Sugar Skulls

The first thing I did to create this look was the eyes. I used a black cream base to cover my eyelid. I then used various shades of purple and black to blend around the eye socket. I made the eyes darker at the lid and lighter as I blended out - this created a gradient affect which added interest and depth. Using a black liquid liner I produced a cat-eye (winged liner, pointed at the inner and outer corner) and lined my tight-line and water-line using a black kohl liner. Using the black liquid liner I outlined the purple circle surrounding the eye to neaten up the edges.

I then used white face paint to cover the top portion of my face (keeping the bottom half clear so I needn't worry about smudging at this point). I set the paint with a matte white eyeshadow to ensure it stayed in place.

Next, I added the scalloped detail below the eyes using the black liquid eyeliner. I had to ensure both eyes were as symmetrical as possible. I then filled the hollows with blue eyeshadow and added additional detail with liner.

I then added the nose details and forehead art - to do this I, once again, used the black liquid eyeliner and blue, green and yellow eyeshadow. I used some of Kelly Durette's art work as inspiration. Finally I moved on to the bottom half of my face where I added the teeth and additional detail on the cheeks. I also painted my ears, neck and chest white to complete the look.

Another Sugar Skull design, inspired by Kelly Durette

AS Art - Makeup

~  The face is a canvas, makeup is my paint ~

Since discovering the world of YouTube at around 14 years old I have always had a keen interest in makeup. I love the way makeup can totally transform someone both physically and mentally. As well as making people look different, makeup also has the power to change peoples mindset like the way it has the ability to make someone feel more confident about themselves.

Last year I studied art as an AS Level at school. During the year I experimented with many makeup techniques and looks and I thought it would be fun to share just a few of these with you.

Half Skull Mask

I studied Art as an AS subject last year and our coursework topic was 'Construction'. For this I decided to explore the construction of the human form. In art I tried to think out-of-the-box in order to stand out. Therefore, as well as painting on canvas' and sketching, I decided to use my makeup knowledge to create an art piece that will stand out to the examiners. I used black and white body paint along with various eyeshadows to show what lies beneath.

As well as a final print of the image I also displayed how I achieved this look with a video. As this video was played in the expedition I have not added any music, so if you're keen to watch it pop on your favourite song in the background!

Sugar Skulls

Continuing with the theme of skulls, I studied an artist called Kelly Durette (google her art work, it is incredible). Her work inspired me to paint myself as a Sugar Skull. I experimented with different colours and makeup products and initially I achieved the first image. Although I loved the makeup, I wanted to recreate the makeup with all aspects of the photograph taken into consideration - the hair, makeup, background and outfit.That is when I achieved the final images below.

Bloody Scar

As well as playing around with makeup and body paint, I took my turn at Special FX makeup. I wont go into detail about how I created this scar on my friends arm but it involved liquid latex, tissue, fake blood and a lot of patience.

After I peeled the gory mess off

Bird Transformation

In the second half of the year we were able to choose our exam topic from a list. I selected 'Animals, Birds and Plants'. The majority of my exam art work consisted of photographs but obviously I couldn't miss a makeup transformation opportunity! I decided to make some beaks out of card and transform myself into a bird. Again I used the images below as final prints and I also filmed myself applying the makeup (once again there is no music as it was displayed at the exhibition). As this was my first attempt there are things I would have liked to change but as it was an exam piece, we were limited on the amount of time we could use. Never the less I was happy with the final result and achieved an A grade at the end of the year.

I hope you enjoyed seeing some of the makeup looks I created for Art last year!
Thanks for reading.

Bye for now x