Evaluation

   When I first learnt about this project I thought it would be very much an up hill battle but actually I have quite enjoyed it. Being someone who hasn't ventured far into the gothic/horror genre before it’s been quite interesting to see where I have gone with it, I think that watching the beauty videos helped the most in making me understand how it isn't all about gore, its just about things that seem unsettling/making you feel uncomfortable look quite beautiful in a weird sort of way.

            I have enjoyed learning about how to create cuts and wounds but also experimenting with other products to get similar or interesting new effects, for example with the staple lips I'd created if I had seen that in a magazine or whatever I would have presumed that you needed very specific products but actually I was able to create them using just normal staples, DUO glue and wound filler. I did however find it challenging creating the looks in a fashion way without going either too gory or not showing enough skill, it has definitely helped teach me how to find the line between too much and too little and being able to decide when to stop and leave it at that.

            I’m really pleased with my final images and found it really exciting watching my designs and model choices come together to create what I had in my head. If I had the chance to do the project again I would only change a few things about my looks like backcombing Look 1’s hair and making the drip more prominent but overall I’m pleased!

Final Images Look 2

Final Images for Look 1

What Video?

I think my looks would be for a video by CocoRosie  because after listening to and watching quite a few of their videos they seem to go for the same sort or 'Weird/unsettling but beautiful' idea that I have tried to achieve in my looks, combining pretty models with slightly odd in some way looks to create something that is a bit different to just a beauty look.

Model choice

Model choice is always very important but I had quite a clear picture in my head of what my model required from quite early on so I know that without the right model my looks might not look quite as effective as they could.

Look 1: The babysitter

Model: Ellie

Requirements fulfilled: 

     - Long brown hair 

     - Quite petite facial features

     - Good skin 

     - Bluey Green eyes

Look 2: The Clown Statue/Doll

Model: Hannah

Requirements fulfilled: 

     - Red hair (and enough for the style I want)

     - Good face shape (for the look)

     - Good skin 

     - Not too tanned not too pale

     - proportionate facial features

As well as these requirements that they fitted I just also felt that they would work well for the looks.

Styling

Look 1: The Girl

For the styling of the girl I have decided to use the black thick elastic (with a bit of the thin cord too) to wrap around her face and body because it looks the most in proportion and I think the texture looks best. I was able to get the elastic (and cord) cheaply from a fabric shop and bought 5 meters so I could wrap it around my model a few times without being restricted by its length. I also wanted the model to wear a leathery top because it follows my theme, I however couldn't find a top to borrow and the shops only had ones with straps which I didn't want so I decided to buy some black wet look fabric which I will wrap around my model to look like a top.

Look 2:The Clown

Because the make up and fair is the main feature I didn't want to use too much other styling because it would look too much and detract from the main features. The only styling I chose to add for this look is 2 almost clear big buttons to stick on the skin, big buttons are used a lot on clown costumes so I can still add a bit more to the clown look without making them too obvious. Again I bought these buttons from a fabric shop and I will stick them on with DUO glue.

Testing for look 2

I also did quite a bit of testing for look 2 too, I started off by having a play around with a few of my initial ideas for the clown look..

I tried blackened 'abyss' eyes, stapled lips, and what to whiten the skin with. The blackened eyes really didn't work how I wanted them to because they don't look as hollow as I had imagined, they also looked a bit too intrusive onto the face with the other features and it felt a bit OTT, also I imagined that as a statue or doll the clown would be staring at someone so to see it's eyes would be more important than I had first thought. I also tried some stapled together lips which I had seen Caroline Saulnier do a tutorial for something similar on Hunger TV, I used DUO to stick them on a wound filler around the bases for my version. They were a lot easier to do than I thought they would be and they looked pretty effective too so I think I will use that technique in my clown look. For the last of my first bit of testing I just tried out 2 products to whiten the face, I used foundation for one and a type of paint (safe for skin) for the other, although I liked how the paint cracked which might look effective for and old statue or toy I decided it flaked off too easily which would cause me trouble when applying the rest of the make up on top.

Again I did a trial run of the makeup for look 2 before the final shoot and again it brought up things that I now know to alter for the final shoot/look.. one is that I am going to make the squares smaller and also have one side of pattern smaller than the other to add some asymmetrical oddness, another is that I am going to whiten the brows more before applying the pattern so they don't interfere with the squares, I do will however keep the nose and the lip colour the same because I think they look better in this trial than the last.