So, I decided to do a series of make up looks inspired by the women in Shakespeare's plays (and possibly poetry depending on what I feel like - dark lady make up, anyone?). This originated from me trying to plan a Shakespeare essay whilst having a shower, ending up in me thinking that wouldn't it be a great idea if I did Shakespeare themed make up. That essay did get written (never mind that it was finished at 7 in the morning), and some make up looks were done.
The obvious start for me was Ophelia. Hamlet is the Shakespeare play, others may be incredibly famous, but Hamlet is the big one. Also Millais painted her that one time (I'm partial to Pre-Raphaelite art). So, Ophelia's a bit of a big deal. The painting is of her death, drowned in a river, surrounded by flowers. I decided that this was what I wanted to portray, because you can't do Shakespeare without being a little morbid (Titus Andronicus, anyone?).
Starting with the skin, you want to make it pale and corpse-like, being that we are doing the make up of a dead character. I started with Stargazer's White Foundation, mixing it with a little of my normal foundation. The consistency of this foundation isn't the best, so use something like a stippling brush to apply it (or other things good at blending, such as a sponge). Then use a medium brown eye shadow (or a contour powder) to further deepen the depths of your faces - below the cheekbones, under the chin, under the lower lip, the sides of the nose, the temples, under the eyes and the corners of your mouth. No blush is needed, for obvious reasons. I did my brows quite full, for a youthful effect.
For the eyes I wanted to emphasize the size and shape, much like the eyes painted by Millais. I started by priming my eyes with Two Faced Shadow Insurance. I then took a small angled brush and a medium brown eyeshadow - Cork by Mac - drawing a line just above my crease, following the line into the nose to make the eyes appear a little larger and flicking out at the other end. I darkened this line with a darker brown - 329 by Inglot - and then blended the line a little with a clean blending brush. I used this same shadow under the eye, winging the line out under the tear duct, again making the eye appear larger. I then used Nyx Jumbo Eye Pencil in Milk all over the lid, the inner corner and the waterline, blending out with my finger. On the lid I used Honeycomb from Sleek's Au Naturel palette and I used Nougat from the same palette in the inner corner. I then used a Bourjois liquid liner to do a fine line on the upper lid with a small flick. Next, apply mascara, making sure it is quite defined and doll like for the lower lashes. I then applied eylure lashes - I can't remember which, but something with volume that gets longer in the outer corners.
To finish, apply a clear gloss all over the lid to give that just drowned feel. I used a bourjois gloss. I would heap quite a lot of product on the back of my hand and apply it with my finger. Make sure you do this last, because you will not be able to change anything after you've done this. It also feels gross and creases like a bitch, so skip this step if you don't want to deal with that. I then loaded some mascara on my lower lid, dipped a cotton bud in water, and pressed the wet cotton bud onto the globbed mascara to simulate tears. Gently pat away the water droplet as it hits the bottom of your cheek, so the tear looks a little nicer.
For the lips, purse them, so no product will reach the creases, and pat the white foundation over them, so they look all cracked and unpleasant. Then take a pale blue eye shadow, purse your lips again, and pat the colour in the centre of the lips, so you look like you've suffocated to death. I then got more lip gloss and used a small brush to simulate water flowing out of a mouth.
And the make up is done. To complete, wet your hair and carry around a selection of flowers. This could be a great Halloween costume for you, if, like me, all your friends are literature nerds.
Finis.
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