Alexander McQueen

 

Alexander McQueen : genius of a generation. Knox, Kristin ; Getty Images, Inc. London : A. & C. Black 2010. Pgs 106-107.

 I like these images of an Alexander McQueen show because the lips are extremely exaggerated, this could be a way I show the lip filler part of my project, with a comical sense.

Alexander McQueen : savage beauty: [exhibition catalogue]:Bolton, Andrew ; Frankel, Susannah; Blanks, Tim; Sundsbo, Solve; Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York, N.Y.) New York : Metropolitan Museum of Art c2011. Pg 44.

Cosmetic Surgery Fashion Editorial Image Research

 

A series of editorial images I found during my research of current work. Each image I believe is very different. Some are very avant garde. I love the Vogue image where the model is being escorted through the hall by a nurse. Each image has a very glamorous feel to it, considering plastic surgery is less than glamorous to start with. 

I find the images where needles being prodded into the skin very effective, it makes you realize the pain you will go through in the name of beauty. All the images are very clean and beautiful which is the way I like images, especially fashion/beauty editorials. 

\My favorite images amongst these two mood boards has to be the image in the top mood board where they have attached tape and string onto the models face and appear to be pulling the skin to make it look very unusual and also very surreal. 

My other image is the one where the models are bandaged up and the main focus is on the eyes or lips.   

Organic Vs Fake: The Fake Series

From one extreme to the other. Majority of dramatic plastic surgery is done with artificial implants/products such as silicone implants for the breasts/bum. For the face, products like Juvederm are used to shape and plump the lips, Nose's are shaved down during reconstructions etc.

After researching myself about Lip Augmentations I know a vast amount about the different shapes, definitions etc that can be achieved and for someone like myself who has very thin, undefined lips.
I think this procedure is amazing for people as they get older due to the elasticity and the little plumpness the lips have will slowly start to decrease. One thing that I have started to notice (It is pretty much noticeable to everyone) is the over usage of lip fillers. Lips are starting to be less natural and plump and more duck like.

I believe that plastic surgery should not be used to completely change the way you look, which is a personal opinion. I think it should be used to enhance and prolong what you already have. Don't go in the clinic looking like you and come out looking like Cindy Crawford (although I would not say no)
Lets take Kylie Jenner as an example. Coming from such a famous family where not only are your older sisters very well known but your younger sister is one of the most sought after models within High Fashion. Kylie has admitted to having lip fillers and at first, they did not look bad. They looked very good but as she's got used to them being a natural looking size she seems to have slowly started to increase the amount of product going in resulting in the lips looking very unnatural, especially for her young face. I also find it very astounding how much her whole face has changed since having her lips done, she does not look like the same person.

Kylie Jenner. Life and Style Mag. Kylie Jenner Lip Challenge. Available:

http://www.lifeandstylemag.com/posts/people-are-trying-the-kylie-jenner-challenge-for-bigger-lips-and-the-results-are-horrifying-56484

Kylie Jenner. Style Bistro, 16 Best Red Carpet Looks. Available http://www.stylebistro.com/Kylie+Jenner's+Cutest+Red+Carpet+Looks

Another surgery extremely common on the face is Nose Jobs. A lot of people I know would change their nose shapes if they could. This kind of surgery requires a lot of resting. The face bruises a lot, especially around the eyes and can be very uncomfortable, which is clearly tolerable if you really want that new nose. This is a video animation of a nose reduction. I don't know how I expected them to do it but I definitely did not expect them to completely remove the skin from around the nose. I got a little uncomfortable but it was very interesting. 

Rhinoplasty Nose Surgery. Animation Video. YouTube, Pure Aesthetics Sydney. Available:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=swGyPyBJiZ0

Another common way to alter the face is through contouring and highlighting. If done correctly, this can look just as good as plastic surgery. I have found a couple of images where the nose has been enhanced by make up alone. 

GlamGeekConfessional. Online Blog, Blogger. Contouring Guide. Available: http://theglamgeekconfessional.blogspot.co.uk/2014/02/beginners-guide-to-contouring-and.html

You can see here how much more defined the nose is, however this kind of contour would only be suitable in my opinion on camera or stage.

Organic Vs Fake: The Organic Series

Organic Vs Fake-

Most people will view cosmetic surgery as an extremely fake/unreal invention, However recently I personally have been made aware of botox result procedures called Vampire Face Lifts. These procedures are an almost natural way of plumping/tightening the skin, Medics who perform these procedures draw the clients blood, similar to a blood test and then re inject it into the desire area.

 'The "Vampire Facelift" is a procedure that involves withdrawing a patient's own blood, processing it to create "platelet-rich plasma (PRP)," then re-injecting it to erase wrinkles and create a more youthful look.' - Real self. Cosmetic Website. Vampire Face Lifts. Available: http://www.realself.com/vampire-facelift

Vampire Facial Example. Marketers Media. Available: http://marketersmedia.com/advanced-dermatology-launches-vampire-facelift-and-facial-treatments-to-turn-back-time/45575

Bee's wax is another very common, natural ingredient used for cosmetics/cosmetic surgery. 

Beeswax Fact's [http://www.beeswaxco.com/beeswax-facts.php] also informed me that it can be used for lip balms, reconstructive surgery, soaps and dental procedures. 

  

'A $90 bee venom-based face mask to combat the aging process. This “organic face lift” claims to smooth out wrinkles by tricking the skin to produce more collagen and elastin'- Allure Beauty News. Is Bee Venom Natures Botox? August 2011. Available:http://www.allure.com/beauty-trends/blogs/daily-beauty-reporter/2011/08/is-bee-venom-natures-botox.html

 

Bee Venom Mask. Saintsco. Amazon. Available:http://www.amazon.co.uk/Saintsco-Venom-Face-Cream-Zealand/dp/B00NQZLGW2/ref=pd_sim_194_1/280-3216743-8780554?ie=UTF8&refRID=139X689KB4S6EV4V8Y2C&dpID=41ErpDQWGHL&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL160_SR160%2C160_

Organic Beauty

Cosmetic Surgery

 Organic beauty initially seemed like a very boring and obvious theme for this unit. I research it before I found my feet to choose this theme and although inspriring, I did not wish to create images based on food or nature, this just was not the mood I wanted to go for. 

 On a previous post I inserted an image of a female wrapped up in a bandage with a very prominant lip. This image was from a beauty story on Plastic surgery which I really wanted to do BUT I felt it did not fit the theme Organic Beauty and almost contradicted the theme so I put this idea to the back of my head and moved on, which is where my troubles began as I struggled to come up with anything else.

During my Tutorial today with Sarah I expressed my concern that I did not have a theme or idea but I mentioned my cosmetic surgery idea and she loved it. She asked me how I would expand on this idea and I then showed her the images I found and explained the different ways cosmetic surgery can be expressed such as in a comedy way or showing the different procedures such as lip enhancing, botox or nose jobs.

My main idea is to look at cosmetic surgery and how popular it has become. As this is an editorial style project my main focus will be how I could use these images within a magazine with editorial writing, product shots and illustrations. I want to focus my research on the most popular cosmetic surgery procedures such as lip fillers, nose jobs, brow lifts and botox. I would like to create looks that show a very glamorous/beautiful side to surgery much like the images I have seen. I would also like to use part of the brief of having to do product shots/illustrations to focus more on the organic side of my theme and how you don't always need these procedures to get great results, almost like a magazine article that gives the readers options on either having surgery or using products.
For example you can have surgery on the eye area to remove bags/wrinkles, this is painful and expensive, however there are products that claim to give amazing results without the pain such as L'Oreal's revitalift or even some amazing colour correction and concealer.
Lips are also an extremely common procedure but again, there are products that claim to plump and refine the lips without fillers. 

Product Shot Research/Inspiration

As part of our assignment we are required to include 'Product Shots' within our professional blog.
Product shots, as well as illustrations can be used for advertisement purposes or to inform the viewer of the products used within an image. You can also contact PR from companies you have referenced if your image/blog gets enough media attention.

There are many ways to take pictures of products. You can use different backgrounds, the same background each time, add decorations around or just plain white, which is most common on instagram (a way I use on my own Instagram account)

This is such a lovely images and it captured my attention immediately. I find MAC Cosmetics can be very grungy/edgy so this image shows the more soft/golden image behind MAC. 

The white background has to be the most reoccuring on a majority of blogs/other social media platforms. It gives an image a very clean, crisp look and as professionals it looks very sophisticated. 

I love the way the different products have been smudges/applied to the paper although I would probably cry if I had to tip some expensive foundation over paper and then throw it away afterwards!

Although this image look's more like a 'Whats in my make up bag' story within a magazine I think the composition/placement of the products is really nice. The shadows it creates with the lights give a more defined look. Also having the white background here works well as it's already a busy picture so It still looks very professional. 

Images 1-3 found VIA Pinterest. Digital Beauty and Editorial Writing. Charlee Jane Baxter. Original Poster Unknown. Available:

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/6b/1e/10/6b1e105086f0c21485ff123615dbcc17.jpg

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/6e/28/d6/6e28d68991d6fa41ba334c2738b76311.jpg

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/85/6a/a3/856aa392756a5b6d8ae1e16827d5e451.jpg

Beauty Illustrations

Beauty Illustrations have been around for many years, originally used within print to advertise products. Magazines such as Vogue would use beauty illustrations before the photography revolution. Beauty illustrations are more commonly used today as an art form for blogs/websites. They are a more creative way to show the products used for certain photo shoots etc. 

Images 1-4 Found VIA Pinterest. Pinned, Digital Beauty and Editorial Writing. Charlee Jane Baxter. Original Owners Unknown. Available: 

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/ca/90/68/ca90683264987f15447fe2d30821cdc9.jpg

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/a8/ab/12/a8ab12d1a9f6a6acb66b922b8dda2b2d.jpg

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/3f/b6/c0/3fb6c0913ea257e31ca6968a4cc159a9.jpg

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/51/80/b2/5180b2edacbf97a6f220f60a6efce508.jpg

 

It. Chung, Alexa. London. Particular 2013. Pg 80.

Image Research; Structure and Form

Structure and Form-

My first initial thought to this theme was that it would be all about hair, that is how I imagined it however, after looking deeper into the theme, I now realize its a vast subject. 

Word's of many meanings- Structure of buildings, facial anatomy, hair, body, art, fashion and much more. Everything has some kind of structure so I believe I could interpret this theme in so many different ways. I get lost when the word 'form' comes to mind, which I don't understand why.


I think this theme would be a challenge to me, which would be good as this year I want to challenge myself and achieve higher grade marks and to also achieve more creatively. 

Bone Structure. Cosmopolitan. How To Fake Amazing Cheekbones. Available: http://www.cosmopolitan.com/style-beauty/beauty/advice/a5887/ways-to-fake-amazing-bone-structure/

Harpers Bazaar Beauty. EyeshadowLipstick Blog. Available:http://www.eyeshadowlipstick.com/19726/harpers-bazaar-beauty-hyuna-shin/

Image Research; Organic Beauty

Organic Beauty-

Organic beauty, products, natural appearance, produce.
To me, Organic Beauty in a person would be very natural. Someone who never adapted their appearance or enhanced their appearance with any surgery or cosmetics.
The opposite end of the spectrum would be using natural products, almost advertising organic beauty but this I feel, would fall under 'It's all about the product' theme. Lastly, I could create a series of images based on organic produce like eggs, apples etc which would be pretty fun.


Examples of my interpretation-

Image 1- Karla Powell. Food Project. Available http://41.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lrrhvi2JnI1qgqgyxo1_500.jpg
Image 2- Karla Powell. Food Project. Available: http://40.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lvhkdlgYnX1qgqgyxo1_500.jpg



Natural Beauty. something we all have. Everyone is beautiful, not just on the exterior either. I get very frustrated when people claim they are 'Natural looking' today, making me question if foundation, concealer, eyeliner, blush, highlighter, mascara and brow products mean your natural today, I'm afraid not. Your just being minimal and imitating your REAL natural look but just enhancing/concealing your flaws/blemishes... this is not natural.

Here are some examples of my interpretation's-

 

This image and the website it was posted on claim this to be Natural Make Up, not only can you see this model has mascara on but her skin, blush and lips are also. This is minimal make up, something you would wear to work.
Unknown Model. Stylish Family Online. Available: http://stylish-family.com/7-new-steps-natural-makeup-2015/



THIS is Natural, not once spec of make up. This has not been enhanced for any reason and was part of the No Make Up Selfie in aid of Cancer Research.
Holly Willoboughy. Fashion Telegraph. Available: http://fashion.telegraph.co.uk/galleries/TMG10712035/1/Celebrity-no-make-up-selfies.html

Research; Beauty Is Boring

Beauty Is Boring- OR IS IT?

- One theme that seem's to be very popular among the group this year, Beauty is Boring makes me     think of how in this day and age we live in, we can't please anybody- nor should be strive to- but we are all subconsciously or consciously paranoid about the way we look, are we too fat, too thin, too tall, too freckly or too ugly. Beauty to me is anything, I praise people who can wander the streets looking unique or different to the rest of us, even if I would not do it myself. I see the beauty in anything, so to me beauty is not boring. Beauty is not just a foundation, nude lip and winged liner! It's bright blue lips, flowers on the cheeks, yellow eyeliner, that similar editorial image you see constantly in Vogue. Beauty is how we decide to look. 

On the contrary, many 'trends' of make up, particularly in the last couple of years has made me somewhat mad, these trends led by pop culture icon's like Kim Kardashian, for her 'evolution of contour, do people not realize this was not something Kim made? Contouring and Highlighting has been around for a very long time most commonly used for drag artists, now don't get me wrong I find Kim extremely beautiful but she is constantly in front of camera's/paparazzi so having a contoured face is good for her but for the average Joe like myself, not so much. This is something I find boring, girls walking round with strong contoured faces. 

Beauty Is Boring- Robin Black Blog

beau·ty noun \’byü-tē\

Definition of BEAUTY : The quality or aggregate of qualities in a person or thing that gives pleasure to the senses or pleasurably exalts the mind or spirit. [Merriam Webster Dictionary]

For as long as I can remember, I’ve had a love / hate relationship with beauty.  It’s a complicated, subjective thing. And so the irony is that even with my misgivings about it, I eventually became a make-up artist and photographer. BEAUTY IS BORING is my photo essay on the subject – an ongoing project that features faces and looks that I find beautiful regardless of age, gender or cultural trends. And yes, many of them are models but in the mix are artists, musicians, actors, friends and strangers with faces that I just couldn’t resist.  Unless otherwise noted, I do the makeup and take the photos. Robin Black, Website. Beauty Is Boring. Available: http://www.beautyisboring.com/about/

Based on my own opinions of this subject, I do not think it would be a success if I were to choose it as my theme. 

Research Images

Organic Beauty/Cosmetic Surgery

Plastic Surgery. Beauty Trend Blog. Allure Available: http://www.allure.com/beauty-trends/blogs/daily-beauty-reporter/2012/03/is-watching-plastic-surgery-entertaining-or-gross.html

In a world that is obsessed with Cosmetic Surgery, This image is really striking. It almost adds glamour/sophistication to having your head wrapped up in a bandage, whoever this lady is, she is doing it in style! 

I think the subject plastic surgery would be a good sub theme for Organic Beauty- Rather than showing naturalness, purity etc you could show the complete opposite and be extremely elaborate or even unrealistic with what surgery can do, which is what seem's to be more popular within the western culture/american culture, especially with the rise of lips like Kylie Jenner's. 

Practical Lessons; Graphic Liner

Graphic Liner

I enjoy going back to basics during our technical lessons with Sarah, I find learning so relaxing and easy and I am able to fully concentrate on my work and evaluate it more. 

We did graphic liners this week, which is something I really struggle to do. 

Sarah's Top Tips:

• Use a WHITE eyeliner pencil and trace where you would like the eyeliner to go
• Mark your wings, using dots of black liner, take a make up brush from the corner of the nostril right up through the outer corner of the eye and dot, take the brush up towards the end of the brow and dot again based on where you would like your eyeliner to finish. 
• Using your black liner, carefully trace a line from the first and second dot (connecting them) and take the liner in along the top lash line. 
• Use Medical Tape to get a sharper finish
• Use Gel Liners

Considering I struggle with eye make up, I think I succeeded in getting my eyeliner right at the last line, which I can always do. I struggle with the winged part as well as keeping the whole eyeliner crisp and sharp. I did my winged liner without tape and completely free hand so I am please with the outcome however, I will be using Medical Tape next time. 

Image Research

I decided to do some more research and start backwards. I am hoping some of these images will inspire me to settle on a theme and then I can start my real research. All the images above seem to have one thing in common now I look at them all together, it is very structural. 

Starting on the top row, Image 3 reminds me of Pablo Picasso's Cubism work, which I used to love while studying Fine Art. Image 4 also reminds me of a house or window, as the model appears to be looking through something- which is very structural. 

On the bottom row, The first image reminds me of someone being trapped. I think they have used fish net tights to create this appearance which I think works very well. I also find that a lot of the images I like have extremely strong contour, which shows off the structure of the face. This also links with my obsession of black and white images. I am drawn to them, without fail. My mind often detests color. I think black and white beauty images have a certain elegance about them, the depth of the facial structure is amazing. 

All Images Available VIA Pinterest: https://uk.pinterest.com/charlyjaymua/digital-beautyeditorial-writing/

Subliminal Messages

Consciously, your mind doesn't see these subliminal messages but subconsciously, it does. Subliminal messages are used for so many different things, for example: Sarah mentioned how a Cinema (unknown) projected images and words during a theater film showing which lasted not even a second, these words and images made viewers want more drinks/food etc, the subconscious mind took this in, however the conscious mind didn't. The cinema reported an increase in sales after this happened.

Subliminal messages can be used for almost anything, car adverts, food adverts, beauty imagery and much more. They hide a deeper meaning/narrative to what you are seeing or hearing and have the power to influence the masses, which I think, is a little bit unnerving. 

During my seminar we were given three words. Strength, Image and Remember. We had to elaborate on these words, which creatively could be used for subliminal messages. This also shows us how from one word, we can create so much. 

Strength-

Weakness, Power, Strong, Hard, Dominant, Independence, Core, Mind, Body, Heart, Muscle, Physical, Over powering, Timid, Confidence, Leadership.

Image-

View, Sight, Thought, Mirror, Reflection, Angle, Physical, Reality, Photograph, Painting, Drawing, Sculpture, Beauty, Emotion.

Remember-

Memory, Nightmare, Dream, Experience, Happy, Sad, Dates, Times, Love, Hate, Times, Skills, People, Family, Places, Mind, 

Hungry? Eat Popcorn. Image, Subliminal Messages. The Shocking History Of Subliminal Messages. Business Insider. Available http://www.businessinsider.com/subliminal-ads-2011-5?IR=T

The Themes

During this blog I will be talking about how I interpret the 5 themes given to us as part of our Digital Beauty and Editorial Writing unit.

Skin-
Everyone has skin but no ones skin is the same, which makes it fascinating. Arguably, thousands of people can have the same skin type in a Oily/Dry/Combo type, but the look, feel, texture and beauty of everyone's skin is distinct. For this unit, if I was to use skin as my theme, the skin looking absolutely flawless would be my main focus, Lips and eyes would be as plain but defined at possible so all attention was on the skin.

Contradicting myself, I would make sure all models faces were done with pretty full coverage making sure to keep the texture as real as possible. I would also use models with different skin colors, which I think would widen my skills as I have only ever applied make up to one Dark Skinned model before, which is a shame because I think, personally they have the most beautiful, youthful skin!


Organic Beauty-
I have vision's in my head of models walking round a studio with an Avocado or Pineapple stuck to their face, I suppose it would make for an interesting picture, titled 'The Food Project'. Organic beauty to other than what I have just said above would be natural, organic products or natural beauty with no enhancements such as plastic surgery. I find to do anything that is 'Natural Beauty' in a way is a tiny bit contradicting because to create a natural look actually takes more time and products, ironically so people are not actually 'natural' however I do find the softer (I call it) look is so much more attractive than extremely heavy make up.


Structure and Form-
Hmm, this theme reminds me of my worst skill, HAIR STYLING. I imagine hair tall and stiff, made into shapes. I am definitely not interested in this theme, I want to choose something I am very passionate about and the way I would interpret this theme, is not something I am passionate about!


All About The Product-
I think this theme would be similar to one of the project's I did last year, for Digital Image Production. I chose to create a fashion/editorial image to promote eye brow products, something I enjoyed but I feel I should choose something different this year that will push my boundaries and not limit myself to concentrating on a certain brand/product.


Beauty Is Boring-
This is when things get a little interesting. Is beauty boring? In a way yes, we tend to all look the same and then we stare at people walking down the street with bright blue lips thinking 'What the hell is she/he thinking? well they aren't boring, that's for sure! I personally choose to express and enhance myself in a way I feel comfortable. I believe exaggerated beauty is something that mirrors a person's personality.

However I also interpret this in another way, why do we all want to look like Kim Kardashian with this extreme contour, Kylie Jenner with these huge duck lips and Cara Deleveigne with her eyebrows? (I do love her brows by the way) but they are NOT for everyone. It's a tad boring when you see people with huge bushy brows, lines down their cheeks and over lined lips. It's very repetitive. I am aware I am being somewhat contradicting in my opinions BUT I am finding it difficult to explain exactly what I mean but mainly, it's sometimes fun to be a little over the top.

I think this theme could cause me some confusion as I think I would be torn between how best to interpret it, but I freely admit looking at the same beautiful images in magazines or online will NEVER ever get boring for me BUT neither will looking at crazy, fun, exciting or exaggerated beauty.




Overall, I think I need to do some research to see what other artists, whether they are make up artists or painters, have done for themes like these. Maybe then I could get some inspiration on how to extend and elaborate on one singular theme but I am currently swaying between Beauty is Boring and Organic Beauty.

Introduction

As part of my second year at Southampton Solent University I was required to make a decision on an optional unit, digital beauty and editorial writing? Que staying awake all night just so I definitely got in! The words 'Digital Beauty' excited me, Editorial Writing, not so much but, I am more than willing to learn and improve my written skills!

My first ever subject seminar today, was with ex student and make up artist Sarah Abbott, with Sarah being an ex student at this very university doing the exact course made me so relieved. Sarah introduced herself to us and hearing the highs of her career so far excited me. She had an individual chat with everyone and really got stuck in with us, even though we are a bunch of crazy, quite literally, creative monsters!  

During the unit, which is sub headed 'Beauty Is Now' we will be required to create several editorial images, beauty illustrations, supportive writing and product shots based on one of the following themes; Beauty Is Boring, Skin, Organic Beauty, Structure and Form or It's all about the product, This will then be uploaded to our professional new blog site! I am really excited, however I do not know what theme I am going to choose, which is where the difficult yet rewarding research starts! At the moment I am really excited to get stuck in as this unit is very much learning and creating images that are Editorial/Fashion based, the area of work I want to go into after leaving university!