Design Practice for Continuity Assessment

Late Victorian Hair

This was the final look for my first attempt at late Victorian hair.

I found it quite easy to do. I sectioned off the back of the hair and left heated curlers in the front to create volumes at the front of the head. I then used tongs to curl the rest of the hair that I had sectioned off at the back of the head.

After this I pinned the curls up at the back and took out the curlers. I then twisted the two sections from the front and pinned them into place at the back.

I used a tail comb to backcomb the sections at the front of the hair to create the volume and shape.

Early Victorian Hair

The early Victorian hair, was quite simple. We sectioned off the hair at the front of the head and then put two plaits in the front, then looped the round to the back of the head, put the hair at the back into a twist bun and then pinned the plaits into place.

Technical File: Dirt and Dirty Teeth

For this session we used:

• Tooth Enamel
• White Spirit
• Earth
• Kryolan Supracolour
• Fake Blood
• Coloured Hair Spray

To create this look, I used the dirt mixed with water and applied it over the hand. I used a hair dryer to dry it and it gave the skin a very dirty, dusty look. I then used coloured hair spray and the Supracolour palette to add colour to the area and then finished it using some fake blood. 

I personally didn't like the way this turned out in real life and felt that it looked better in the pictures, it ended up looking a bit brown and cakey rather than the dirt and blood look that I wanted.

To create this look of dirty teeth, I used a cotton bud to make sure the teeth were dry and then applied the Tooth Enamel in a yellow/brown colour to give them the look of being dirty and rotting.

Health and Safety

When using the tooth enamel, we had to make sure to take it off with white spirit afterwards to make sure that it didn't stay on or stain the teeth.

Technical File: Sweat, Fever, Pallor and Tears

Products Used:

• SupraColour Palette
• Glycerin
• Stipple Sponge

To create fever around the face I used a stipple sponge and the red shades from the supracolour palette to lightly cover the cheeks and forehead,

I used Glycerin lightly dabbed on with the sponge to create the look of sweat on the fact in the areas where I had applied the redness.

Health and Safety

It was important to check that the model didn't have any allergic reactions before starting, for example to the Supracolour or Glycerin.

Technical File: Theatrical Aging and Creping of the Skin

This session was focused on creating wrinkles in the skin to create the look of aging. Unfortunately I was ill for this session so had to have it shown to me by another student another time.

Products Used:

• Liquid Latex
• Old Age Stipple
• Acetone
• Translucent Powder
• Supralcolour Palette

We did the wrinkles around the eyes using liquid latex. This was done by stretching the skin and then applying it the the area at the side of the eye and using a hair dryer to dry it. We then repeated this and let go of the skin to create wrinkles.

The hand were pretty similar except we used old age stipple instead of liquid latex and then coloured it using the supracolour palette.

Health and Safety

For this, we had to make sure when using the hair dryer that it wasn't too hot to avoid burning. To do this we tested it on the neck first to make sure the temperature was okay.

Technical File: Cuts, Scratches, Bruises and Black Eyes

Products Used:

• Liquid Latex
• Cinewax
• Acetone
• Wound Filler
• Supracolour Palette
• Kryolan Foundation Palette
• Fake Blood
• Bruise Wheel

During this session, we focused on creating wounds. I started by using the Cinewax, spreading it over the arm with a plastic spatula, creating a 'wound' in the wax with the edge of the spatula. We then applied Liquid Latex on top of the wax, used a hairdryer to dry it and then used the Acetone to blend out the edges.

After this I used the Kryolan Foundation palette to cover the wax and latex. 

To finish it, I put the red and black from the Supracolour to put into the wound to make it darker and the wound filler on top. Lastly I used the fake blood to put in and around the wound and used a Stipple sponge to spread it. 

For the black eye, I used the bruise wheel and Supracolour palette to lightly build up and blend the colours around the inside of the eye.

I attempted to do another bruise on the arm, the same way I did the black eye but really didn't like the way it turned out so I feel I need to practice this more.

Health and Safety

When using Liquid Latex, we had to do an allergy test on the model first, just to make sure that their skin wouldn't react badly to it and they'd have an allergic reaction.

Technical File: Burns

Products Used:

• Gelatine
• Supracolour Palette
• Illamasqua Translucent Powder
• Witch Hazel
• Fake Blood

During this session we focused on creating burns in the skin. We could chose between third degree, second degree and first degree burns. I decided to create a third degree burn, or the 'worst' burn.

I started by melting the Gelatine in the microwave for ten seconds, waiting for it to cool down slightly and then spreading it over the arm with a plastic spatula.It was quite difficult to blend the edges into the skin ans we used Witch Hazel to smooth the edges out. I used the spatula to make the burn look more 'messy' and then dried it with a hairdryer. 

After this I used a hair pin to create little tears in the wound and then padded the translucent powder over it. I then used a stippling brush to used the red shades from the Supracolour palette to cover the wound and around it. 

After this i used to red shades and a bit of yellow to fill the tears that I had created to make them look sore and possibly infected. I finished by applying some fake blood to theses areas as well.  

I was really pleased with the final look because I have never done make-up like this before and would definitely be interested in using it for one of my final looks.

Health and Safety

When using Gelatine we had to be very careful as it had to be melted in the microwave before being applied. We had to make sure that it had cooled down before being applied to avoid burning of the skin.

Victorian Beauty Ideals

Queen Victoria was the Queen of England from 1839 to 1901, making the years between these dates the Victorian period. 

When I think about Victorian beauty, I do tend to associate it with the Gothic fashion due to how long Queen Victoria wore black for after the death of her husband, Prince Albert. I also see the women as quite independent due to there being a Queen and Price rather than a king. However this isn't the only style associated with the Victorian era.

"Literary annuals portrayed female beauty as delicate, innocent but sensuous, intensely moral and emotional, and these characteristics were embedded in the fiction, poetry, engraved illustrations, authors, material product, and targeted readerships of literary annuals, although readers and authors could be either male or female." (Ledbetter)

Puffed sleeves were very popular among women during this era and they would often wear quite pale colours. Corsets and bodices were also extremely fashionable. They could be particularly strict when it came to the clothing, especially when it clothes that were allowed to be worn by someone while they were in mourning. For example, if a woman became a widow, she would be expected to wear black for over a year.

Women would take time in to get ready and "as part of their “toilet” in the morning ladies of leisure would ensure well plucked eyebrows, perhaps trim their eyelashes, and daub castor oil onto their eyelids and lashes" and  "they could dust on rice powder, zinc oxide or, the most expensive option, pearl powder, which was a mixture of chloride of bismuth and French chalk (talc) and provided a silky white and lustrous cosmetic powder" in order to keep their skin looking young and pale, "the only good complexion was a pale complexion".

They would also take care of their lips and "they might apply a clear pomade (like beeswax) for a shine and to provide protection from the elements, and some contained dye to discreetly accentuate the lip colour, crushed flowers and carmine." 

Carmine (which is made from a cochineal insect) along with red beet juice was also often used in order to add a blush to the cheeks. Eyeshadow and eye paint also became very popular, but this was made out of some toxic ingredients such as "mixed lead tetroxide, mercuric sulphide, antimony, cinnabar, vermilion, and secret ingredients."

Women often had long hair in Victorian times so would mostly wear it up. In the earlier years, plaits in the sides of the head and buns at the back were popular. Curls on the front of the head were popular during the later Victorian years.

Parts of the back of the hair would often be worn down, in curls and it was not uncommon for women to wear hair pieces or wigs.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victorian_fashion#Mourning_black

Fleming, R.S. (2012) Kate Tattersall adventures. Available at: http://www.katetattersall.com/early-victorian-era-make-up/ (Accessed: 10 Feb 2016).

Inline Citations: (Fleming, 2012)

Ledbetter, K. (2009) British Victorian women’s periodicals: Beauty, civilization, and poetry. Edited by Marilyn Gaull. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
Inline Citations: (Ledbetter, 2009) 

L, C. (2015) Available at: http://www.xovain.com/makeup/victorian-era-beauty (Accessed: 10 Feb 2016).

Portrayals of Vampires

Vampires have been portrayed completely differently in Film, Television and media over the years so there are many different ideas about what vampires should be, ranging from monsters to much more romanticised portrayals.

A typical example of what most people think of when they think of a vampire is the evil kind that preys on people, being very pale with fangs and possibly being able to transform into other animals, such as bats or dogs. 'Dracula' and 'Nosferatu' are both examples of stereotypical vampires and the films were some of the first to depict vampires. The 1922 German film 'Nosferatu' was based on Dracula but as the studio could not obtain the rights to the novel, the word 'vampire' was replaced with 'nosferatu' and the main character was names Count Orlok rather than Dracula.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZxlJxDr26mM


Nosferatu is shown to be very tall and pale white in the film. He has features similar to those of a rodent, with pointed ears, jagged pointy teeth and long, sharp nails.

The Lost Boys, a 1989 film directed by Joel Schumacher, tells the story of a family that move to California and the two sons become involved with a group of vampires. The movie portrays vampires as living a typical 'Rock n Roll' lifestyle and being very good looking and glamourous, but also very cruel and bloodthirsty.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_lwtRMg0ts

It does romanticise vampires, with the main female lead, Star, desperate to become one and following the group around all the times. This ties into the traditional vampire idea of men being dominant and women being submissive.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer is an incredibly popular American television series that started in 1997. It follows a teenager and her group of friends as they attempt to exterminate vampires,

The vampires in this are portrayed as monsters rather than people, as the series is from the perspective of Buffy and her friends. Although the vampires Spike and Angel are thought of as reformed vampires who help Buffy. 

The Twilight films, based on the book by Stephanie Mayer, were extremely popular, and seemed to make vampires more popular than ever. There was a different target audience for these films however, with the majority of fans being teenage girls due to the nature and age of the characters. The vampires still crave blood but some are trying not to attack humans and when Edward Cullen falls in love with a human, it tells the story of their relationship.

The vampires also appear pale but are considered to be very attractive and there is hardly any gore sown in these films compared to others.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tpruK26ZVLk

'True Blood' probably shows the more sexual side to vampires out of all of these, The vampires essentially look like normal people, able to disguise themselves to humans and can retract their fans. Some of them want to continue feeding on humans while some of them use a synthetic substitute to human blood, called 'Tru Blood'. The series mainly focuses on the relationship between a human, Sookie, and her vampire boyfriend, Bill.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hE8wwYzKJOs


Although there are lots of variations of vampires, it does seem that they are all mainly portrayed as having a dark and violent side but also coming across as quite attractive or romantic.