Contemporary vs Elizabethan makeup

Elizabethan vs Contemporary makeup

I decided to look at the comparison between typical Elizabethan makeup and a contemporary version of it. Many catwalks/fashion shows/magazines makeup looks have been influenced by the Elizabethan fashion. With the blocked out eyebrows, pale faces and dark red lips, we see this look quite often now. The images on the left are the typical Elizabethan looks which either show real Elizabethans or makeup that has been influenced to use in films or tv shows based on the period.

 

This image on the left is what a typical Elizabethan woman would have looked like. A pale face, blocked out eyebrows, heart shaped fore head, rosy red cheeks and red lips with their hair in an up do with accessories such as pearls is how a rich and wealthy Elizabethan woman would have styled themselves. The image on the right is a makeup look done by Illamasqua creative, Alex Box. The look isn't necessarily based on Elizabethan fashion but the look is very similar. You can see in the image that Alex has blocked out the eyebrows on the model which is similar to Elizabeth (they wouldn't have blocked out their eyebrows but they would have had very thin and light eyebrows that they were barely noticeable.) This look is much more contemporary but Alex has taken some aspects from the first look including the pale face and the rosy red cheeks. To make it more modern, she has created a very dramatic eye makeup look with pink eyeshadow to match the cheeks and added very long eyelashes and she has also given the model a dark plum lip rather than a bright red.

     

               

This look is from the film 'Elizabeth' by Shekhar Kapur. The makeup is very similar to the previous Elizabethan one except the model is wearing a nude lip rather than a red one. The contemporary look is quite similar but the model has slightly more blusher on. Her hair is the same colour as Queen Elizabeths and it is also styled similar except she is wearing hers down rather than tying it up. To make the contemporary one look more Elizabethan, the model is wearing a head piece which resembles a piece of armour but as we can only see a part of it, it looks slightly like a crown.

      

The left image is a young Queen Elizabeth and it is taken from her Coronation portrait which shows her when she was coronated in 1559. Around this time was when she started to wear more makeup and began to dress more elegantly. You can see she has a very pale face in the photo, she also has no eyebrows. The image on the right is a very contemporary version of Elizabethan, the model has a pale face, although it is not pure white, I can still see the similarity. The model also has white eyebrows and eyelashes and to make her eyes pop, she has a beige/red-ish eyeshadow going all around her eyes which matches her dress colour perfectly.

The woman on the left was a noblewoman and this portrait was painted by William Segar in 1590. She is showing the typical Elizabethan makeup traits with the pale face, light eyebrows, red cheeks and rouge lips. In the image, you can also see she is wearing a very large ruff which was popular back in the Elizabethan Era. On the right is an image of Lady Gaga, she is also wearing a similar piece around her neck but because it is a more contemporary look, hers is bright red. To match it, the artist has painted red circles around her eyes.

          

This is a portrait of young Queen Elizabeth I. After she took over the reign of the throne, she started to change her style and she became quite a fashion icon with her dramatic clothing and expensive jewellery along with her 'flawless' makeup and styled hair. The image on the right is the movie adaptation of her, taken from the film 'Elizabeth' by Shekhar Kapur in 1998. As you can see, she is wearing a similar outfit, a high ruff around her neck, she also has her hair styled up and has some accessories in it. The makeup is very similar but a few more details have been added such as a just noticeable amount of contour, and a slightly darker lip.

The left image is the actress Vanessa Redgrave dressed as Queen Elizabeth I in the movie 'Anonymous.' The actress is playing an older Elizabeth as you can see in the image, but she still has her makeup that she is very much known for. I really like the image on the right as it is a very contemporary look and something you would see walking down a runway. The eyebrows have been blocked out and the model still has a pale face base with a rosy cheek. Instead of a bright red lip, the makeup artist has gone for a glossy pink/red lip. For the eyes, rather than leaving them plain, the artist has chosen a colour that slightly matches the lip and has added lots of mascara, especially to the bottom eyelashes. Accessories have been added to make the design look more Elizabethan with a headpiece coming onto the face slightly and also a necklace that looks like a ruff.

It is known that a red rouge lip was very popular during the Elizabethan Era and you can see this in both of these images. The first look is very typical Elizabethan looking with the makeup looking perfect and blended in whereas the image on the right is more catwalk style and looks a lot more messy and edgy. The eye makeup comes out pass the eye and has been blended in a rounded effect, for the lips, the artist has applied the lipstick and then smudged it slightly so it comes over the top lip. The hair is also more modern too, the style on the left is very much perfect, with every hair in place whereas the one on the right is more scruffy and has been backcombed and brought forward from the back of her head to the front. The first photo has pearls in the hair as an accessory and the second one has a red hair net in it.

                        

It is very obvious that the image on the left is an Elizabethan style. The image on the right is slightly different but you can still tell it's from this Era. The makeup artist has decided to apply the eyebrows and some eyeliner rather than most contemporary looks where these two areas of the face are normally covered or natural. The model is wearing a dark plum lip rather than a red one. One accessory that really shows that this is an Elizabethan style image is the ruff around the model's neck.

 

Not only is Elizabethan style makeup and hair just popular for catwalks but celebrities are also sporting this look. The image on the right shows Tyra Banks dressed as the famous Queen Elizabeth I. Everything about this look screams 'Elizabeth' to us with the quite neutral makeup, the pearls, very patterned dress with accessories on and the hair all curled with a head piece on top. It looks similar to the image on the left which is taken from the movie 'Marie Antoinette' in which Kirsten Dunst is the actress. The hairstyles are similar even though the colour is different  but the makeup and clothes are very similar.

Favourite Image - National Portrait Gallery

The Coronation portrait, 1559

When we visited the National Portrait Gallery in London, we were asked to look at all the images in the exhibition and pick our favourite one. I spent a long time looking round at all the different photos that showed different people from the Elizabethan Era including Queen Elizabeth herself and then I decided on this image as my favourite piece. I chose this image because I find Queen Elizabeth very interesting, I liked reading about her background and finding out more about her.

The image I chose of her is called 'The Coronation portrait'. It shows Elizabeth wearing a gold crown that she had worn at her coronation on 15th January 1559. The crown had been previously worn by Mary I, and then passed on to her. She is shown with several accessories in the image including an orb and a spectre. Elizabeth was known for her love of symbols in her portraits and she liked to show people that she was very powerful. The orb in her hand represents the world and she is holding it because she wants people to know that she was power and control over England and she is planning to try and take over the rest of the world too. She is also holding a spectre and this could be to show people that she means business, she will hurt anyone who gets in her way of taking control of the world.

I think this image is very powerful, it shows Elizabeth as being a very rich and wealthy woman. There is no emotion in her face or body, she is sat straight forward and looking directly ahead with no smile or emotion. You can see that her face is very pale as this is when she started changing her makeup to make herself look more powerful. The older she got, the more her makeup changed. She is wearing a pale face base, she has very minimal and barely noticeable eyebrows and to finish the look off, she has rosy red cheeks. 

For her outfit, it looks like she is wearing animal's fur as a coat and around her neck, finished with a tight corset with a long, wide gown. The older Elizabeth got and the more powerful she became, the more she started to change to make herself look influential to her country and people. Her outfits became more elegant, her jewellery became a lot more expensive and she started wearing jewellery that stood out such as bright gold necklaces and diamond pins and pearls in her hair and around her neck. She wore a lot more makeup to look powerful and this also helped to cover up the scars and lines on her face the older she got.

London Trip - MAC & Illamasqua

15th October - London

 We went on a group trip to London to go to the National Portrait Gallery. Whilst we were in London, we went to go check out some makeup shops so we could use our new student discount and buy makeup for our kits. We first went to Illamasqua and we were lucky enough to get to be some of the first people to see the new collection 'Earth' which was released in stores the day we visited. We had a look around their huge new store by Carnaby Street and got to test out all the products and with out student discount, we got 20% off everything in store.

 The next place we got to check out was the new MAC PRO store in Carnaby Street. The store recently moved from round the corner into a much bigger shop with the top floor of the store being stocked with PRO goodies. We got to have a look around the bottom of the store, then in small groups we went up to the PRO floor and got to have a tour around. The ladies and guys in store showed us around, tested out some new products and gave us an insight as to what a makeup artist should have in their kits.

                                           

  


We got to test out some products and watch some demos on how to use certain products.

We got to sign up for a discount card whilst we were in store which enabled us to 15% off online and in store but for the day we went, we all got the full PRO discount of 35% everything we bought that day.

I really enjoyed our trip to London, I feel like a learnt a lot. I enjoyed the museum and seeing the Elizabethan exhibition. I also enjoyed visiting the makeup stores and especially having the tour of the MAC shop. I found out a lot of interesting stuff, I learned new ways to apply products and what certain products do and I enjoyed getting to play with all the makeup. (Here's a selfie of me in MAC.)

Dewy Skin

                         

                                  

As my makeup look is based on a more contemporary makeup design, I decided to look at dewy skin as that's the '"in" thing right now. Dewy skin is when you have a really strong highlighted glow on the face, this can be achieved by using a cream or liquid highlighter or mixing your foundation with these  products. I really like the look of dewy skin as I think it makes the face look really fresh and would look good for a contemporary Elizabethan makeup. The first image out of all of these is my favourite as I like the really strong highlight on top of her cheekbone and on her brow bone.

Lip Makeup Designs

                                      

I started looking at different lip designs after practising lips in class. I looked at a range of different styles and Pop Art was the first one. This doesn't really fit in with Elizabethan makeup but I like the look of these type of lips. Maybe if you changed the purple on the first one to gold or red it might work.

                                

I came across these two images that really grabbed my attention. When I think about contemporary Elizabethan makeup, the two colours that first come to my head are black and gold. Elizabeth loved both of these colours and used to wear them proudly. I really liked this idea of having the lipstick look 'wet' and having it dripping down from the bottom lip and I think with a face base and eye makeup, this would look good.
       

                             

 

The next thing I started to look at was accessories on the lips. The first image shows a black lip with black studs going all around the lips. I would like to test this out and see if this would look good in gold instead of black. The next image shows a glitter lip and again, I think this would look good in gold rather than silver as gold reminds me more of Queen Elizabeth.

This last image I came across is a lip makeup design based on the film The Silence of the Lambs. I picked this photo because it shows a half black and half gold lip and as I said previously, these two colours remind me of Queen Elizabeth the most and I think this look could work well.

Face Makeup Accessories

                              

 

 

             

 

I started thinking about adding accessories to my design. I thought about things that reminded me of Queen Elizabeth and I thought about pearls and feathers. The Queen was known for loving pearls and wore them almost all the time so I thought it might look good on a makeup look. The first two images show pearl designs on the girls foreheads and curving round above the cheekbone. I like this idea and it could look good to create this a crown effect to represent the Queen. The middle image shows something similar but they have added white dots going vertically from the bottom of the nose to the chin.

I then moved on and starting looking at adding feathers to my design. I found these two images that I liked and thought I could think about for incorporating them into my idea. The first one shows a black feather going over each eye of the girl with holes cut out as a mask. I think with a white base and some lip makeup, this could look really good, especially as the feather is black and that colour represented black and Elizabeth enjoyed wearing that colour. The second image shows a very contemporary makeup look with bright colours 'splashed' across her face. The model is wearing really big feathered eyelashes. The Elizabethans weren't known for having really long eyelashes but I like the effect of using feathers for eyelashes and then still going for the typical Elizabethan makeup on the face.

Gold Featured Face Makeup

                      

          


                        
 

                     
 

           

I decided to look at some gold makeup on the face. When looking back at images from the Elizabethan Era, the rich people enjoyed to wear gold, whether this be earrings, gold chains, gold cups or any other accessories, they loved having it to prove their wealth. When planning my design for my makeup look, I started to think about adding gold somewhere, so I started to do some research and find some images that I could incorporate into my idea.

The first image quite of reminds me of a contemporary Elizabethan look. The eyebrows have been blocked out and the face looks pale and the colours of the eyes and lips remind me of a more modern version of the Elizabethan style makeup. The makeup artist has painted a gold design around the model's face, onto the neck and up on the hairline and slightly coming onto the cheek, making it look like a frame around the model's face.

The second image covers half the face in a diagonal line. It looks like gold foil that has been printed onto the model's face. The third image is one of my favourites, I like how the gold on her forehead and on her hairline looks quite flakey like glitter whereas the gold on her neck and ears looks more painted on. I like the idea of having gold painted onto the neck as it reminds me of a ruff that Queen Elizabeth I would have worn.

Images 4 and 5 both show gold on the eyes. The first one shows the gold being painted from the side of her nose, across her whole eye and unto her eyebrow and curving round into her hairline. She also has gold on her lips slightly and they have also added a gold ring on her finger and her fringe has golden tones in it as well. The second eye look has gold dripping down from the eyes like tears. I like this idea a lot as I think it's a good way to incorporate the gold colour and a contemporary look.

In photo 6, the makeup artist has painted the whole model's face in gold. It looks really thick like she has a lot on like someone has poured gold on her face. I like how the artist has also applied a small amount of makeup over the gold too, including a pink blush on her cheeks, some orange eyeshadow and a small amount of eyebrow product.

Image 7 really interests me, I like the effect of just using gold going around the eyes and curving round the forehead. Rather than using paint or glitter, the image shows bright gold flakes. I think this could look quite good on top of a makeup look.

The last photo shows orange shades more than gold but I still like this idea. The lips, nails and eyelids are painted gold and I think this could look really good for an Elizabethan makeup look as you could do the pale face, rosy cheeks and no eyebrows and then add orange eyeshadow to give the hint of gold to represent power and it will also look contemporary as well.