Contemporary Elizabethan Images

 

In this image I admire the hairstyle, especially the bird cage accessory as it reminds me that there would always be a prop in Elizabeth's portraits and I find this concept so intriguing. The pale skin with  slight red cheeks looks pretty good too.

 I love the long wild red hair in this image! It looks so carefree and fun. The styling and accessories give off that Elizabethan edge but toned down to a contemporary level. The cheeks are exaggeratedly red which I really like and completes this contemporary Elizabethan look.

 

There are so many strong elements in this image that represent the Elizabethan style in a very contemporary way. The plaited eyebrows, red lips and plastic accessory around the neck are what stand out to me most! I love the unique combination that has been used to create this image. Her skin is also pale which fits in with the look.

Colour Wheel Designs

 This is a face chart inspired by Complimentary Colours. I decided to use purple and yellow as purple is a dark shade that can be used to represent the dark eyes and lips of the Elizabethan style. I also thought yellow would be a good colour for the pale complexion.

This face chart is inspired by the Monochromatic Colours. I decided to use green shade use dark shades on the eyelids and lips and a slightly lighter shade on the cheeks to represent blushed cheeks which was a trend in the Elizabethan era. The rest of the skin is a light green shade to represent the paleness.

The Taming of the Shrew

In 'Taming of the Shrew' there is quite a few Elizabethan related moments throughout the film as it is written by William Shakespeare during the Elizabethan era.

Catherine's skin is pale which relates to the white makeup that was used.

During the wedding service everyone is wearing purple which is a royal colour.

Catherine's wedding dress has some Elizabethan traits such as the big open collar and silk material.

Petrucio also wore a velvet robe which is an Elizabethan material too.

Experiment

In my seminar we experimented the the makeup that was used to make a the white paste on Elizabeth's face. We applied two layers of egg whites and two layers of calcon powder mixed with water. The result was that it made the skin tight and hard to move at it would crack and make creases in the face! It does interest me as to why anyone would think this is a good idea or a good look! You can see every crease in the face and there's no hiding. I enjoyed experimenting and applying the look to my model as it was interesting to see the result once the contents was dry.

Assignment Brief: Red Heads and Royalty!

For this project I am to research the makeup of the Elizabethan Era as well the trends of their fashion, symbolism and much more! Once I have done enough research I must pick out different elements that have interested me and use them to create a makeup design. I am then to give another colleague in my course my design and they will give me theirs and we have to create eachother's designs for a photoshoot.
I am expecting to find a great amount of ideas to inspire me throughout this project so that my final design will be exactly what I want. I need to gather as much research as I can to help spring my ideas to life!

Monochromatic Colour: Mood Board

For this project I needed to choose a colour and create a mood board out of it! I have chosen purple for my colour. This is the mood board I have created to help me get an idea of what tone of purple I am happy with. I really like the shadings in the top left image and centre image. To help get a makeup design I want to focus on detail in some of the images on my mood board such as the creasing in the dress and water reflection.

More Features

Big foreheads and thin eyebrows were another trend during the Elizabethan era. Elizabeth's large forehead made her more intimidating as well as having a masculine look to it.

Elizabethan Makeup Ingredience

There was a lot of odd ingredients that was contained in the makeup the Elizabethans would use! They used coal ceruse and vermillian to givce colour to their cosmetics.

Uncooked egg whites mixed with face paint was applied to the Elizabeth's face to make that thick white paste. Fucus, a red substance was applied onto the cheeks and lips for that innocent look.

Other ingredients that was used was madder, a plant based substance and cochineal which was crushed beetles! Surprisingly we use cochineal in some of our makeup ingredients today such as lipstick! Lemon juice and rosewater was also some of the ingredients they used which doesn't sound as shocking.

Saffron, human seeds, celidine and oil was the ingredients used to make a dye paste on the hair.

In the Elizabethan era what they thought was healthy to clean their skin with was dangerous. They would wash their face with mercury which would peal off the skin. For teeth care they cover their teeth in honey as an over night treatment. Queen Elizabeth's teeth were fully blackened by the time of her death but people wanted to be like her and wanted to blacken their teeth to the core! Gross.

Dark and Pale

During the Elizabethan era, beauty was signified that you were wealthy, had power and status! Pale skin symbolised purity and delicacy, therefore Elizabeth would apply a thick paste to her face, neck and chest. She would also have blushing cheeks as a symbol of innocence. Red lips and bright eyes were also a trend of the era.

The Elizabethan Portrait

I chose this portrait as my favourite because I love how extravagant her neck collar is. I think the neck collars and chokers are what fascinate me the most about the fashion in this era. I really like what the pearls symbolise which is purity as it would be such a wonderful thing to be known as. I also like the symbolism of the rose she is holding in her hand, the Virgin Mary. I like this idea of how she has chosen to become something so different and extravagant that it made everyone so empowered by her.