More Victorian Make-up ...

A paragraph from Madeline Marsh's book titled Compacts and Cosmetics successfully defines "The classic image of Victorian beauty" - "A peaches and cream complexion, cherry ripe lips, a pair of sparkling eyes fringed by soft, fluttering lashes- was expected to be natural, a gift from God." Women were expected to achieve all of this without the use of cosmetics. It was said that the benefits of cold water, early rising, fresh air and temperance were the ways to have the perfect complexion.  Really?! 

Secret make-up was introduced and an innumerable amount of home-made recipes for whitening and preserving the skin were appearing in domestic manuals. I find it fascinating that cosmetics were considered indecent. Although applying cosmetics in today's society is a common practise, women still seem to be judged if they are caked in the stuff!

For both of my interpretations of Estella and Havisham its unquestionable that I'll use make-up, although the trick for these make-up looks is to make it seem as if no make-up has been applied ... This is definitely a vital technique im going to need to perfect as a make-up artist.

Miss Havisham Sketch

After watching the video I previously posted it inspired me to sketch my own version of how I envisage Miss Havisham. 

This is quite a rough sketch but it has all the elements I want to include within my final image of Miss Havisham. The bridal flowers, veil, skeleton structure, dark sunken eyes and cracked dry lips. All of which I intend to replicate on my chosen model.

The relevance of Charles Dickens novels in modern society

This video I found very interesting as it talks about why the themes within Great Expectations are still relevant in today's society, and how the story still appeals hugely to people to this day. It was also interesting to see the actors in costume but out of character. This enabled me to take a closer look, especially at Gillian Anderson as Miss Havisham to purely focus on her styling and make-up for the role. 

Estella sketch

This is just a quick sketch that I decided to do. Incorporating the popular fashionable Victorian hair style we learned in our technical sessions. 

This sketch is how I imagine my final interpretation of Estella to look like. I want her beauty to still shine through even though she has a beaten face...

Victorian make-up and hair

Victorian womens make-up was very subtle, usually with a pale complexion and occasionally a slight bit of rouge was added to the cheeks.

Women's hair was generally worn long, with a centre parting, caught up in a chignon or bun. Ringlets of curls hung on either side of the head. Women drew up the side hair but let long loose curls hang down the back.  

Here's an example of a Victorian hair style I created in our technical lessons.