The History of Make-up

Make-up began around 12,000 years in the days of the Egyptians and then made their way to Greece and Rome. Their Gods were honoured with gifts of oils, kohl eyeliner and similar things to enhance their look. It was considered in these days that you were not beautiful unless you wore makeup. Cleopatra's lipstick was created using beetles while others used clay mixed with water. The eyeliner which we associate with Egyptians was used to ward off evil spirits and it also protected the eye area from the sun. The kohl also helped to kill off bacteria.

Over the years many began to see the extravagance of makeup unnecessary. It was extremely expensive and many places began to ban cosmetics. In China you would be executed if you were caught wearing nail polish in public.

In the 18th and 19th centuries there were many advancements in cosmetics. As we come into the Victorian era, a time when women were to be viewed as being pristine and beautiful, make-up began to become popular again and necessary. Pale make-up was popular in this time and bold colours were only used by prostitutes.

The 20th century is when the cosmetic boom happened. With television and print, cosmetic companies saw a major rise in demand. People wanted to recreate the looks they saw on the screen - actresses were wearing heavy make-up under the studio lights so heavy make-up began to become fashionable again. Due to all the new advancements in products including new shades being added to lines, the Victorian era of make-up soon became very old fashioned. Many new companies that we know today like Maybelline and Revlon started around this time and even today there are still new brands being released.

Modern make-up companies keep with the trends of what we see in the media. And there is so much choice out there that we see many creative looks. We also have different tricks we can do to make the face seem slimmer and to highlight certain areas.

Hallowe'en make-up - Sugar Skull!!

One of the big trends for Hallowe'en this year is Sugar Skulls! They are so simple to do, you can be as creative as you want and it doesn't cost much either!

All you need is facepaints and a good selection of brushes for the different widths of lines etc you'll use. A powder to set it all when you're finished is a must also as you don't want the make-up to run or smudge during your Hallowe'en party!

Depending on the quality of facepaints you use and the amount of colours you use, the brushes and setting powder you can recreate this look from as little as £18!

You can where basically whatever you like - you can "glam" up the look with normal clubwear or wear clothes which are more hallowe'en-like. You can also do your hair as you like - up, down, eccentric!!

The model above has tattoos which really add to the look! If you're feeling creative you can draw on some random designs to any skin that is still showing or add on fake tattoos to complete the look!

What's on in Scotland!!

A listing of what's going on in some theatres around Scotland this month!


THE TRON THEATRE, GLASGOW

Macbeth - 8th October to 19th October

http://www.tron.co.uk/




ROYAL LYCEUM, EDINBURGH

Dark Road - 25th September to 19th October

www.lyceum.org.uk




CITIZENS THEATRE, GLASGOW

True West - 29th October to 16th November

www.citz.co.uk




TRAVERSE THEATRE, EDINBURGH

Oedipussy - 9th October - 12th October

www.traverse.co.uk




THEATRE ROYAL, GLASGOW

Scottish Opera's Don Giovanni - 15th October - 26th October

http://www.atgtickets.com/venues/theatre-royal-glasgow/




KINGS THEATRE, GLASGOW

Ghost - 8th October - 19st October

http://www.atgtickets.com/venues/kings-theatre/

HybridFX - leading special effects company

HybridFX are a leading special effects company based in the UK.

Their projects include "Snow White & The Huntsman", "Doctor Who", "Creep", the TV series "Hit And Miss" and more recently "Fury Road" the latest film from director George Miller.

Below are a few examples of their work...

To visit their website click here.

More blocking and setting wigs...

The last attempt at blocking and setting wigs before the assessments!! Excuse the wig quality teehee!

Brick setting with rollers...

The result...

And from the side...

Loving working with wigs!!

Product review: Maybelline Dream Lumi Touch Highlighting Concealer

I wanted a highlighting concealer that did the same work as touché éclat... However I don't have the time to go into Glasgow City centre to buy any so I had to rely on what my local Boots stock!!

And I found this...

It's great! At £6.99 - a fraction of the price of touché éclat - it works just as well! I juggle work, college and seeing friends and family as much as I can so I end up having dark circles under my eyes due to lack of sleep with trying to keep up with everything. 

But look...

No filter. And no dark circles!! I'd highly recommend this product. It comes in a variety of shades to suit differenct skin tones. However after reading a few other reviews online many people buy the lightest shade to purely use it as a highlighter. 

Q&A with Alexis Miller MUA

Photo taken from Alexis's twitter - @AlexisM_MUA

Alexis is a leading makeup artist and hair stylist in Scotland. She took time out of her schedule to answer some questions which my class put to her and gave us lots of great insight and advice!! The Q&A took place on twitter so we could all see the questions and replies easily using the hashtag #AskAlexis...

Below are my questions to Alexis and the answers she gave...

Thanks Alexis for taking the time to reply, it just makes me even more excited for the day I finally get to start working in the industry!!

You can follow Alexis on twitter - @AlexisM_MUA and see more of the Q&A by searching for #AskAlexis !!

Task 6 - Must-have beauty products!!

Today in class we were discussing our favourite beauty products. The cult beauty product which I think no makeup user should be without is MAC lipstick.

With 140 shades there is literally a colour to suit everyone and any occassion/event.

They also do limited edition colours alongside celebrities such as Lady Gaga for their Viva Glam range (with 100% of the price paid going to the MAC AIDs fund) so they stay current and on trend while raising money for a good cause!

I started using MAC lipstick a few years ago and there's no other lipstick like it. It is a great investment at only £15 each. No need to top up your lipstick if you're on a night out as it stays on really well. The colours are bold and come out how they look on the stick, no need to apply loads!

Debenham's reviewers give the product 4.8/5 with most noting how great the staying power is and how it doesn't dry out your lips. Beautylish users rate it 4.5/5 noting how it also has a nice fragrance to it and doesn't taste bad like some high street products!

I'd give this beauty product 5/5. Even if you can't afford to buy lots of different shades you should definitely have a couple in your make-up bag of the colours you use more often!

We put all of our must-have beauty products together to find the overall must-have product!! We decided on Nivea Creme.

It retails for around £2 and is a beauty essential. After reading reviews online it gets a great write up. It has a floral scent, is a great moisturiser and even works on sunburn!! It's used by celebrities such as Kate Winslet and Joan Collins. It is often compared to Creme de la Mer products with Nivea creme coming out on top during dermatological studies at a fraction of the price.

Wigs in theatre

Rock of Ages is a musical currently playing at the Garrick Theatre in London. 

It features rock music from the 80s and the cast are all done up to look like stereotypical 80's rockstars. Wigs are used to recreate the big and dramatic hairstyles from this era.

Tom Watson is the head of wig department for the Rock of Ages. He is a huge name in the business and has worked on over fifty Broadway productions also including Wicked and A Tale of Two Cities. Kelly Treacher is one of the wig mistresses to have worked within this production.

http://www.rockofagesmusical.co.uk/

http://www.garrick-theatre.co.uk/

Wicked is currently running at the Apollo Victoria Theatre in London and features wigs by Tom Watson also. Natalie Danielle is one of many wig dressers who has worked on the production while it's been in London.

http://www.wickedthemusical.co.uk/

http://www.atgtickets.com/venues/apollo-victoria-theatre/

Wigs on the big screen!!

Wigs are another great way to transform someone into a character! Below are 5 movies which I think use wigs really well.

1. Mean Girls

Rachel McAdams wore a blonde wig in the film to become Regina George - the typical all-American popular cheerleader.

2. The Craft

At the time of filming, Robin Tunney had just finished shooting a film which she shaved her head for. In The Craft she wore a wig to make her character look more like the attractive girl-next-door.

3. Breaking Dawn Part 2

After filming Breaking Dawn Part 2, Robert Pattinson shaved his head. But then they had to reshoot some scenes so he had to wear a wig which looked like the way his hair did before he shaved it all off.

4. Salt

The raven haired actress wore a few wigs in the film Salt, including the blonde one above.

5. Drive Angry

Nicolas Cage wore a blonde, messy wig in the film Drive Angry to transform into his character.

Blocking and setting wigs

I'm starting to really like working with wigs! I had the honour of working with the "Subo" wig, the nickname given to one of the wigs in college. 

Here it is all blocked up. With lills all around it and gallon from the front to the tip of the ear. 

Then it was time to set it. I did the best I could with it as the hair is very short, especially at some areas and isn't in the best condition that it could be. I up rollers in to give it some volume at the top and sides. 

The end result. Looking better than when it did when I started. Taking into consideration it's condition you can imagine how much better it could've looked. Once I'm used to it and working with better wigs the results will look much better! :)

Straight TV & Theatre makeup

Over the past few weeks we have been doing straight TV and theatre makeup. Here are a couple of examples of what I've done :) Thanks to my lovely models Caitlin-Ann, Kairean and everyone else I've practiced on!!

Straight TV

Subtle makeup, adding depth to the eyes, a natural look!

Straight Theatre

Heavier makeup to be seen under lights, with the eyeliner extended to create the illusion of the eyes being bigger!!

Top 5 examples of make-up in films I love...

Below is a list of five films which stand out to me as having great make-up...

5. The Pirates of the Caribbean series

Every time I watch these films I can never see Johnny Depp in Jack Sparrow... not only is his acting flawless and he totally takes on the character, his make-up almost completely disguises any trace of Depp. He is given a tanned complexion and heavy eyeliner, simple yet extremely effective. His facial hair adds to the pirate-y look and the wig department did great in making his hair look unique!

All of the make-up is very plain and simple, suitable to the time of when the film is based. A lot of the characters who are portrayed as being quite poor have make-up on them to create an effect of having dirt on them, they wouldn't have looked too clean and pristine due to the lack of bathing in these days. You can see the difference in wealth between Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley's characters not just through their costumes but also their makeup.

4. rec.

rec. is a horror movie about zombies. I love the make-up in this film. It's all really gory. The woman above has just been caught eating another person, all the blood on her face is there to emphasise this... if you look closely you can also see her veins are all red in her head down onto her shoulders... This looks great to me as it shows the blood from her victim rushing through her veins and as she's a zombie she is so pale that her skin is now almost see-through.

3. The Conjuring

The Conjuring is still in the cinema so it's hard to find any really good photos to show what I'm talking about on the internet but the make-up in the film is awesome. It's the first film I saw since starting to study make-up and I couldn't help but stare at the bruises in between hiding behind my hands at the scary parts. You see the change in the mother through the film, more towards the end, when **SPOILER ALERT** she begins to become possessed. Throughout the film you see her body to begin to bruise and they have to be the most realistic movie bruises I've saw to date. Once I can get decent photos of the bruises I will be adding them into my folder of research!

2. Jumanji

At first in this section I was going to focus on Peter turning into a monkey...

And then I found this meme while researching...

Mind blown. I had no idea! This just highlights how great the makeup really is in this film. For the dad/poacher - different tones of makeup, added facial hair and wigs can really make a difference and completely change how someone looks. The make-up looks so subtle however so much has changed. And going back to Peter, it's great how prosthetics and some facial hair can alter a human face to look ape-like, I always thought it was amazing when I was younger how they managed to turn him into a monkey and the effects still look great to this day.

Alec Gillis is the special makeup designer and creator for Jumanji. He has also worked on films like Alien and Scary Movie 3.

1. Saw

And now my favourite. I love the Saw films! Especially the first one.

I love how the make-up adds to the shock horror of the film. The above photo is after Glover saws off his leg, he has lost a lot of blood therefore a lot of colour in his face. I love how pale he looks as he is close to death... and he looks it! The Saw films are no strangers to blood, they use a lot of it but the right amounts depending on the wound, they never go overboard it's all seems very real.

Scott Eddo was the make-up artist for Glover. He also worked on the Die Hard and Predator films as a makeup supervisor, designer and creator.

College so far...

I signed up to the course quite late. After returning from working in Ibiza for 11 weeks I applied on the college website for the course and attended the open day soon after. After meeting Morven - the head of department - I was really excited about starting the course and was happy I finished my summer season abroad when I did so I could start getting on track with my future career! I was looking forward mostly to the SFX part of the course as it always amazes me how the sight of fake blood and wounds during a horror film can make a whole cinema squirm as if it's real and we're watching a documentary.

My first impressions of the college and course are that it's great. The college is easy to find your way around and is so easy to get to from where I live. Everyone in the class are really friendly and we all get on well. Our lecturers are really awesome at what they do, I just can't wait to get more stuck into the course! 

So far my favourite thing that we have done is creating cuts and bruises. I always wondered how it was done so I'm glad I now know and can hopefully keep getting better at it. The only thing I'm not a fan of is that our timetable so far has us in one full day and three half days. It doesn't sound much but when you're working as well it can be very tiring and the extra costs for transport are pretty unnecessary considering we could be in fewer days. It's early days yet so hopefully this will all be sorted soon!

If I was to pinpoint the funniest moment in college so far... it'd be quite difficult. I'd say every Tuesday in Donald's class is the funniest as while we blog etc you never know what we'll end up talking about from debating whether lettuce has a taste to how much we dislike Bieber.

I want to be a MUA as I have always been interested in make-up from a young age. I was one of THOSE girls who raided her mum's make-up bag then pretended to be a Spice Girl.... 

Now that I'm older, when I watch things from Gossip Girl to horror movies I find myself looking at the make-up and being amazed at either how pretty or hideous it can make people look. I'd love for someone to look at something I've worked on and think that about my work!

A great make-up APP - Beautylish

While trying to find a make-up app that would be beneficial for makeup artists I came across Beautylish.

It's a free app which is easy to download and is great for makeup artists or anyone interested in makeup. It is easy to sign up. You can either create an account or log in via Facebook. Once you are all signed up you then need to create a profile. 

Once you add in your details you can upload a photo to complete your profile then you are ready to take advantage of this great app. You also get a discount voucher for the app's shop when you first join - great bonus!

The app has many features and is extremely easy to navigate through so you don't need to be great with technology to work your way around the app. 

Features include a wall of photos which you can add to showing makeup and hairstyles.

There are also tutorial videos and reviews of products which you can search through or even add to...

My favourite part of the app is this feature however.... 

The app has a whole section dedicated to allowing its users to ask questions. Other app users can then post replies with advice and attach photos to help along the way. 

I think this app is perfect for MUAs as it can give ideas for future work and if there's something you're not too sure about there will be a tutorial somewhere, if not you can ask and someone will be able to help! It's a great little community and well worth a download!!

To download just visit the App Store on your phone/tablet and search for "Beautylish". You can also follow the app on twitter @Beautylish for on the move tips!!