Taylor practising my design - Week 6

We haven't got much time today to practice my full design because It took me long to practice her design. We didn't finish curling the hair and adding the extensions, even if we remained in the studio after the lesson about 1 hour and a half. But assuming that she has three weeks until her hair assessment, that's perfectly fine.

Taylor's first attempt was pretty good. I could see that she's struggling to do the best, and I really appreciated this. That means that she is motivated to practice and improve her skills to do a masterpiece. I didn't expect to look perfect from the first attempt because we haven't got the proper accessories needed to create it and neither the time. And, as I said in a previous post, this design in not one of the easiest. I really like how she modeled the plaits at the back and that she is really ambitious and willing to try several times to do something perfect.

The hair rat wasn't the good size. I have to make my own hair rat.

I think that we'll have to add extensions to cover the hair rat better, because my hair is really thin and there are patches of the hair rat showing. 

Practicing Taylor's design - Week 6

After Helen's lesson we exchanged our designs and to achieve the final hairstyle and we discussed them. We also wrote consultation notes, because we found this very important in order to maintain health and safety. We decided that I will go first in the assessments, which meant that I only had 2 weeks to practice the hair and the make-up designs that Taylor gave me. I thought that it's better to start practising today and it was a good idea because I realised that I still needed to improve my plaiting skills and my hair skills in general.
At the beginning, I didn't even know how to start, but Taylor's instructions helped me. After I've sectioned the hair, I tried to simple french plait, but it didn't work, because we couldn't achieve the volume wanted, to create something like a "crown effect" from those braids.
Another failed attepmt to give volume to the plaits from the front was to try the rick-racking technique. It worked to add volume indeed, but when I plaited it it just looked messy and we didn't like this finish either.
After failing these braids, I tried to crimp the braid that wasn't frizzed, to achieve volume just like in my design. This worked and it gave us a wonderful effect. To finish the french plait, I just plaited in in a simple three strand braid and rolled it above the ears, covering the rest of the hair, in something like a snail shell.
After finishing the braids, I've just crimped the whole hair in sections and backcombed a bit at the roots to give more volume.
I have to bear in mind that next time when I practise Taylor's design, to crimp the whole head first, to save time.

Here are Taylor's consultation notes:

Here is Taylor's design:

Step by step pictures:

First attempt to plait. Failed the "volume test".

Second attempt to plait. Rick-racking technique. Failed the "looks pretty test".

Third attempt to plait and "the chosen one". Crimping technique.

Another photo with the final result. Love it!

Although I love how it looked like in the end, I still feel like it needs more improvement, but that will come with practice.

FINAL hair design - Idea 3

I must say that this is my final final final hair design, and I want to bring this one to my partner. I feel like this is the best of all and that incorporates almost all the techniques learnt in this semester (padding, crimping, backcombing, plaiting) and requires a little extra - adding hair extensions.
I have explained in the first post about the first hair design that for this Elizabethan inspired design I want lots of volume, many techniques and something to stand out, something dramatic, to suit the make-up design aswell.
 I don't really know if I'm going to do the same hairstyle when having the make-up assessment, because the make-up one starts at 9.00 AM and the studio isn't open before, but I'll try to do something similar by myself, at home, even if I'm really the worst person at doing my own hair.
I realise that this is a complicated hairstyle and it requires lots of practice and patience, but I am confident that Taylor can do it. Maybe I wouldn't choose such a difficult one if I didn't think that she can do it, but I find her really talented and I think that this challenge will help her a lot. I refer to this last hairstyle as a challenge because if I were to do it at the assessment, it would be a challenge for me too.
For this design I'll keep the rounded front and the plaits on the sides, but I'll replace the crimped fluffy rest of the hair with big, voluminous curls.
My hair is not either thick or long, and it's really hard to give volume to it if you don't crimp or backcomb. Because of my thin hair, I am going to add a hair rat in the front. No matter how much it will be backcombed it will never be the shape and the height I want without a bit of help. To add lenght, I will add hair extension in the back section, because I really want long and voluminous curls, and I know that when you curl the hair you loose lenght, despite of how long is your hair.

Here are the images that inspired me the most:


Historical:

1606 - Painting by Robert Peake the Elder (British, active by 1576, died 1619)

 of Princess Elizabeth (1596–1662), Later Queen of Bohemia

Love the big, round shaped hair of this lady.

Isaac Oliver, Queen Elizabeth I, The Rainbow Portrait, 1600

I find this portrait of Elizabeth really inspirational because of the loose curled hair that she had. Sleek, round shaped front, loose curled hair at the back, this is what I want.

Modern:

The front part could be just as big as it is in the above photo, or maybe bigger.

I want the crimped plaits to have volume and to meet in the back, more precisely, in the middle part of the section.

I want my final design to look similar to this bautiful bridal hairstyle, but without those hairs that seem to "hold" the little crown and with crimped plaites on the sides.

So, to recap:

Front - padded, sleek, round shaped hair in the front section. Big, with hair rat added.
Sides - crimped french plaits. Voluminous.
Back, the rest of the hair - curled hair. Big curls, hair extensions added.


My final facecharts:

Step by step to achieve the hairstyle:

KEY

Bold - instructions

Text – additional information

1)      To begin with brush through all of the hair and check for any abmnormalities;

2)      Section the hair in three pieces:

•         front - which should have a medium density, so you will be able to plait a small French plait, backcomb and cover the hair rat;
•         middle - which should have a reduced density, but still enough hair so you could crimp and plait to obtain a voluminous effect;
•              back - which should have a high density, so you can hide the hair extensions through it;

3)      Pin the other pieces of hair leaving the back section, so you can clearly work at it;

4)      Start backcombing the back section, where you want to add the hair extensions and then place them as close to the roots as possible, so their clips will be completely hidden;

5)      Brush the back section so the extensions and the natural hair mix together;

6)      Curl the back section, using a large curling iron. After you curl a piece of hair, pin it and add hair spray on it so the resulted curls will be voluminous but tight. Leave the curls pinned until you finish doing the front and the middle sections, and unpin them afterwards;

7)      Start working on the front section. French plait at the root and then backcomb a little so you’ll be able to hide and fix the hair rat into the hair. To hide and fix the hair rat, simply roll the backcombed hair on it, until it reaches the French plait, and then fix it inserting pins into it and into the French plait. For this design the front should be really high, round shaped and sleek;

8)      After you have finished the front, start working at the middle section. Crimp the whole middle section of hair using a medium sized crimper (you are allowed to do this before the timed assessment if you wish to) and then French plait away both sides starting from the ears, until they meet in the middle of the head. Clamp both plaits in the middle with a hair elastic and then curl the hair ends using the same curling iron that you have used for the curls;

9)      Once the front and the middle sections are ready, unpin each curl and slightly brush them with your fingers or with a comb, but be careful not to untighten them too much;

10)  Add self adhesive gems into the crimped French plaits that you have created and spray the whole hair, retouching what needs to be retouched and then the hairstyle is complete.

Final hair design - Idea 2

I really liked the first design idea and I didn't want to change it completely. I mean, more like in terms of structure, like sectioning etc. But instead of the heart-shaped front I have opted for a round one because I liked this more and I thought that it will be less time consuming. I have also added crimped french plaits on the sides of the design because I felt like I didn't incorporate so many techniques that we've learnt in the first design and it looked better.

Here are some images that I found inspirational for my look:


Historical:

Another version of the Armada Portrait attributed to George Gower, c.1588

Queen Elizabeth I (1533–1603), English School, circa 1592. A half-length portrait of the Queen wearing a richly embroidered and jewelled dress with elaborate lace ruff and collar. She has a 'moon-jewel' in her hair. The painting is possibly derived from Isaac Oliver's miniature of the ageing Queen.

You can clearly see the round-shaped curly or crimped hair that the Queen has in those portraits. I would love how it will look with a sleek texture and crimped french plaits on the sides.

1606 - Painting by Robert Peake the Elder (British, active by 1576, died 1619)

 of Princess Elizabeth (1596–1662), Later Queen of Bohemia

There were also other important figures that adopted this round big, round shaped hair in the front. The best example is the latest portrait, the one with the Queen of Bohemia, which seemed to have really big, round shaped hair in the front, but with a sleek texture instead of a curled one. 

Modern:

Elizabethan inspired round-shaped hair.

Imagine these crimped braids on the sides with that sleek round shaped hair in the front and the crimped fluffly rest of the hair. Lovely!

My hairchart:

Final hair design - Idea 1

My first idea for my design was to create something big, really voluminous, both in the front and in the back. My final make-up design is something dramatic, something that stands out, and it's Lettice Knollys's modern adaptation so I supposed that she wanted to copy the queen in terms of styling her hair, doing her make-up etc, because she wanted to be like her. I also wanted two kinds of textures in my design, or maybe three, and to incorporate majority of the techniques that we have learnt in the class.
I decided that a big, heart-shaped and sleek front part will suit my preferences, but I didn't know, at first, what to do with the rest of the hair, because it was clear for me that I want to section it so I can add as much textures as I could.
After some more research, I have opted to leave the rest of the hair straight and crimped, and just a little bit fluffed out to add more volume at the roots.

Here are some images that I found inspirational for my look:


Historical:

Elizabeth I (Armada Portrait).

1592 Queen Elizabeth I 1533-1603 with a Fan, Unknown Artist

The beauty of Queen's Elizabeth heart-shaped hair cannot be forgotten. This inspires me for my design. Replacing the curly texture with a sleek one will make it more contemporary.

Lettice Knollys as Countess of Leicester, c. 1585 by George Gower

And it seems like Lettice was keeping up with the Queen's hairstyles. Was she really trying that hard to steal Robert Dudley's heart by looking like the love of his life, the Queen, or was just keeping up with the latest trends? Perhaps we'll never know. But she certainly looked wonderful, just as Elizabeth. In the end, it's her cousin!

Modern:

This photo it's exactly how I want my design to look in the front. And it's extremely beautiful!

And with the rest of her hair looking like that, I think that it will look amazing.

My hairchart:

Modern Elizabethan hairstyle - Week 5

For this design, again, I didn't draw the hairchart before. I was confident enough that for the modern hair task I will be inspired on the moment. But I've been so wrong, because I feel like I actually was so uninspired. In the end, I kinda liked the overall result, but I can't say that I was completely satisfied about it because I think that it somehow lost it's Elizabethan feel. I think that it turned up to be more like Geisha style rather than Elizabethan which is not what I desired. But as Sharon said at the beginning of this semester: "failure is a part of success". I wouldn't say that is a failure, but it's not what I really wanted and that's because I didn't design a haichart before so I can actually know exactly what I want to do. Now I really understand the importance of planning the designs and doing the haircharts. At least I've learned from my mistakes and in the future I'll know exactly what and why I have to plan ahead properly, rather than relying on the moment's inspiration. 

I have to start managing my time and priorities better, and to stop complaining in my head that I am unefficient sometimes just because I moved into another country. It is hard indeed, all these changes, from the school system to the way people are thinking (talking, eating, working, doing whatever), being away from my family and friends, sometimes get me so confused. But I have to be strong and face those so I can become better.

If I were to do this hairstyle again, I think I would add more texture and more volume to the hair. Maybe some crimping in the front and some curls at the back... but certainly I'd draw haircharts for it so I can be fully prepared.

Steps for creating this look:

1. Section the hair in 4 pieces. Leave the back pieces unpinned;
2. Add padding in two of the sections: the second and the third (you can know which is which if you count from the front to back). To make the hair rats more stable and to add volume, backcomb the hair and then roll it on the hair rat. Try to achieve a nice, round shape;
3. Style the front piece of hair in some sort of visor, just so the hair doesn't cover the forehead;
4. Section again the last piece of hair, the fourth one, in 4 sections. French plait the two sections in the middle and then roll the ones on the sides between the padded sections, so you can finish the look;
5. Pin everything that was not pinned before and add hairspray to set the hairstyle.

Thank you, lovely Lia, for being my gorgeous model. 

After the session I've drawn the design, just in case I'll need it in the future:

Historical Elizabethan hairstyle - Week 4

Today was a big day for me because it was the first time when I got to work on a real person's hair rather than on Kate head. My model was Fatima, who was brave enough to let me do her hair, even if I have warned her that it's my first time. Our theme was recreating an Elizabethan hairstyle using the techniques we have learnt last week (padding, frizzing, curling, backcombing etc).

 I wasn't so conscientious and I didn't do my design at home (I wanted to be but I had so much work to do this weekend) but I have improvised something considering Fatima's beautiful, long hair and that's what happened:

I am pretty pleased by my last-minute design, except the fact that I should have covered the holes I have created in her hair with something. I actually wanted to do so but I haven't got any idea of how could I do this so I just left it like that. 

Working on person felt quite uncomfortable at the beginning, but as I got used to it, it felt way better than I expected. I was surprised that, even if I'm a slow person, I have finished everything in just about 1 hour... maybe that's because I was really inspired by the pictures and portraits I have researched so far.

Our tutor, Helen, told me that she hasn't seen so many Elizabethan portraits where the sitter had plaits on the edges and this looks more modern than classic and that the hair color of the model helps me to achieve this look, but that's also fine and I shouldn't worry.

I think that next time I'll try to change a bit my design or draw it at home so I'll avoid any mistakes that can appear because I didn't think properly about the construction of the look.
Overall, everything went good today, even if I couldn't attend Sharon's seminar. In the morning I was feeling really bad because I have worked all the weekend and I couldn't get out of bed... I was upsed that I didn't attend even if I wanted to, but I will ask my colleagues and I hope I will catch up.

When I got home after the session I drew the historical design, so my work could be complete.