Blog Post 3 – Project Outcome & Personal Reflection

For my better lives project, I chose the course make-up breakdown. The course consisted of learning different makeup techniques for fashion that are outside of the box and creative. One theme that I think will be useful for me in the future is the theme of imperfection and what it means exactly. Lots of what constructs our views of what is perfect and/or imperfect is society. Whether we like to admit it or not, society does in some way or another, determine how we view ourselves and others. My project outcome was based on this theme, alongside an incorporation of colour theory. For me, this course was a big step out of my comfort zone, as I am not the most creative person and have very minimal makeup skills. It was something that would challenge me and force me to push myself in order to better my creativity and practical skills. Over the course of the few weeks that I was able to take this subject, I learnt so much about professional makeup for fashion. My expectations were exceeded as I thought we would only be learning basics. From the first lesson, I immediately was intrigued with the detail and thought that is put into the process of working with a client. I was immediately challenged with new tasks and practicals that I never would have thought existed prior to taking the course. I understood the concepts behind the practicality, however when it came to physically applying them, I was quite challenged. However, I thought of this as positive as I would then be able to achieve something that I wouldn’t have before if I hadn’t chosen to do makeup. Because make-up is practical in itself, I was very much able to push my own creativity on to my work, however I really strived for purpose in my project outcome. While brainstorming, I initially found it quite challenging to come up with an overall look that had meaning while also looking presentable. One of the themes I learnt through this course was that make-up doesn’t necessarily have to be ‘pretty’, because there is no such thing and the idea of perfection is merely a social construct. However, I still wanted the look to make some sense and have a purpose. As previously stated, I believe that being creative and out of the box is something that is not my strength, therefore for this final project I was able to push myself. At the end of producing my final project outcome, I was quite proud of myself especially when looking back at everything I had learnt and constructed. Although my skills in this subject are still merely beginners level, I do think that I have somewhat emerged with a more creative set of thinking. Because of this course, I will now look at makeup differently. Make-up breakdown made me understand the complication and art that is put into every single look seen in fashion. In a way, there is a story to tell through makeup, as there is a large amount of thought put into it.