Twisted Sixties

Hiya! If you're wondering why I've not blogged much recently, it's because I've started a course at the Cassie Lomas Make-up Academy in Manchester, and now I know the meaning of the word 'busy'. I'm absolutely loving it, so I thought I'd share my favourite bit so far: sixties.

We've been researching all the distinct decades of make-up, and how important they are. Vintage is a huge trend right now, and my personal favourite is the sixties. Home of the mods, the time when the youngsters had a huge influence on fashion, and the time of the 2nd wave of feminism, the sixties was a huge decade. The LGBT movement and gay pride gained more acceptance, and the first transgender riot occurred in '66 in San Francisco.

Make-up was super-matte, chalky, and especially bold. Twiggy, Brigitte Bardot, Jean Shrimpton & Peggy Moffat were icons of the era, and rightly so. The drawn-on bottom lashes, massive cut-crease and thick liner was an ultra-cool statement, with pastel pink lips and minimal pale blusher. Brows were much more natural than the previous decades, and hair was huge.

So first I created a pretty true 60s look on myself.

White cream shadow base with Illamasqua Sex eyeshadow, Illamasqua gel liner and Illamasqua Obsidian shadow.

Then I quickly created a colourful version on Daisy, my model, using No7 liquid liner in Mermaid and a yellowy-orange MAC shadow.

Next I experimented with using different materials as false lashes, inspired by the artistry of Pablo Manzoni, a make-up artist from the sixties who used many different materials in place of bottom lashes. I was also inspired by Alex Box, Val Garland & Pat McGrath, fearless artists who regularly use paper, foam & craft materials on faces. These are made of paper from a brown envelope, cut out into long triangles and some I painted with black liner. I matched the light triangles with my NARS lid colour. I disliked the shadowing under the eye, so I decided to take a different approach.

My final look: jet black liner, pure white liquid highlights and harsh, geometric lines painted on. A grey-purple lipstick (Illamasqua's Posture) provides a twist on the traditional sixties pastels. To play up the matte face of the decade, I replicated it but used a sparkly blusher (NARS Super Orgasm) to add dimension.

Geometry features heavily on the catwalk this year; in Spring/Summer 14 there was a mod look at Missoni- a reversed cat eye by Lucia Pieroni. Tom Pecheux also created a floating stencilled triangle liner at Anthony Vaccarello.

Einat Dan, Lucia Pica, Linda Hallbergs and Stefanie Wilmann are all artists who inspire me with their geometric work.

And finally, this was my play on the flower power 1960s, using real petals as bottom lashes & bridging the divide between the early Mod movement and flower power natural look of the late sixties.

Funky brows

I had better start by saying that I love a good brow. For my everyday make-up, I tidy mine up by plucking, brush through with a clear brow gel and use a pencil (or powder and slanted brush) to define them. They've got to be symmetrical and I prefer it when hairs are visible, not just a block of colour.

This black & white photo shows my natural brow shape quite well. The outer ends of mine aren't very well defined, so that's where most of my attention is focussed. I create a point rather than letting them fade out like they do naturally.

If you're a fan of editorial and fashion make-up, you've most probably realised that brows are often a pivotal point in shoots. Yes, they frame your face and create expressions, but in a high-fashion make-up shot they can be used to support a brilliant idea. Artists like Alex Box add beads and 'extras' to the brows and oftentimes they are the first feature that is sketched out.

A simple way to dip your toe into slightly more adventurous brows is by adding colour. I've got teal hair, so a bright brow doesn't seem too crazy. You could darken yours, or use Illamasqua sealing gel and a colourful eyeshadow to define them. Here I used bright colours to create an ombre effect. I wore it with a simple flicky eye, but (to be honest) if you're pushing the boat out you may as well go the whole hog and wear a bright shadow too.

Next, glitter. I used Bobbi Brown eyeshadow in Navy (a great staple) which is fully matte and pretty dark. Using a slanted brush and not much product left me with very defined, straight brows. Then, using Collection 2000's cheap liquid eyeliner in gold I painted little sections of hair, following the natural direction of its growth. Next I sprinkled gold glitter over the top, creating an encrusted brow.

And finally, SEQUINS. Simply sequins from the craft shop, eyelash glue and a mohawk. Done.

CUBISM

  

As this one of my first posts, I want to give you a good idea of what I do. I love all kinds of make-up, but avant-garde enables me to express the reasons why I love it: make-up is art. Every product used is by Illamasqua- a beautiful brand who encourage you to use their products all over the face. Their liquid eyeliner in Scribe was instrumental in creating this look.

This is inspired by Kandinsky, Picasso, Val Garland, Alex Box, Maxim Gorky, Rothko, and similar artists.