Peer Assessment

Initially, I thought that working with a partner was going to be hard, as explaining a make-up look to someone can be difficult as people always interpret things differently. When explaining my look to Alex and her practicing it, it was not exactly what I wanted or had thought my final look would look like even though I had explained it to Alex. I knew that practicing was going to be the best option as I could experiment with products and see what works best. 

Alex was understanding and listened to any advice I gave her about my work and she was helpful in coming up with ideas and the best way to use the products. When practicing with her, I saw areas that I wanted her to improve on and gave her tips and asked her politely to change it. For example, she had not blended the colour around the cheeks or the forehead as much as I would have liked her too, therefore I said next time we practice can we change it. Alex's strong points were her accuracy and her time keeping. I had a heart shape around the forehead and down the cheeks and she was able to do this free-hand with a brush. Working with Alex helped me to improve my communication skills and helped to me to understand how the industry works when you are given a brief from a client that you need to complete. I found that Alex's instructions were easy to go by and helped me to accomplish her design quickly. 

I found that my design was complex and took more time to complete, therefore I was impressed at how Alex worked. The practicing definitely helped as at the beginning Alex was finding it hard. Throughout the unit, me and Alex stayed in communication over social media and came into practice in our own time. I enjoyed the unit and working with her made the process easier. I have become better friends with Alex and would happily work with her again. 

Technical Folder Sign Off Sheet

Final Evaluation

Similarly to hair, I have had no previous make-up experience before starting the course, except experimenting with my friends' make-up. I was excited to learn the basics and develop the skills I already had and begin designing my own ideas. Researching and coming up with a range of ideas was something I was used to from studying art last year. 

My communication skills have developed through working with my partner as I initially found it difficult to explain my idea to them. I found making an instruction list with a step by step guide helpful, as my partner always had something to go by. My research skills have also improved as I wanted to find a range of artists work and design ideas that could help me in creating my ideas. I found using Pinterest and Instagram to be really useful as a range of photos were always accessible. When developing my research I found completing my favourite design on myself helpful as I could see what products worked and what ideas work best before handing my partner my favoured design. 

I really enjoyed working with Alex and her design, as it was simple and was something I felt confident in achieving. Through practicing and asking her questions about her design, the process was a lot easier as I was able to understand what she wanted and she was able to make any changes.  To begin with, I found working to the brief harder due to my designs being too contemporary and the Elizabethan inspiration was lost. I tried to focus on looking at Elizabethan portraiture and symbolism in colours for inspiration. Between me and Alex there were not that many problems we had to overcome. We tried out different techniques and products to see which worked best. Alex also had to focus on timings as my design was complex and featured sections that were detailed. If I were to complete the unit again, I would look at practicing both mine and my partners design again to ensure they were perfect. 

ASSESSMENT - Designer - Me, Make-up Artist-Alex

For this assessment Alex completed my Elizabethan inspired make-up design and created something that represented my Lady in waiting and my final design. 

For the assessment she had prepared her station and I gave her my designs and images of practice sessions. We had practiced my design in preparation for the final assessment and Alex felt confident of completing my design. Features of my make-up are complex therefore through practicing she was able to improve on her techniques and complete it to my desire and to her highest ability. During the assessment Alex was a lot more precise with each section of my design and just completed it within the time. My design featured a heart shape around the eyes and down the cheeks. Thankfully, Alex had a very steady hand and was able to create an accurate and symmetrical shape. I wanted the outside of the heart to be outlined with a pink blush and then blended upwards. Alex did this perfectly and was the best she had ever completed it. I feel like the colour was the right shade and worked perfectly around the heart and on the face. The only criticism I had of my make up look was that I would have liked the white on the eyelashes to be more visible. They are not that visible in the photographs. Alex was worried about getting the white on the eyeshadow. If there would have been time left after I would possibly have asked her to curl my eyelashes however when designing my final look I knew my eyelashes were long anyway so did not think this was needed. The jewels that I had on my face were small in size and therefore were tricky for Alex to apply quickly. She used tweezers to hold them, however they kept slipping through. As she applied more it became easier for her to apply. Originally, I wanted them around the whole of the heart, however due to the time limit I change it to just the top. Overall, I was really pleased with my final design and the way in which Alex had completed it as my make-up artist. 

Alex was very professional and worked well under the timed conditions. As my design featured many complex parts she worked well to complete these to a good standard. She was always asking me questions and helping me to improve my design and giving me her own ideas about the best way to complete the look. I found this extremely helpful and felt we both worked well together as partners. 

My design featured jewel adornments on the face that Alex had to apply around the heart. I bought a set of these which featured a range of different sizes. The biggest size worked best for my design and would be easiest for Alex to apply. When we first practiced Alex did not have any tweezers so she had to use her fingers. This was extremely hard to apply the glue and then place on the face, therefore we knew that she had to use tweezers. During the assessment applying the jewels was a lot easier. Through practicing my design, me and Alex worked together to find the best products to use and overcame any problems. For the white on and around the eyes we used the supra colour and then used a flat brush to blend in with with base. Alex had the idea to use a white eyeshadow to blend the white base. This worked so much better and the look as a whole improved and looked more professional. The rest of the products I had originally planned to use worked perfectly so nothing else had to be changed. I found explaining the make-up to my partner quite hard as they can only go by what you tell them and your design. Practicing the design definitely helped as I did not want to come across as bossy towards Alex. Having her asking me lots of questions also helped as I knew that she wanted to perfect the design for me and to complete it to a standard that she was happy with. I have really enjoyed designing a range of different make-up looks and portraying them through a lady in waiting. I think it works perfectly with my characters story and background. I tried to focus the interpretation of her through colour. I am pleased with my final design but if I had to change anything about it I would look at featuring more gold through the design as I think it would have complemented the pink perfectly.  

ASSESSMENT- Designer - Alex, Make-up Artist, Me

For this assessment, I was the make-up artist for Alex's Elizabethan inspired make-up. I completed this in the time given and photographed the final look showing different angles. Overall, I am really pleased with the final outcome and how I accomplished it. I feel like this was to the best of my ability and took into account all the new techniques we had learnt over the past few weeks.

In preparation for the assessment I practiced Alex's design and found it simple and easy to do. There were no complex sections to it other than the eyes but I felt confident that I could achieve the look Alex desired. Before the assessment I was feeling confident in my ability to complete her design. I arrived at the studio fifteen minutes before we were scheduled to start to set up my station with all the products needed. We were told to prepare our clients skin and then wait to begin. Unfortunately Alex was late to the assessment so I was behind from the start. I kept calm and acted professionally as it was not my fault that she was not there. She arrived and I worked quickly and efficiently in preparing her skin for the make-up. Sue had said to me that I would be marked on what I could do in the time I had left, however I was determined to finish her design to a high standard. I managed to complete this which I was very pleased with. Alex had also forgotten her design however, I could remember it through the practice we had done. The eyes were the section that I wanted to put the most time and effort into as they were the main feature of her design. I wetted down the eyeshadow and applied over 3/4 of the lid leaving out the inner corner. Around the edges I used a smaller brush to be more precise and use an angled brush to create the line down the nose. I used small lines to create the outline so that there was less chance of it going wrong. I was really pleased with how it looked and made sure that each eye was the same. Using a blending brush I added the same colour on the outside and blended upwards. I kept looking in the mirror to see if the angle needed changing or whether more product needed applying to blend the two different consistencies of eyeshadow. The final outcome came out really well and I'm really pleased with it.  

Alex's design was very simple and easy to complete. The simplicity of the face made the eyes stand out which is what Alex wanted to achieve. Due to this I made sure that eyes were perfect and precise. I enjoyed working on this design and as a make-up artist to Alex. Whenever I asked her questions about her design she gave my helpful advice and guidance as to what she wanted. I found communication with the designer to be a key factor.  Alex was great to work with and made my job as the make-up artist easier. 

Her design did not feature any other materials on the face such as adornments. I therefore did not have to think about incorporating this into my time and could focus on the make-up. The only thing she changed about her design was the eyes. Initially she wanted the eyes to be red and black. Sue told us about applying water to the eyeshadow to change the consistency and make it more into a paste. Alex decided to try this and really liked the look. I had to make sure it was dry before she opened her eyes otherwise it started to crease on the lid. She asked me to feather out the edges so the lines were not as harsh. She then wanted to add the eyeshadow in its normal consistency to the outside to create a blended look. I completed this on Alex and she decided to change her original idea to this. Practicing therefore allowed me to see what Alex liked and for her to change her ideas to something she preferred. Other than this we did not have to overcome any other problems with her design. Working with Alex as a designer made the process easier for me as she was approachable if I needed to ask any questions about her design. She listened to me if I had any advice for her as well which I found rewarding. Overall the process of being the make-up artist for Alex's design was really enjoyable. I was able to have a slight insight into the industry and what it's like to be a make-up artist. I have learnt that you always have to be professional no matter what as it will give you a good name in the industry.