Visual Inspiration, Research + Practical Work ♡

Pat McGrath

On researching for inspiring makeup images for this project, Pat McGrath just kept cropping up. Her style so naturally leans toward the 20s and 30s and in so so many of her runway show looks, the blocked out brow has become her trademark. I think she is going to be a great starting point for 20s inspired influences, especially just to get the creative thinking flowing in regard to the never ending possibilities of this project. Despite Pat McGrath's work being so contemporary, there is always an underlining nostalgic feel to it, and I love that.

I have chosen these images to the left, as I feel they really have a stunningly 20s/30s feel to them and all so different. I particularly liked the bottom two looks, and they really stood out for me as reminiscent of Theda Bara, who after discussing in class I think is incredible. I'd like to focus more on her and try to recreate some styles in homage to eccentric lady herself.

I think that there is also a fine line between between Geisha and the 20s in terms of an editorial take on fashion, so this is something for me to bare in mind for my Party Monster project.

Exploration of makeup 

These images were from a practical makeup lesson, and I really enjoyed the freedom of experimenting with textures and products I wouldn't normal use. I enjoyed the medium of the stippling sponge and feel that it gave a really interesting effect, that could be related to a galaxy images, because of the colours chosen. I also found that the stippling sponge was a great way of building up colour and texture in a softer, gradual way as opposed to the roughness of a brush. 

The products that I used for this - 

 Kryolan Supra Colour - white, blue, black, gold. 

Kryolan Aqua Colour - red, light blue.

Stippling Sponge 

Here are a few images I found that reminded me of the look I created, by an artist Elise Crombez. These images are simply stunning, I love the freedom and colours used. There is a lot to be said for having a freer approach to makeup design, I feel really inspired but these images and want to try and take it further, possible for my contemporary character.

Here is another example of some playing around with texture, but this time I looked at the famous artist Otto Dix. I wanted to take elements of the painting, i.e; the colours and texture, and manipulate it in a slightly different way to make it more my own. If I were to do this again, I would have used a lot more product in areas and really worked into the skin to manipulate the features, such as the bags under the eyes a lot more. 

The products that I used for this - 

Kryolan Supra Colours - Mustard + White

Kryolan Water Colours - Grey, Black

I used a sponge to create a pale base of white, and then a large, square paintbrush to paint with.

Theda Bara 

Here is a piece of writing describing the life of Theda Bara, I'm going to highlight the particularly charming parts that I believe paint the most vivid picture. This information was taken from

http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/biography/Bara.html

Theda Bara was a Jewish American silent film and stage actress. Hollywood's first and most notorious Vixen, Theda Bara became synonymous with exoticism. She was alluring and unusual, a wide-eyed siren, a gold digger...and eternal Vamp. In fours years (1915 - 1919), Theda vamped her way through 39 films and millions of dollars for Fox Studios. The studio built her up with such a tremendous publicity campaign, that when they pulled the rug out from under her in 1919, her career fell so far, that she was unable to revive it. Pre-World War I's film-going audiences were presented with Foxs' version of their starlets mysterious and elusive upbringing by proclaiming she was born of an Italian artist and an Arabian princess and that her first name was an anagram spelling "death" and her last name spelled backwards was Arab. They claimed her mystique was the result of being born in the Sahara desert in the shadow of a sphinx. They further stated her mother left the family to become a well-known actress on the European stage and that Theda was brought up by her multitalented father. The story continued on that she was sent to Europe to be trained for the stage where she became a popular Parisian stage actress who played the most renowned theatres of the time. The general public ate it up and her agent's continued to create her persona as their "Serpent of the Nile".

In reality, she was born Theodosia Goodman in Cincinnati, OH on July 29, 1885. She was a blonde haired girl born of a Jewish tailor and a Swiss mother. Upon graduating from high school she followed her dreams of becoming an actresses. She dyed her hair black, adopted exotic makeup and a wardrobe to match. Her first stage performance was of a cast member for Molnar's The Devil, which opened in New York City on August 18, 1908. She continued to play the stage and in 1914, on making her usual round of casting calls, she met up with Frank Powell, a new film director for William Fox. He was so impressed by her potential he immediately cast her in his film, The Stain, but she was so far way in the background as an extra she was not recognizable. Powell, pleased with her ability to take direction, convinced Fox to let her star in his next film, A Fool There Was. Although Theda swore she would never play such an "unvirtuous and daring" role, it proved to be her lucky break. Although well known in theatrical circles for her high-strung ambition and fascination with spiritualism her abilities as an actress were never overly praised. Powell and Theda devised her new name Theda, a shortened version of Theodosia and Bara being extracted from the middle name of her Swiss grandfather, Francois Bar[r]anger de Coppet. Even before the release of A Fool There Was, Fox had his crackerjack publicists concoct an alluring past for their newest discovery. After all, they were paying her $150.00 a week and they wanted to make a good return on their investment. Fox did just that, and in doing so, created the first truly fabricated screen star.

A Fool There Was was a box office success, making Theda and instant star and paving a path for Fox's impressive new film company. Aside from "creating" this new starlet, Fox introduced a new stereotype to the burgeoning film industry...the Vamp(ire) woman, who mercilessly uses her feminine wiles to bring any man to subordination and impoverishment. Furthermore, besides making more follow-ups for his newest star, Fox hired second string vamps for less prestigious rehashes of the vamp formula. The final line of A Fool There Was is the stuff made of legends. Theda utters, "Kiss Me My Fool", while scattering rose petals over the body of her lifeless lover as to command him to wake from his eternal slumbers. Constantly being photographed with snakes, skulls, crystal balls and opulent anything, she epitomized a lavish evilness. She was described as "the wickedest face in the world, dark-brooding, beautiful and heartless."

Strings of vamp films would follow, although contrary to popular belief, she did not always play the wicked woman. Many of her roles featured her as a virtuous maiden, who had been wronged. At the height of her career in 1919, she was making films that cost $60,000 in production and she herself was earning over $4,000 dollars a week. However, the post World War I culture backlashed on the very themes they embraced before going to war and this upheaval into self-righteousness did not fare well on Theda's films. With dwindling box office receipts and wanting to break out of her vampish role, she demanded a raise of $5000.00 a week. Fox, unwillingly to catch a falling star, dropped her contract. Over the course of the next few years, Theda returned to the stage, where critics panned her. She married Charles Brabin in 1921 and she returned to California, so that he could direct films and she could live in retirement. In the mid 20's she attempted two more comebacks with Unchastened Woman and Madame Mystery, but neither would return her glory of years past. She attempted several more stage comebacks in the thirties and even wrote a book called What Women Never Tell, a memoir of her professional experiences, which to this day remains unpublished.

Here are some looks, heavily inspired by Theda Bara, in particular the first one. I have tried to create something with a 20s inspired look, but with a vampy and darker side.

face charts






what i did

face charts

what i did 

Exploration of Hair 

The 20/30s were an incredible distinctive time in Hair History. This is without a doubt my favourite hair era, because the styles were so chic and timeless. There was a look for whatever kind of girl you were, and all the styles were incredibly flattering on the face.

The 20/30s has recently made a huge return to the runways, in terms of elements of hair design and makeup artistry. Its an infectious period of time, as the hair was so romantic and feminine, even the incredible short Etop Crops, the way the perfectly framed the doll like painted faces.

Marcel Waves are my favourite 1920s hair style, they remind me of a mermaids hair when they're long, but I think they're the most beautiful when they're short.

I look forward to exploring the techniques in which these hairstyles would have been historically created, but also, to see if there are any ways in which I could recreate them today but give the same effect. 

Different types of typically 20s hair 

The Shingle Bob 

The shingle bob is a short hairstyle for women, introduced in 1924. Below a dome-shaped bob cut, the hair at the neck is razor cut very short in a v-shape. It is also commonly referred to as a "graduated bob."

The Marcel Wave

Marcelling is a hair technique in which hot curling tongs are used to induce a curl into the hair. Its appearance was similar to that of a finger wave, but made by a quite different means.

Marcelled hair was a popular style for women's hair in the 1920s, often in conjunction with a bob cut. One famous wearer was Josephine Baker. It is a popular hairstyle for African-American men. The foo-wop group the Marcels were named after the hairstyle.

The Finger Wave 

 A finger wave is a method of setting hair into waves (curls) that was popular in the 1920s and 1930s and in the late 1990s in North America and Europe. The process involves pinching the hair between the fingers and combing the hair in alternating directions to make a wave shape. A lotion was applied to the hair to help it retain its shape. According to "Techniques of the 1920s and 1930s":

The Eton Crop

It was named after the famous English school whose boys wore their hair slightly longer than was usual for the day. It was indeed sometimes termed the "boyish bob" 

The sleek outline was achieved by the application of brilliantine, which was an early type of hair gel.

The style was short lived. I imagine those who wore it were strong-willed and confident.

The Eton crop attracted much press comment and was often the subject of cartoons.

Experimenting

We began exploring the typical 1920s style bob, which can be created no matter how long or short the hair is.  I found this a really enjoyable exercise and the results were quick and effective. 

 We began by separating the hair into a slick side parting, then combing through and sectioning into 4 sections. Either side of the head, the top of the crown, and the middle section of the back of the head.




With the two front sections, we got the curling tongs and made barrel curls along either side, all the way down to the ears in rows.




Then on to the back section, I began back combing the bottom part of the sectioning, as big as possible. Then pinning up so it is all in a 'nest' type of style at the back of the head and secure.




With the last bit of sectioning, put into barrel curls and make sure the top it totally flat.



Start to take the pins out of the curls and run your fingers through all over, then brush through. Follow the natural ways in which the curls set, and pin in to place.


Take particular care with the front of the hair and try to make the curls frame the side of the face.

These are some of my final images, that I was actually really happy with. I found this quite a simple style and would definitely use it in the future, as I think the concept would be easy to adapt to different styles.