed white, grey and black play-doh on to. This gave a really beautiful textured effect which was reminiscent of reptilian scales. The monochromatic colour scheme was continued throughout the rest of the piece, as Alex then added black and white makeup using very free, experimental brush strokes.
After the base for the headpiece was applied
Application of the play-doh and graphic makeup
Progression of the styling
Once the play-doh headpiece was finished, Alex then used black and white spray paint all over the model. I thought this really gave the look a feeling of raw expression, and I love the way that so many different materials were combined to bring this piece together.
Photo from @zoelondondj on Twitter
After the performance was finished Alex took questions from the audience. When asked about the concept for this piece, she described it as a surrender to emotion translated through makeup and art. This piece was so expressive and I love the idea of using makeup as an emotionally liberating art form. One of the key things about this piece was for Alex to take a risk in front of a live audience, essentially to let go of any inhibitions and completely surrender herself to creative flow. Personally I think the final look was extremely successful, and the emotional aspect just gave it even more meaning and made each stage more poignant. The look was constantly changing and evolving and each stage significantly altered the appearance of the model.
Myself and Alex after the performance - it's always so lovely talking to her!
This performance was very inspirational and I'm so glad I was able to see it - it was exactly what I needed. After watching Alex at work I definitely want to experiment more with expressive makeup, and I love the idea of emotionally surrendering and channeling it through makeup, as I imagine it is an extremely liberating experience.
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