My 3 Final Face Chart Designs and Experimentation

This was the first design I created. It is a very pale face, with quite strong contouring. The eyes are left very neutral, and matte, with a cat eye style flick of black liner on the top lashline, for a more contemporary feel. I chose the dark berry lip, as I wanted a more modern twist on the red the Elizabethans wore. 

To create this look:

-I started off my priming my eyelids with MAC's Eye Paint in 'Bare Canvas.'

-Next I applied the eyeshadow 'Naked' from the Urban Decay Naked palette, all over my eyelid.

-I then took the colour 'Buck' from the same palette and blended it through my socket line to contour and define the eye.

-I then used my 'Extreme 24 hour felt tip liner' by Collection and drew on my eyeliner. 

-I finished off the eyes with 2 coats of black 'Mega Plush' mascara by Maybelline.

-For the base, I used Studio Fix Fluid from MAC in NC15- two shades lighter than my normal NC25. I wanted to see the look I would get using a paler foundation in my normal warm tones rather than the white Illamasqua foundation.

-I then powdered my skin with the HD Studio Finishing powder by NYX.

-For my eyebrows, I used the Brow Tech kit from Smashbox in 'Dark Brown' to define my brows.

-To contour my face, I used 'Omega' eyeshadow by MAC, on a small contour brush and I contoured my cheekbones, forehead and jawline.

-I then applied 'Tenderling' blusher by MAC, as it is a very soft rose colour and does not add too much colour, but helps to lift the skin a bit.

-To finish off, I applied the lipstick 'Vamp' by Sleek.

Although I liked the simplicity of this design, once it was applied, I felt it looked a little too contemporary, and I don't think you could tell it was inspired by the Elizabethans. Also, once I photographed the look, the foundation did not look as pale as it did in real life, although I'm not sure if that was to do with the lighting at the time.

The next design I created was slightly more dramatic. I kept the pale face and strong contouring as before, as I really liked those elements for my final look. I decided to go with different eyes however, using lighter gold colours on the eyes, a black liner all around the eye, finished off with some bold false eyelashes, inspired by a picture I'd seen on Instagram by one of my favourite makeup artists Asa Karlsten.

I wanted to keep the lips a dark berry colour to stick with my contemporary colour idea, but I wanted to apply the liptick in a heart shape for a very Elizabethan feel.  

To create this look:

-I primed my eyelids using MAC's Eye Paint in Bare Canvas.

-I then applied 'Woodwinked' by MAC, all over the eyelid

-Next I took 'Half-baked' from the Naked palette and blended it into the inner corner.

-I then used 'Charcoal Brown' by MAC, and blended it very softly through the socket line just to contour the eye a bit more.

-For the black eye line, I wanted to keep it quite soft, so I used 'Carbon' eyeshadow from MAC- a matte black colour- on a small angled brush and just drew it along my top and bottom lashline. 

- I added 2 coats of Mega Plush mascara to my lashes.

-I then applied my base. I used my NC15 Studio Fix Fluid again, as I did not have the Illamasqua foundation, and my NYX HD powder.

-I contoured my face again using the same 'Omega' eyeshadow. 

-Again, I wanted to keep my cheeks quite neutral, so I used 'Tenderling' blusher again.

-For the lips, I used the same 'Vamp' lipstick by Sleek, and using a round, domed shadow brush, I literally patted the lipstick on to create a more diffused 'sponged' look. I used my ring finger to blend the edges slightly, and then added more product to the centre. 

-I then applied the false lashes. These were a pair I happened to pick up in Poundland, and do not have a name. It was a pack of 2 pairs of lashes, so I applied a pair to the top and bottom lashes.

I really liked the finished look of this design. I though the eyelashed gave it a really nice modern feel with an almost doll like feel, and reminded me of a look I created a couple of years ago for a friends photoshoot, which was doll inspired, but looking back now, looks very Elizabethan as well!

This was my third and final design. I wanted to go a little bit more extreme on the eyes, but in a softer way. I decided to use bright, shimmery gold colours as I love the almost liquid metal texture it creates. The face was kept pale, and I used a bright red blusher on the cheeks and a bright orangey-red lipstick for a contemporary feel. 

To create this look:

-I started off by applying my base first, as I would need to blend the eyes out quite a lot. I used the Illamasqua Rich Liquid Foundation in 100, mixed with my MAC Studio Fix in NC25.

-I then powdered my face with my NYX HD powder, but avoided my cheeks, as I would be adding a cream blusher. 

-On a large, fluffy eyeshadow brush I toomy my 'Melon' pigment from MAC, and started blending the colour all over my lid using circular motions. I blended it right up to the brow bone, and on the inner corners of my eye towards the sides of my nose. I kept adding more pigment until I was happy with the intensity of the colour. I then took the colour underneath my eye and blended it right out towards the tops of my cheek bones.

-Next, I applied 'Libido' cream blusher by Illamasqua onto the apples of my cheeks and blended upwards.

-I then took more of the 'Melon' pigment on a large brush and used it as a highlighter over the top of my cheekbones and apples, to continue the liquid metal feel.

-For my lips, I chose 'Lady Danger' by Mac. This is a matte, orangey-red and I thought it would give the perfect contemporary twist to the dark red Elizabethan lip.

I really love this look, as I think it is very clearly Elizabethan, but the gold eyeshadow and bright lip really give it a more contemporary feel. I also love the texture of the gold shadow, and the way it makes the skin look really soft and dewy, contrasted with the bold, matte lip.

I think I'd like to choose this as my final design, but I may add some elements from the previous look, such as using the eyelashes with this look.