Tuesday 5 May 2015

My Portfolio Memoirs: Haunting Beauty


I vaguely remember this shoot actually happening but I recall the experience of skillfully working towards this test shoot and the moment in the make up room.  The wonderful Stylist, Tessa Wright had sourced some sensational choices, we'd chosen a model called Sam, I think but sorry to the photographer, I cannot think of his name!
My hair and make up input was created based primarily on the sheer nature of the Preen blouse and blonde, pale model; I was aiming for something quite monotone in all aspects which is why the photographer lit softly.  The chosen top was embellished and stunning, something unseen on the high street ten years ago.  The model had very, very long hair and a lot of it so I was keen on an up-do to show off the details in the lace collar, therefore, I began to section off the top part, put that aside, then slick the rest back into a ponytail and out of the way.  I then came back to the top by taking a hairband and partly pulling hair through it to the shape you see in the image, then stray hairs around the face I kept as is and even pulled some out of the loose ponytail for a slight veiled effect.
The complexion is almost dead-pan, no contouring, not even a distinct lip colour, just a line of shade cutting down the bottom lip.  At this time, I loved sculpting hollow eyes and used a bronze shade right up to the brows and plenty of eye liner. False lashes were applied but I became frustrated as they were not long enough.  Thinking on my feet, I took a pair of scissors and sliced through a small section of my hair.  Was I nuts?
While the hair dropped onto the tissue, the model, stylist and whoever else was in the room looked perplexed possibly worried.  I wasn't too sure this would work but I probably gave my hairdresser at the time a bit of a head start.
I twisted a few strands so that one end looked irregular, the other I snipped off evenly, then dipped into a small drop of Duo lash glue. Hands still steady, I held the lashes of locks at the centre of the lower eye and gently held it in place till it felt secure.  It was a moment of 'I need longer lashes' and it worked so I carried on, feeling more and more sure this was going to look unique, creative and be a winning image for my beauty portfolio as well as a step towards pushing my artistic boundaries to test and try the weird and wonderful ideas that would pop into my head.

If there is an image from my portfolio you'd like to know more about please get in touch.

www.nadiramakeup.com