Finally, my first day at Southampton Solent had started! Obviously I was nervous, but when I met all of the girls I relaxed. To share a room with so many people who have the same ambitions as you is really inspiring and I couldn’t wait to start this journey to my dream job!
To help everyone bond and to ease us into working as a team, we were given an orienteering task during induction week. We had to visit the Make Up counters of Mac, Laura Mercier, Benefit, Bobbi Brown and Smashbox in West Quay Shopping Centre. We then had to ask about their “hero” product, which means their bestselling product. I found this task quite interesting, as I took in a lot more when I was looking at the counters, such as who the customers seemed to be and how they set up their products.
MAC Counter
When looking at the counter, Mac has a very sleek and simple, it sticks with its brands colours, black and white. I like how Mac don’t have to try and impress with its layout, its so simple yet sophisticated because they already have such a loyal following. When looking at the products on top of this, I would say MAC has a younger core customer. The products they have make a statement, and the younger audience, about 18-25 year old, are becoming more confident and vibrant in the fashion world.
My favourite section of the counter was of course the lipsticks, with an array of shades and the large choice between matte and gloss. That’s why I wasn’t surprised when a lipstick was the Hero product. To be exact, Mac “Ruby Woo” a vibrant matte lipstick. Known for its staying power, this lipstick is for those who are looking to make a statement.
Benefit Counter
I find the Benefit counter is very fresh and bright counter, the colours they use in their packaging are bright and draw you to the products. My personal favourites for this brand are their bronzing and highlighting products as I think they give a beautiful finish, such as the Sun beam highlighter. When looking at the prices and the theme of some of the products, I would say the target was females from the age of 25-55 as they would have a disposable income, and the more mature would be familiar with different brands therefore know how to use these products. The packaging will attract the fun and bubbly customer’s as there is lots of detailing. Benefit’s mascara “They’re Real, Honest” is not only the brands best selling product, but the UK’s no.1 best selling mascara. Known for lifting the lashes to maximum impact with their jet black formula, for its long lasting stay power.
However two other products that were popular within the range were Hoola and the porefessional. Hoola, a soft bronzing powder that’s pure colour, creates a healthy complexion and gives a natural “tanned” glow on the skin. The POREfessional is also the best selling primer in the UK, it minimises wrinkles and pores creating a silky lightweight finish. This is an important product for their target audience, which is probably why it is so popular.
Bobbi Brown Counter
Bobbi Brown also keep their counter simple yet bright and inviting. The first thing I noticed when coming to the counter was that there was already a range of ages looking at the products. This is because Bobbi Brown is aimed for every women, the makeup is not about setting trends, its about enduring the times and looking healthy, smooth and natural. For me I love all of the eyeshadow palettes in Bobbi Brown, as I love neutral tones and all of the colours leave such a smooth finish. When asking about the hero products we were pointed to this display, that showed 10 of their most popular lines.
Due to there being so much choice, I chose to talk about the one that stood out to me. Instantly I was drawn to the pot rouge for lips and cheeks. With further research I found the multi tasking cream was used to create a natural blush on the cheeks and subtle lip colour, which sticks to Bobbi Browns natural beauty theme.
Laura Mercier Counter
This counter had an obvious concentration on skin care, shown by its “Best Beauty Buys of 2014” being a choice of the Tinted Moisturiser, with added SPF20, the secret camouflage and the foundation primer. As well as this, the products weren’t cheap, so I would say this is for a more matured customer. The product that interests me the most is the Secret Camouflage, due to having suffered from bad skin in the past, I like to explore new products such as this. Aimed at covering dark circles, minor imperfects and discolorations, this pack contains two shades so the customer can custom blend to their own perfect shade. It is also a very pigmented meaning only a small amount of product is needed when applying.
Smashbox Counter
One of the first things I noticed about Smashbox is how welcoming and accommodating the staff were. Not only did she talk to us about the hero product in detail, she even gave us a tester so we could see for ourselves. The demographic for Smashbox is women of all ages, they have both anti aging products for older women and brighter intense products for the stylish young women. Therefore this brand is very diverse and considers everyone. This is also shown by their hero product, which is the primer, as they have different types of primers for different skin types. Which is why it isn’t surprising that this product has an overall rating of 5 stars online and has won “Beauty Awards” by Company magazines. When trying the product it instantly filled my pores creating a smooth and lightweight finish, and it made my makeup last all night!
In our next task we had to discuss our mood boards with a group of people so we could get to know each other a little more. It was nice to hear everyone’s ambitions and helped us all bond a little more. In my group was Nicola Comer, Tasmine Edwards, Georgina Sreeves and Mireia Lopez.
Nicola Comer
Nicola instantly shone with confidence as she explained exactly what she wished to achieve in the following five years. It was actually inspiring to have someone with such clear ambitions. Firstly she wanted to concentrate on TV, mainly in the drama section and also work on films. Then she wanted to move to London to pursue a career in Theatre hair and make up, her dream production was Cats. She then considered going into fashion, mainly on the catwalks such as London Fashion Week to give her a range of experiences. Once she had built up her experiences she wants to move to America where she wants to be a personal make up artist for celebrities and work on high end magazines such as Vogue. Finally she wants to marry a rich man, well who doesn’t?
Georgina Sreeves
The first thing I noticed about Georgina’s mood board was
that it was very arty, as she had designed parts of it by hand. This was
further proven when Georgina started to explain her work, the drawn image was a
3D skeleton with beautiful print drawn onto the skull and shoulders and then a
flow of colour, glitter and gems pouring from its brain. She went on to explain
that it was a metaphor for the creative mind, as creative people can see the
art within anything. She also loves gems and glitter which was evident
throughout. There was also a recurring theme of sci fi and fantasy which is the
type of make up she wants to pursue. Angelina Jolie is the actress she dreams
of working with. Furthermore in 5 years she wants to experience everything,
including traveling the world, and she wants to be surrounded by her friends
and family throughout her life.
Tasmine’s main theme throughout her mood board was that she wants to be happy. Whether that’s by building a family with her long term boyfriend, or by travelling the world doing the job she loves. In the future she hopes to have a nice house and car, and to be settled down so she can concentrate on her career. So far she’s unsure on what route she wants to go with, so she wants to explore all areas of make up before she decides, including a personal artist and working on catwalk shows. One of her other aims is to be a icon for other aspiring make up artists, and be Instagram famous like her idol Lauren Conrad.
Mireia Lopez
Mireira is already keen on travel, as she has an adventurous side to her personality. Her ideal home is living in LA, surrounded by the industry she loves. She wants to be able to live a comfortable lifestyle and be surrounded by her friends and family. Her main interest is movie make up which is why LA is the place she wants to settle in.
Our Final task was to create a face onto a paper bag. This
was to get our creative juices flowing and really let us have a bit of fun. The
variation in the styles really showed everyone’s individuality. My own choice
was to go for a dramatic pink hair, as I have always wanted to be confident
enough to pull off coloured hair. I incorporated feathers and gems as a hair
band, as every girl loves a bit of glitz. I love big beautiful eyes so I made
the eyes and lashes larger than life, I’ve also always wanted big lips as I’m
obsessed with lipstick. So I gave her juicy lips in a blood red shade. This was
my final image, and even got photo bombed by my course leader Sharon Lloyd.
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