Eyebrows # Techfile

Equipments:

• Cleanser, toner, moisturizer
• A cape
• Cotton pads
• Illamasqua neutral eye shadow palette
• Brow gel # Transparent 
• Etude House Color my brows # light brown
• Kryolan concealer palette
• A brow brush
• An angle brush
• A fine brush

Directions:

Task 1: Listen to the models of what kind of brow shapes they want and apply their ideas on them. On below, I have done the task on three models.

1st model: Mihaela
Mihaela wants her brows to look angled and brushed.

Before

After

Mihaela was satisfied with the brows I've done on her and she likes the way how I considered matching her brows' color and the way I try to make her brows look balance as both side of her brows looks different.

2nd model: Lilianna
Lilianna wants her brows to look lighter color at the beginning and darker color at the end part to define a more arched eyebrows.

Before

After

Lilianna was happy about the brows I have done on her and she likes the way I've listened to what she wants me to do for her.

3rd model: Anna
Anna wants her brows to look natural and not too strong at the front of her brows. 

Before

 After

Anna was pleased with the brows I've done on her and she likes the way how I just filled in the gaps on the brows to remain the brows as natural as it could be which meets her expectation. 

Task 2: What kind of brows I recommend my models to have?

https://ladycodeblog.files.wordpress.com/2013/11/eyebrow-outline.jpg
The three points on the brow

On below, I have considered the three point rules of creating the perfect brow shape for my models (Begin brow, Point of Arch and the End brow).

1st model: Mihaela

2nd model: Lilianna

3rd model: Anna

Task 3: Spring/Summer Catwalk brows look
1st model: Mihaela

http://hbz.h-cdn.co/assets/15/44/hbz-ss2016-trends-jewelry-headbands-miu-miu-clpa-rs16-3905.jpg
Miu Miu 2016 Spring Catwalk Show

Miu Miu's 2016 Spring Catwalk features strong color brows at the beginning and light color at the end of the brows. It has created a gradient effect on the brows as you can see the brow colors getting lighter from the beginning till the end.

For Mihaela's brows, I have first brushed her brows with transparent brow gel. Then, I have mixed the color black and brown from the Illamasqua neutral eye shadow palette and fill in the beginning to the middle of the brows. After that, I have used a light brown color brow gel and apply it on the middle to the end of the brows to make the color of the brows look lighter in color. Finally, I have used the Stealth color from the Illamasqua neutral eye shadow palette to fill in the middle till the end of the eyebrows to create contrast and and gradient effects on the brows.

2nd model: Lilianna

http://martinisandmascara.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Jeremy-Scott-MAC-Wella.jpg
Jeremy Scott Spring 2016 Ready to Wear Catwalk at New York Fashion Week

For Jeremy Scott's Spring 2016 Catwalk show, the models featured brushed, angled and natural brows.

For Lilianna's brows, I have brushed her brows and fill in some of the gaps on her brows to finish the natural brow look.

3rd model: Anna

http://cosmouk.cdnds.net/15/39/nars-christopher-kane-ss16-beauty-select-1.jpg
Christopher Kane 2016 Spring 2016 Ready-to-wear Fashion Show

For Christopher Kane 2016 Spring Fashion Show, you can see the model has featured strong, thick brushed eyebrows and the bottom of the brows from the beginning to the middle has featured straight lines which makes the brows appeal angled.  

For Anna's brows, first, I have fill the brows with dark brown color. Then, I have used an angle brush and brow shadow to create a straight line at the bottom of the brows. To emphasis more the line at the bottom of the brows, I have used a brow pencil to draw a straight line from the beginning of the brow till the middle. After that, I have used a transparent brow gel to brush the brows up to finish the look.

Overall, I found it very interesting to work on different people's brows as they are different and you need to look at their brow shape and decide what brow shape is the most suitable for them. 

Adding Accessories To Hair - Shinyong Hairstyle # Techfile

Equipments:

• A hair bobble
• A paddle brush
• A tail comb
• A comb
• Hair grips
• Hair pins
• Hair accessories for decorations
• Hair spray

Directions:

1. First, divide the hair into front and back section. Front section end before the ears. Side parting is used for this hairstyle.
2. For the back section, tie a low ponytail with a hair bobble.
3. In order to make the hair stay in shape, I have backcomb the top part of the hair before bring the hair over and roll it. To make the hair easier to roll and bring it over the top, I have separated the hair from the ponytail into two parts and then roll the hair and bring it to the top and secure the shape with hair grips. Remember when rolling the hair, grab the middle part of the hair and then roll the hair and don't start rolling from the bottom part. After using the hair grips to secure the shape, use hair pins to tidy up the side of the hair which will then create a nice round shape at the back of the hair.
   
4. For the front section, you can twist the hair and bring it to the back or do braiding. During this lesson, I have used normal braid to complete the look. 
    
5. To tidy up the hair, I have spray some hairspray onto the hair and use the tail comb to tidy up.
6. Adding accessories- In this lesson, I have tried two different accessories on my model's hair.

Decorate with flowers:

 Decorate with necklace:

To improve next time, I can style the fringe at the front by creating a curve or wave which will make the look more elegant.

M.A.C. Models and How The Company Considers Cultures & Socially Conscious Initiatives

Model Choices-
As M.A.C's slogan is 'All Ages, All Races, All Sexes', the model choices for M.A.C's advertisement or editorial images not only just female models, but also male models as well. The company is well known worldwide and is an international brand and so the model choices range from different people from different cultures. Therefore, the editorial images or advertisements always consider models with different skin tones. 

http://www.allurabeauty.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/MAC-Red-Red-Red-Collection-Promo.jpg
M.A.C Red, Red, Red 2014 collection

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On below is an advertisement campaign of the body builder Jelana Abbou as the model for the collection 'Strength' in 2013. M.A.C is famous for pushing the boundaries of our perception on beauty ideals and there are few more examples how M.A.C show us this idea such as working with Dame Edna or Beth Ditto as the models and spokesperson.

https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--Lyf-ZJwo--/c_fill,fl_progressive,g_north,h_358,q_80,w_636/18ahgc9afelu8jpg.jpg
M.A.C Strength 2013 Collection

http://image.space.rakuten.co.jp/d/strg/ctrl/9/89e195ae5699f1c9a6bb80604
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M.A.C Brows Are It! Spring 2016 Collection

http://www.fashiongonerogue.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/mac-cosmetics-campaign-2015-03.jpg
M.A.C Is Beauty Spring Collection 2015

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M.A.C Hugs & Kisses Collection 2015

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M.A.C x Zac Posen Collaborations Collection 2015

For the age range of the models, I think they are normally around 18 - 28 years old. 
In 2015, M.A.C use social media to cast for models for their campaign 'MACnificent'. On below is what M.A.C has written on their website about their event.  
“Being MACnificent means being creative, being confident, having fun and most of all, being true to yourself. You already do it every day. Now MAC wants you to show the world what your MACnificent Me is made of.”

Why I think M.A.C consider socially conscious initiatives?
As I have mentioned on the previous post (refer to "Chosen brand for my project: M.A.C"), Viva Glam Collection was one of the fundraising initiatives created by the M.A.C HIV/AIDS organizations for charity purpose since 1994 and the reason why M.A.C set up this organisation is because the company wants the audience to be aware of the disease and the collection is used as a respond to the epidemic of the AIDS which was spread around the world at that time. This shows that the company consider socially conscious initiatives which means that they think and care about the customers.

http://www.urbanromanceonline.com/cms/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/MAC-Viva-Glam-2014-Rihanna.jpg
Rihanna is the spokesperson of Viva Glam in 2014

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Miley Cyrus as the spokesperson for Viva Glam in 2015

http://www.bet.com/news/fashion-and-beauty/2015/10/28/ariana-grande-gets-viva-glam-for-mac/_jcr_content/featuredMedia/newsitemimage.newsimage.dimg/102815-fashion-beauty-Ariana-Grande-Gets-Viva-Glam-for-MAC.jpg
Ariana Grande is the spokesperson for Viva Glam in 2016

From Viva Glam Collection, we can also see that M.A.C make collaborations with celebrities and they become the models and spokesperson for M.A.C to advertise their products. This helps to promote their products more effectively and engaged more audiences. On below are few examples from M.A.C's collections which collaborates with famous people. M.A.C not only collaborates with celebrities, but also designers and films as well.

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New York Fashion Designer Zac Posen

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British Shoe Designer Charlotte Olympia 

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M.A.C x Maleficent Limited Edition Collection in 2014

Cultures -

M.A.C’s Year of Monkey collection in 2016 is an example of how M.A.C considers other cultures by referencing them in their collections and on makeup design. I like the way M.A.C considers other people cultures because of how M.A.C try to engage and make connections to the consumers. The brand is international and this helps to attract more audiences worldwide. The make-up look from M.A.C Year of Monkey collection is inspired by the drama of Chinese Opera.

http://cdn2.milled.com/contents/2016-01-12/aNkPBc8D8PIW0lO8/WVeixcyLm3rd.jpg
M.A.C Year Of The Monkey Collection 2016

https://www.maccosmetics.com/collections-year-of-the-monkey
Products in the collection

Historical references:
M.A.C also considers historical references within their photo shoots (the makeup, hair and style for the models). But as a creative company and designers, a lot of the photo shoots has combined with new features, sometimes is a contemporary or a modern version of a historical style and sometimes it involves a classic look. 

http://www.fashiongonerogue.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/mac-cosmetics-campaign-2015-05.jpg
This photoshoot reminds me of the 60s and the 70s as the use of roller sets on the hair and volumize hairstyle. For the makeup look, it captures the 60s inspired eyeliner from Twiggy's as well. 

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b107/femenemopee/mac-cosmetics-contest.jpg

The image on above reminds me of the 40s Hollywood Glamour look, a very feminine and glamorous look. 

http://static.becomegorgeous.com/img/arts/2013/Apr/24/10483/
macallaboutorange2013collection.jpg

The photo on above reminds me of the 1960s as the blunt bob hairstyle and also the use of stripes at the background reminds me of the op art. The make-up look makes me think of the pop art as the use of bold strong colors. 

http://geniusbeauty.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/MAC-Holiday-2014-2015-Heirloom-Mix-Collection.jpg

The image on above reminds me of the Elizabethans reference as it looks very feminine and elegant. The use of white and pearls are important during the Elizabethans era. The forehead are shown which means wisdom during that era and the pink cheeks, pale skin and rouge lips are the beauty ideals and symbolise wealth during Elizabethans period. 

References:

• Cruz, M. (2014). MAC Cosmetics Uses Social Media To Cast New Faces For 2015 MACnificent Me Campaign. [Online]. Available at: http://www.plus-model-mag.com/2014/11/mac-cosmetics-uses-social-media-cast-new-faces-2015-macnificent-campaign/ [Assessed on 09/02/16]

M.A.C Product Ranges, Their Best Sellers & Top Rated Products

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M.A.C products ranges broadly and especially, they offer a variety of colors for their products, such as their foundation shades, lipsticks, eyeliners and eye shadows, etc. I like the way how M.A.C offer a variety color of foundation for consumers as there are just a few brands offer foundation for people who have darker skin tone and also sometimes, it is hard to find the right shades for themselves as well and by referring to this, M.A.C has considers customers needs. M.A.C do sell primer & skincare, makeup, brushes & tools and fragrance as well. From M.A.C's website, there is a page where they presents their bestsellers products. On the bestsellers page, you can see it has divided into five departments and they are most desired, online exclusives, top rated, just in and travel size. On below, I have screenshot the page from M.A.C's website to show what are the bestsellers products are.

Most Desired:

 Online Exclusives:

Top Rated:

Just In:

 Travel Size:

I like the way how M.A.C listed their bestsellers products out and divide into different section so people can refer to it more easily. The best sellers page helps to give consumers information about which product is popular for consumer to buy and it shows how people like the products refer to the amount they bought from the store.

References:

• M.A.C. [2016]. BESTSELLERS.[Online]. Available at: https://www.maccosmetics.co.uk/bestsellers [Assessed 08/02/2016]

Chosen brand for my project : M.A.C

For this project, our lecturer has provided a list of cosmetic brands which we need to choose from for the developments of this unit. On below is the list of brands.

• Illamasqua
• Bobbi Brown
• YSL
• Laura Mercier
• Dior
• Revlon
• Ellis Faas
• Chanel
• Tom Ford
• Shiseido
• Charlotte Tilbury
• Nars 
• Max Factor
• Lancome
• MAC 
• Givenchy

I found it quite hard to choose from the list as different brands have their own characteristics and for example: Ellis Faas's style of works feature innovative ideas, surrealism and distortion. You can see from her works, she pushes the boundaries of beauty and expand her creativity within aesthetics. Bobbi Brown's brand style aims at "The Secret to beauty is simple be who you are.". Bobbi wants to show the ideas of natural beauty and how she wants her cosmetics to make women more confident and prettier and feel like themselves within her brand concept. Different brands share different thoughts on aesthetics and after I have looked at all the brands style of works, I have finally decided which brand I want to develop my ideas for in this project. I have chosen M.A.C at the end as I personally like this brand because they share innovative ideas and they consider the customers' needs such as they provide a variety shades of foundation. Last year, I went to Ateh Jewel's talk and she has discussed that not a lot of companies consider dark shades foundation for people who have dark skin tones. This is one of the reason why I choose M.A.C because it considers what customers requirements and view from consumers side. M.A.C also features creative designs on their works and I like the way how they present beauty in different ways.  M.A.C logo is very iconic and it shows the black and white color contrast with the unique fonts which makes people easily recognised straight away their brand. The fonts on the logo is unique which shows their creativity and for me the color and the fonts used in here shows their chic style as well.

http://eu-vic-silverburn.s3.amazonaws.com/Live/ResizedImages/Logos/xhnuy4nzqs0/Gallery_Image/mac-cosmetics-logo.jpg
M.A.C Logo

About M.A.C -
M.A.C, also known as Make-up Art Cosmetics, is a well-known international cosmetic company. It was found by two Canadian whose names are Frank Toskan and Frank Angelo during 1984 at Toronto. Frank Toskan is a make-up artist and a photographer, while Frank Angelo is a salon owner. The reason why they set up M.A.C is because in the past, there were lack of colors which would shoot well with photography and they wanted to make improvements with this by developing a cosmetics line. At the beginning, they cooked up the cosmetics in their kitchen and sold them from the hair salon. Their customers are photographers, make-up artists, stylists, etc. After that, their companies has become more popular and during March 1984, they have officially launched their cosmetics line in a department store as a single counter in Toronto. 
M.A.C interacts with customers as it offers a wide range of products and they didn't do any sales, samplings and gifts promotions after purchasing their products as they share the idea of their integrity on their products. The store is staffed with professional make-up artist and it is the first cosmetic brand to provide education and training for the staff.

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M.A.C products packaging

Their products feature black color and chic style and I like how M.A.C have their own style which makes the customers memorable and easily recognised their brand. The brand features glamorous and stylish style and consider the movements of the trends. M.A.C establish itself as the ultimate color authority and this is one of the reason I like the brand as it offers the consumers a wide range of colors of eye shadows, lipsticks, blushes, etc and through their photoshoots, you can see how the company uses colors to express their creativity throughout their works. On M.A.C 's website, it has stated that M.A.C is "A MAKEUP BRAND DEFINED BY APPRECIATION OF INDIVIDUALITY, ARTISTRY AND SELF EXPRESSION". 

M.A.C supports animal-free testing and is owned by The Estee Lauder Companies. During 1995, The Estee Lauder Companies purchased a percentage of M.A.C which makes the brand become popular not only in Canada by also global as well. It also builds the pathway for M.A.C to start working at the backstage of international fashion collections. In 1998, The Estee Lauder purchased the rest of the percentages of the company and John Demsey has become the president of M.A.C. The company has expanded and become more successful under his leadership. He leads the company to become more successful by allowing M.A.C participate at global film festivals and also by supporting M.A.C AIDS Fund which bring sponsorship of pop music concert tours for M.A.C Viva Glam spokespeople for instance, Missy Elliott. M.A.C Viva Glam was one of the fundraising initiatives created by the M.A.C HIV/AIDS organizations for charity purpose in 1994 and the purpose why M.A.C created this organisation is to respond to the epidemic of the AIDS which was spread around the world and ask people to be aware of AIDS. 

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Miley Cyrus 

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Lady Gaga

https://klarabezha.files.wordpress.com/2015/10/ariana-grande-nouvelle-egerie-viva-glam-de-m-a-c.jpg?w=433&h=558
Ariana Grande
Ariana Grande is the latest spokesperson for the 2016 M.A.C Viva Glam

M.A.C Viva Glam lipstick is produced to help raising money, ask people to confront and let people to be aware of HIV/AIDS. During that time, fashion makeup communities were also affected by the pandemic and it was stigmatised as a gay disease. The lipstick features red colors and it was explained to show the audience around the world that " the bullet in passionate red that was the shot heard around the world" (M.A.C AIDS FUND, no date). Viva Glam refers to M.A.C's mantra, "all ages, all races and all sexes" and the idea of Viva Glam also shows how M.A.C is an outspoken company and is used to celebrate life. M.A.C chooses Viva Glam spokespeople who are "provocative, alternative and influential and reflect diverse communities. They are heroes we look up to for their personal triumphs; people who have invented themselves and people who created movements." (M.A.C AIDS FUND, no date). 

John Demsey also collaborates with many celebrities for example, Catherine Deneuve, Liza Minnelli, etc to show the audiences the idea of being a beauty icon in the make-up industry. Nowadays, the company is so popular around the world and has made a huge influence in the cosmetic industry. Social Media is one of the biggest influence which allows audiences from around the world know the brand and attract more consumers. My hometown is in Macau and where I live, there are at least one or two M.A.C stores and it shows the popularity of the brand and also how the company was recognised by the globe. 

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References:

• M.A.C. [2016]. OUR HISTORY.[Online]. Available at: http://www.maccosmetics.jobs/mac/our-history.html [Assessed 07/02/2016]
• M.A.C AIDS FUND. [no date]. CAMPAIGN HISTORY.[Online]. Available at: http://www.macaidsfund.org/theglam/campaignhistory [Assessed 07/02/2016]