Introduction

My name is Molly Haywood, I'm 18 years old and I'm from Chelsea, London. I'm an aspiring makeup artist and my aim is to work in editorial and runway. As far as my experience with makeup goes I am currently completely self-taught, and I have done this simply through practice. I have also worked as the MUA on several photo shoots. I have worked in the fashion industry since I was 16 years old, when I began working for London-based fashion label Sorapol as part of the textiles and embroidery team. I found this experience to be highly valuable and it provided me with so many amazing opportunities, for example: working at fashion shows during London Fashion Week, working on garments for celebrities such Paloma Faith and Azealia Banks, and generally just getting a real insight into the industry.

Embroidery that I did for Sorapol AW13

Some of the beadwork that I did for an Azealia Banks custom Sorapol catsuit, worn at Vienna Life Ball 2013

Embroidery that I did for Sorapol SS14

I am heavily inspired by the avant-garde, and I absolutely love pushing the boundaries with makeup application. Another major source of inspiration for me is the art world, in particular the Impressionist and Surrealist movements. I also like to incorporate mixed media into makeup looks, and I find that embroidery and embellishment on couture garments can translate extremely well into makeup, so I aim to combine different areas of the fashion industry.

My current knowledge of the Elizabethan era is quite limited, and I hope to learn a lot throughout this project. I know that the ideal Elizabethan woman was essentially modeled on Queen Elizabeth herself because she was an idol to the people of the era, so women with extremely pale skin, red hair, and red lips and cheeks were the epitome of beauty. The white makeup used to achieve such a pale complexion was made of a variety of poisonous ingredients, including lead, so it caused the wearers severe skin problems. Some Elizabethan women even accentuated their veins by painting over them, in order to make their skin seem so pale it was transparent. As for Elizabethan fashion, I know that the wealthier women wore corsets to shape their waists, and large skirts with many layers (usually supported by a cage under the skirts) to contrast their small waists. A popular Elizabethan accessory was the ruff: worn around the neck to frame the face and create an optical illusion of the head being detached from the body. Ruffs were usually white, as this created the appearance of a larger distance between the head and the body. Particularly during the Elizabethan era, embellished ruffs were very fashionable - some had intricate embroidery and some were embellished with pearls which showed the wealth of the wearer.

An example of a traditional ruff (left) Marchesa Brigida Spinola Doria by Sir Peter Paul Rubens and the use of the ruff in contemporary fashion (right) by Maison Martin Margiela for Russian Vogue 2011

Overall I am extremely excited for this project, and I already have so many ideas. I'm really looking forward to the practical work and designing my final look. I love the design process itself, and I can't wait to develop my work. I'm also looking forward to learning new makeup application techniques, and I'm feeling very positive about the project as a whole.