Developing Ideas

From my inspirations I then created four contemporary Elizabethan ideas. I used both Elizabethan Portraits and Contemporary images to start up some ideas and went on from there.

One of my first looks was inspired by these three images. I still am very drawn to the lips in this first contemporary image and I feel that linking it with the second one will be subtle enough not to take away from the eye area. Now obviously there aren't very many looks from the Elizabethan Era that would be so drastic, but I fell in this portrait the eyes stand out a lot more than in other Portraits from that Era. They seem to have a reddish tinge on the eyelid which really works with her dark, plump lip. 

Tumblr. (). Tumblr. Available: http://www.pinterest.com/lucydbowler/new-elizabethan/. Last accessed 5/12/14.

Amy Robsart, Lady Dudley

Sarah. (). Circus Make Up Inspiration. Available: http://xosarah.com/2012/05/10/circus-make-up-inspiration/. Last accessed 5/12/14.

From these looks I created this face chart. I think that having a large splash of colour over the common pale tones of an Elizabethan would really stand out. I also wanted to created much rougher edges as the lips are quite soft and blended which is more linked to the Elizabethan Era. The shape I've created also reminds me of a heart on the lips, and Elizabethans would often have their hair in this sort of shape so I feel its a modern twist on the fashion. Although I like this look, I do feel that there could be some connotations to "super heroes" and I don't want to take away from the fact that this is a contemporary Elizabethan look. 

This time taking inspiration from this portrait of Elizabeth of Austria and looking at Pat McGrath for a modern prospective I started to put together some more ideas. What drew me to this portrait was the way her face looks much more contoured than in many portraits from this era, although it uses a much more rouge tinge than the bronzed looked of today. I also feel that unlike other portraits her eyebrows are a lot more prominent, although still pale. With this being said she still holds the traits of the time through the colours of her make up. So I wanted to play around more with this theory, now obviously I loved Pat McGrath's incorporation of jewels so I created my look my intertwining these two theories, the colour for the Elizabethan Era and the contemporary textures. 

Vogue. (). Pat McGrath: The Beauty Tribute . Available: http://www.vogue.co.uk/beauty/2012/03/30/pat-mcgrath-best-catwalk-make-up-photos/gallery/1253092. Last accessed 5/12/14.

My look has kept the face pale, with minor contouring, and I have incorporated the white with the rest of her skin, especially on the eye lids. To make this stand out I have then incorporated red jewels onto the lip and a mixture of red and white jewels to give a more modern brow. I do like the idea of incorporating jewels, as the Elizabethans would always incorporate this sort of thing into their hair designs and clothes so why not their faces? However I favour some of my other designs as they have more of a contemporary twist. 

When thinking of a contemporary Elizabethan look I instantly thought of Illamasqua and the heart shape look they did for one of their lines. It instantly screams Elizabethan to me due to the red lip and cheek contrasting the pale face. However I wasn't so keen on the dark brows as this isn't very linked to the Elizabethan Era. I chose this portrait of an unknown woman to coincide with the look, I feel that the heart shape hair was such a favoured look and was something I was interested into incorporating within my own contemporary look. 

The Blonde Unicorn. (). Illamasqua heart shaped nails. Available: http://theblondeunicorn.buzznet.com/user/journal/7924501/illamasqua-heart-shaped-nails/. Last accessed 5/12/14.

With these two looks I then created this face chart, sticking with the Elizabethan colours inside the heart and breaking off into a contemporary foundation and contouring. Although I love this look I'm not sure if its too close to the originals, I would much prefer to make it my own and experiment a little more. 

My final design was inspired by these three images. First being the Portrait of Elizabeth of Austria again, as i really do want to incorporate this sort of pale face with a contour. I then was looking at this cat walk make up and really loved how they used a deep red to contour the brow area, as I think a strong brow is such a contemporary mix on things. However the image I was most drawn to was this tattoo design I came across on Pinterest. Not only do the ruffles remind me of the Elizabethan Era but the very obvious use of red and white. I think having such a random line down the face can actually be quite intriguing and beautiful and I really wanted to experiment with this. 

Photography Blog. (2013). Inspiration make up and props. Available: http://semester2university.wordpress.com/2013/03/13/inspirational-makeup-and-props/. Last accessed 5/12/14.

Chasen9ne. (2011). Art is The Weapon . Available: http://inkwings.tumblr.com/post/12654793922/chasen9ne-harlequin-design-for-a-client. Last accessed 5/12/14.

I then created my final face chart. My first instinct was to create the pale face, this time blocking out the normal eyebrow shape. Then like the portrait I wanted to add some minor contour to the cheek and forehead, however not too harsh as I didn't want take away from the rest of the design. Then using inspiration from the catwalk image I wanted to create a shadow with red onto the eyebrow area to create more depth, and using a deeper red I wanted to create sparse red hairs. This is trying to stick with the Elizabethan era where they had hardly any brows but revamp it by just having a minor brow. I wanted the lips and eyes to be the main stand out, so using a thicker white as a base i then did one line through each feature, to create this clown like effect. This was by far my favourite, I love how you can link it so clearly with the Elizabethan Era due to the colours, but that the technique is so much more contemporary and out there.