Overall, I have really enjoyed the beauty and the brand project, as it was very different from any previous projects that we have done before and challenged me to pay more attention to detail when creating my hair and make-up looks. I particularly enjoyed researching my brand and the type of advertisements that they create, and creating my looks using them as inspiration. I also found it interesting comparing Urban Decay's advertisements to other brands of the same variety such as MAC and Benefit, as they all differ so much in their branding approach.
I have learnt a lot of new techniques throughout this project and feel as though I have developed my skills and grown in confidence as both a hair and makeup artist. This is because it was a beauty project, so the makeup and hair had to appear as perfect and flawless as possible, leaving little room for error, so I had to pay great attention to the skin in particular, not forgetting the eyes, lips and eyebrows. This was challenging at first, as in other more character based projects there was more room for little mistakes, but in this unit I had to make sure that I had completed every part of the makeup to the finest detail.
As part of the unit, we travelled to London to have a demonstration in the Urban Decay store, which really helped in my understanding of the brand, its ethos and its most popular products. I also happened to win a competition over the Easter break in which I got to have my makeup done for free by one of the Urban Decay MUA's back at the Covent Garden store, which was a great opportunity for me to ask any questions about the brand, and also another great chance for me to see how the Urban Decay makeup artists create a typical Urban Decay style look.
Throughout this project I really enjoyed creating looks in the style of Urban Decay and putting my own spin on the looks whilst using their products. I also enjoyed using a wide variety of models for my looks as it was interesting to work on so many different faces giving each look its own unique outcome. The hair was also a fun part of the project, creating both messy and sleek looks with a lot of plaiting, in order to compliment the makeup.
I feel that the most successful part of my project has been the actual shoots themselves, in particular the evening style look, as the model looks like the 'typical' Urban Decay model with the dark hair and thick brows, and I feel the hair, makeup and setting of the shoot also fitted with the brand well. At first I found it hard to think of looks that varied enough for the Summer and Spring sections of the project, but once I researched more into it and looked at the products that Urban Decay used for their campaigns at those times of the year it gave me the inspiration that I needed.
If I had the chance to complete this project again, although I really enjoyed researching Urban Decay, I would probably choose either MAC or Illamasqua in order to be able to have a slightly more creative take on each look.
