Alice Butler

Upon choosing to study ‘Make-up Breakdown’ as my Better Lives project, I was interested in learning about make-up in a fashion context as opposed to TV/Film which I study as my full-time course.

In our workshops we began studying the fundamentals of applying make-up, starting with skincare as it is important the skin has a clean base for make-up application. This was something I was familiar with previously; however, it is always good to practice on different models with different skin types. We then experimented with colour theory, using the colour wheel to determine complementary colours and created an abstract bone structure make-up so that in a black and white photo, the shades contrasted. I enjoyed this activity as I have studied facial structure in class and know the accurate placements, however it was fun to create a bone structure make-up in a different way using colour and more abstract shapes.

The brief for our outcome was to create a make-up look following ‘The Fashion Mistake’ concept, which embodies everything that is so wrong it’s right. It plays with societal ideas of beauty and celebrates imperfections, encouraging make-up looks that are out of the ordinary. For example, here is an image of a paper make-up by Lisa Eldridge for Harvey Nichols where she has exaggerated the eyebrows and flushed cheeks.

Unfortunately, due the coronavirus outbreak we could not continue workshops in the studio, so we were asked to create 2 make-up looks in 2 hours, one to represent ‘The Fashion Mistake’ and one representing imperfection. Due to the majority of the class not having access to a lot of make-up, we were asked to use household items or any items that were available. For one of my looks I wanted to explore the taboo of facial hair on women, so I experimented with grass adhering it to my lower cheeks and in between my eyebrows. This task helped provoke my creative thinking in a new way by using unusual materials to create a look, and this is something I will definitely experiment with in the future.

For my final look I wanted to take inspiration from the skin condition vitiligo, which is where your skin lacks the pigment melanin. It creates some interesting shapes which I wanted to abstractly replicate in my final design. In addition to this, I wanted to incorporate colour theory into my look, starting with the fact I have blue eyes, I used oranges and blues in my look as they are opposite on the colour wheel. Here is an image of my final design:

Overall, I’m very happy with the use of colour theory in my look and the shapes I created, however I think it would have been more effective if I used 3D materials, possibly some orange flowers if I had access to them. Despite some of the earlier workshops being a little more basic in terms of skill, the Make-up Breakdown unit has allowed to me to approach make-up in a way that I hadn’t before, incorporating more unique materials which I enjoyed. I also found that having a time limit to create a look generated ideas quicker and my work was more instinctive which can be stronger than a planned look.

Nwanko, A., 2020. Better Lives: Make-Up Breakdown.

On choosing to study ‘Make-up Breakdown’ for my project, I had prior knowledge on the industry as I study Hair, Make-up, and Prosthetics. However, I was keen to learn more about the fashion side of make-up and take it back to basics, learning that even the simplest of concepts can help to get a wider message across. Make-up can often be viewed as a coverup of our natural selves causing lots of people, particularly women to be nervous about wearing make-up as it could be viewed as ‘clownish’ or ‘too much’. On the other hand, many people feel they need make-up to feel themselves due to insecurity and low self-esteem. In my opinion, make-up is an art form used in a lot of people’s daily lives and holds tremendous power in expression of personality.

The better lives theme ‘Diversity’ plays a large part in the make-up industry, in the way that the possibilities of make-up looks are endless and there are numerous brands and variations of products available. While many brands champion inclusivity, there have been many scandals where shade ranges do not include enough darker tones, unfairly restricting people of colour in the make-up they can wear. For example, in 2017 Yves Saint Laurent were criticised for the poor shade range in their ‘All Hours’ foundation, with 22 shades in total, only two being suitable for darker skin. They later updated their shade range, which is currently 35 shades, however it is still heavily dominated by lighter shades.

I think from a highly successful brand like them they should be able to provide a balanced, inclusive shade range. In my future practise I will ensure my kit is suitable for all skin tones and I will use brands I know are inclusive such as Revolution Pro. I also feel that ‘Social Responsibility’ comes into play here in the fact that this issue alienates lots of people and brands to have a responsibility to make their products suitable for everybody.

In terms of ‘Sustainability’, the make-up industry is hygiene crazy as you cannot cross contaminate between clients. As a result, an enormous amount of single use disposable items such as cotton wool pads, cotton buds, tissues and wipes are used. In my practise I will try to use as few of these as possible and use alternatives. For instance, Primark recently brought out microfibre cloths which remove make-up just by adding water. Once used you can put them in the wash and use them over and over. I think this is a great way to reduce the use of make-up wipes and cotton wool, I use them myself every day and love them!

Instagram.com. 2010. YSL Beauty Official (@yslbeauty) • Instagram Photos And Videos. [online] Available at: <https://www.instagram.com/ysl/> [Accessed 22 April 2020].

Sephora.fr. 2020. YVES SAINT LAURENT | Encre De Peau All Hours Foundation – Fond De Teint Haute Couvrance Longue Tenue. [online] Available at: <https://www.sephora.fr/p/encre-de-peau-all-hours-foundation—fond-de-teint-haute-couvrance-longue-tenue-P3056010.html> [Accessed 22 April 2020].

I was very inspired by the ‘Power’ lecture by Julia Crewe, as it opened my eyes to a wider scope of thinking in terms of social responsibility. In this blog post I will discuss the relationship between power and fast fashion, linking to Kate Fletcher’s ‘Nature’ lecture, as fast fashion has a huge impact on our environment. The fashion industry is responsible for 10% of all man-made carbon emissions, producing an incredible 1.7 billion tons of CO2 per year. Fast fashion has become very prominent in recent years, with clothing becoming more affordable and worse in quality. There is this need we have for the next best thing, and I am sure you can admit to buying a new outfit for an occasion and never wearing it again. As human beings we like to point the finger and place blame, however a lot of the time you are at least partly to blame. Having said that, if we contain the power to negatively impact our planet, we also contain the power to provoke positive change.

So, who is ultimately to blame for the negative effects the fashion industry causes? It could be the multi-billionaire CEOs of successful clothing brands; whose personal wealth virtually enslaves others with poor working conditions/rights. In fact, it takes 4 days for a CEO to earn what a Bangladeshi garment worker would earn in a lifetime. They hold enormous amounts of power to change the direction of the fashion industry, however their wealth is clearly not a reflection of their intelligence. It could be the media, which is extremely present in our everyday lives and influences our decisions. It is estimated that the average American encounters at least 4,000 adverts per day which is an astonishing figure.

Does the power lie with the consumer? Yes, you can be influenced by the media and your friends and the gorgeous red dress you scrolled past on Instagram that you ‘need’ in your life, but ultimately you have the power whether to buy it or not. ‘The Buyerarchy of Needs’ by Sarah Lazarovic suggests that before buying you should use what you have, borrow, swap, thrift then make. If every person followed this before buying new clothes, the consumption of fashion (which has quadrupled in the last 20 years) would massively decrease. We must think more sustainably when we purchase clothes and do our bit to reduce the negative effects of fast fashion on our planet, because we have the power!

Crewe, J., 2020. Lecture 1: Power.

Fletcher, K., 2020. Lecture 5: Nature.

OilPrice.com. (2020). How Much Oil Does The $1.5 Trillion Fashion Industry Use? | OilPrice.com. [online] Available at: https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/How-Much-Oil-Does-The-15-Trillion-Fashion-Industry-Use.html [Accessed 23 Feb. 2020].

Marshall, R. (2020). How Many Ads Do You See in One Day?. [online] Red Crow Marketing. Available at: https://www.redcrowmarketing.com/2015/09/10/many-ads-see-one-day/ [Accessed 25 Feb. 2020].

Sarahl.com. (2020). [online] Available at: https://www.sarahl.com/ [Accessed 25 Feb. 2020].