THE DESIGN: Period Hair & Makeup

Period Hair and Makeup Presentation

DESIGN STATEMENT:

I took inspiration from one of my favorite historical book series to design a look based on my favorite character. In my research, I looked for the ways women did their hair and makeup in the 1880s, but I also looked for trends in the beauty standards and what kinds of features would be considered desirable compared to our modern time. I then considered how I would translate these things to the stage: for example, women of the time would not have used contour, but for stage makeup it's important to add definition back into the features after using a full face of the same base color.

CHARACTER STATEMENT:

It is the 1880s. My character is a young woman, 18-20 years old, who moved to London from New York several years ago. She enjoys reading and generally pays little attention to her appearance, but every so often she lets her friends do her up for an event, which was the scenario I pictured for my design. Living in such a cloudy climate and being indoors most of the time, she's quite pale and has little skin damage. She appears healthy, not at all gaunt or sickly. She leads an active lifestyle for a woman of the time, so she has a healthy flush to her cheeks.

RESEARCH

This is an image of an 1880s hairstyle and I love it because it shows the back of the head. I referenced this image for the placement of the fake braid.

This is an image of a hairstyle tutorial from the time and I love it because it shows examples of different hairpieces that would have been common at the time. I used this image as historical evidence for the fake braid I used.

This is an image of a hairstyle tutorial from the time and I love it because it shows how the hair was sectioned. I used it for reference for the front/side pieces of the updo, sectioning them off to use them separately.

This is an image of a hairstyle tutorial from the time and I love it because it shows how and where to pin the hair up for an 1880s updo. I referenced it for the placement of the anchor bun and the way I pinned the loose hair for my wig.

This is a photo of a woman in the 1880s and I love it because it gives reference to what a normal woman would have looked like at the time. This photo was a good reference for the very curly bangs I used in my wig.

This is a photo of a woman from the 1880s and I love it because it's an example of evening wear instead of day wear. The hair is more elaborate to complement it. I like the little curl she has just in front of her ear.

This is an image of a print from the 1800s and I love it because the bangs in this image are very distinctive. I also like the little curl at the base of her head.

This is an image of a painting from the 1800s and I love it because it's a realistic portrait but in color, since photos weren't. I referenced the eyebrows in this image, as they're essentially a very exaggerated version of the style during the decade.

This is an image of an 1880s painting and I love it because it gives a good close up of a girl's face. I referenced the shape of the lips and the style of makeup from this image.

This is a photo of a woman in the 1800s and I love it because the braided hairstyle is very similar to what I wanted to replicate. It was a good reference for placement of the faux hair.

MAKEUP, MATERIALS, AND TOOLS

Makeup:

Foundation - Mehron Pro-HD complexion products to match
Concealer - E.L.F. Camouflage Concealer
Setting Powder - E.L.F. High Definition setting powder
Eyeshadow/Blush/Contour - James Charles X Morphe Artistry Palette
Cream Shimmer Eyeshadow - Revlon Skinlights 730
Lip Stain - TNCY Shade 04
Mascara - Maybelline Lash-Sensational Sky High

Other Products:

Face Lotion - CeraVe Facial Moisturizing lotion

Tools: Brushes, Sponges, Etc

Small fluffy brush
Liner brush
Blush brush
Powder brush
Makeup Palette
Makeup Sponge
Rat Tail Comb
Steamer
Wig Pins
Bobby Pins
Wig/Hair Pins
Wig Cap

THE PROCESS

THE WIG PROCESS

Use extra-small curlers vertically across the hairline to curl the bangs. Steam the curlers.
Section off the hair on the sides of the head.
Take a section of about the top half of the remaining hair and twist it into a bun. This will be used to anchor the rest of the updo.
Pin the bottom half of the hair up, covering the bun.
Twist the side portions as you pull them back, then pin to the anchor bun. Fluff twisted hair as needed to cover visible wefts.
Pin the braid extension to the bun by folding it in half and pinning the center of the braid to the very top of the anchor bun. Secure the braid along the sides of the bun and tuck the ends of the braid into the hair at the bottom of the wig to hide it.
Remove the curlers and spray with wig spray. Separate the curls with your fingers to create natural bangs.

APPLICATION PROCESS

Start with pin-curls and a wig cap to get the hair out of the face.
Use lotion on the face to prime and moisturize.
Use E.L.F. Camouflage Concealer to conceal visible acne.
Using Mehron Pro-HD foundation matched to the skin, apply mid-tone over whole face.
Use translucent or white setting powder to set foundation.
Contour around the edge of the face to add depth back, but keep it round and diffused, don't sharpen any features.
Add neutral pink blush to the apples of the cheeks. Blend in circular motions, blend down if necessary to make it look like a natural flush.
Add neutral brown eyeshadow to outer corners of lids to add natural depth back. Blend it inwards but try to keep it concentrated to outer corners.
Use a shimmery cream eyeshadow that's close to the skin tone on the eyelid and set it with a shimmery powder eyeshadow to avoid creasing.
Smudge brown eyeshadow just along upper and lower lash line, blend it so it doesn't appear to be defined eyeliner. Be very light-handed.
Apply mascara to the upper lashes. Only make a very light pass to the bottom lashes.
Use brown eyebrow pencil and spoolie to shape eyebrows. They tend to have a very rounded arch, be quite wide set, and end lower horizontally at the tail end than at the front of the brow.
Use red lip stain on the lips, focusing mostly on the center line/seam of the lips. Emphasize a wide cupid's bow rather than a tall one.

Wig cap & Pin Curls

Makeup

Wig pinned down

REFLECTION AND CRITIQUE

This project was an enjoyable lesson on doing research and replicating that research for a stage performance. The research and planning for the project took the longest, while the application itself only took about an hour. I chose an era with quite simple makeup, since it was meant to look natural, so it did not take long to apply, but there were some changes I would make looking back. In particular, I don't like how I did the lips. If I could do it again, I would have made sure to clean all the foundation off my natural lips before applying the lip stain so the color blended better. Additionally, I would have gone a bit heavier on the eyeshadow for the stage. Under the stage lights, my eyes stood out because of the mascara I wore, but there was not enough definition to really create the fashionable style of the 1880s. During application, there were a few steps I left out or forgot to do, such as concealing blemishes and using moisturizer to prime the face. The foundation did well enough at covering acne so I wasn't worried about that, but my products would have likely blended much better had I remembered to prime my face.

The hardest part of the wig was definitely brushing out the additional hair piece I used for the braid extension. It took an entire class period just to get it detangled, which cut into the time I had to style the wig. However, even with that setback, I love how the wig turned out. One of the things that was different to how I imagined it was the curled bangs: in the 1880s, they would have had tiny curls that looked almost like finger waves or the permed hair of the 1980s. We didn't have small enough curlers to give me the style I had hoped for, so the curls ended up a bit fuller than expected. If I redid the style, I would use something like plastic straws or dowels as a curler to create that very tiny ringlet. One of my favorite things from the period of time I chose was that there were fashion illustrations of hair tutorials that showed exactly how to do certain styles. I think my wig came out so nicely because I was able to directly replicate how they would have done the updo during that time.

Overall, I really enjoy how the look turned out and while there were some changes I would make if I did it all over again, it ended up looking quite close to how I pictured it in my head.

SCHEMATIC

PHOTO OF FINISHED PROJECT

Page updated

Google Sites

Report abuse