Great Expectations 2011 BBC Mini Series

Gillian Anderson as Miss Havisham

The skin looks pale and has grey tones which make the character look almost dead as there are no warm, healthy tones in her complexion. This also makes Miss Havisham appear to look like a ghost or a ghost of her former self as if the Miss Havisham that was looking forward to getting married has been replaced and she is now a shadow of her former self. The contouring that is used is very subtle and blended in well to make the face look shallower, like when someone dies there skin loses moisture and therefore sinks back into the face.

The eye make-up is soft and the grey tones around the eye area make her look very tired as she has ‘bags’ under her eyes. In contrast the eyebrows are strongly defined with a darker colour which draws attention to the eye area which is useful when acting. It also contrasts with the skin and therefore makes the skin look even paler and more like a ghost. Eyeliner has been used to discreetly define the eyes without it being obvious that the actress is wearing a lot of eye make-up.

The lips are very pale and grey in colour making them look lifeless. The lack of pink tones that there should be in her lips add to this look further. The overall look of the make-up reminds me of marble statues because of the tones used and the soft contouring that is used to define the facial features.

The hair is white with grey under tones which work with the make-up to create a ghost or statue like appearance. The hair has neat curls in a style that would have been popular at the time for brides yet has become slightly dishevelled which makes her look less like a bride. The hair frames the face and so the focus of the viewer’s attention remains on Gillian’s face and so the focus stays on her acting.

Great Expectations Film 2012

Great Expectations 2012

Helena Bonham Carter as Miss Havisham

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Helena’s skin is very pale as the character of Miss Havisham has been inside for many years and therefore her skin has not changed colour due to being exposed to sunlight. Her skin has cool tones which reflect her cold hearted nature towards the world and especially towards Pip. This is emphasised further with the lack of colour used on her checks, she is no longer the blushing bride that she wanted to be on her wedding day. Instead dark grey contouring is used which makes her face look shallow, tight and ridged. The overall look of the skin looks a bit like porcelain and makes her look like a porcelain doll. This reflects Miss Havisham’s persona of being harsh and almost heart less as if she is a doll without emotion and not a real person. Also Miss Havisham has hidden herself away from the outside world and is only seen by the few people she chooses to see her. This is a bit like when an old doll is hidden away in a cupboard only rarely brought into view, just sat collecting dust, a reminder of a happy time in childhood, it captures the memories of a part of our lives when we were happy. This is similar to the way Miss Havisham has kept everything the same from her wedding day which was supposed to be one of the happiest days of her life. Also like a doll she seems incapable of doing many things for herself and therefore gets others to do things for her for example she gets Estella to fetch things for her as she acts as if it is difficult for her to move or carry out the tasks herself. This shows Miss Havisham’s controlling nature as she can control Estella to do whatever she orders her to do.

The eye make-up is dark and this contrasts with the white in her eyes which along with Helena’s acting makes the eyes look a bit wild and possessive which reflects how Miss Havisham is very controlling and possessive over people. The eye make-up looks smudged like it has been worn for a long time like when someone doesn’t take their make –up off before going to sleep as if Miss Havisham has worn the make-up since her wedding day. The eye shadow is the darkest part of the make-up and also contrasts with the pale skin so therefore brings attention to the eyes which Helena uses to great effect in her acting to create the unique character of Mss Havisham. The strongly defined eyebrows further draw attention to the eye area of her face and their precise shape adds a slight harshness to her face which reflects Miss Havisham’s character. The lips are also dark and like the rest of the make-up any warm colour seems to have faded from them over time and so only dark, cold colours remain like Miss Havisham became cold hearted towards people especially men since her wedding day. It appears that any good emotions such as happiness and compassion have faded from her over time and the use of a mainly achromatic colour scheme reflects this.

Miss Havisham’s hair has a lot of curls and volume in it like many bridal hairstyles. However many of the curls have become loose with some hanging down around Miss Havisham’s face and the texture has become slightly frizzy. This shows that Miss Havisham is no longer the bride she hoped to be but is still trying to hold onto how she was on her wedding day. The wild texture of the hair reflects the wildness and sometimes unpredictability of Miss Havisham’s personality and like her hair has changed since her wedding day so has her character. The colour of her hair has also become tinted with grey since her wedding day and looks dusty and old which shows how much time has passed since the wedding day. The decorations in Miss Havisham’s hair are very intricate and look like typical bridal accessories. One of the accessories is blue which fits in with the traditional saying of “something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue.” The blue hair accessory is seen later on in the film in Estella’s hair which may have been done to show how Miss Havisham has trained Estella to be like her and now part of Estella is like Miss Havisham. The veil is extravagant yet it is completely see through which it may not have been had it been in real life however this is needed in the film to show Helena’s acting off as much as possible. The veil is sometimes down over her face and sometimes pulled back depending on how Miss Havisham is during the story. If the character is being very guarded it is down yet if she is trying to gain someone’s trust or affect how someone feels for example Pip then the veil is taken away from her face.

http://galleryhip.com/estella-great-expectations.html

In this part of the film Estella's hair is in an Apollo knot which was very popular in the late Edwardian and early Victorian era. The Apollo knot is usually when the hair has a strong centre parting and curls which go into a bun or knot shape at the back of the head. Her hair is very sleek and neat which contrasts to Miss Havisham’s hair being unruly and frizzy. This could show how Estella is still trying to live in the present and so she does her hair everyday whereas Miss Havisham is still living in the past and hasn’t changed her hair since her wedding day. Estella’s hair also has accessories in it which match her outfit and this was very popular in Victorian times.

The clothes she wears are colourful and have flamboyant touches such as ruffles and decorations which show she is upper class or comes from a wealthy background. The blue colour, the shape of the ruffles around her neck, the intricate jewellery, pale skin and red curled hair remind me of Queen Elizabeth’s style and make Estella look almost royal or noble. The style of Pips outfit in this image is also very reminiscent of the upper classes and the colours of blue and black were associated with the upper classes as they were expensive. This shows how Pip is now of a similar social standing to Estella and so in his mind he may feel more worthy of being with her, as when he was younger he did not feel as if he was enough of a gentlemen to be with her.

 Estella’s make-up is very subtle and is made to look as though she isn’t wearing any. This makes her look youthful and innocent as in those times a young lady of Estella’s age should be seen in this way. However from the way Estella acts its clear there is more depth to her character than is shown on her exterior and this gives a mysterious air about her. Estella’s skin make-up is very pale and has cool tones in it making her look as though she lacks warmth which reflects parts of her character for example not being able to love. She has subtle contouring on for cheeks to give definition to her cheek bone with some colour on her lips and around her eyes to make them stand out slightly on camera.

Victorian beauty ideals- Beauty and Cosmetics 1550-1950 by Sarah Jane Downing

Beauty and Cosmetics 1550-1950 By Sarah Jane Downing.

This book discusses how views on beauty and cosmetics has changed over time and how the use of products was viewed differently by different people. The book describes that at the beginning of the 1800’s before the Victorian era the use of products such as powders, pastes and paints to achieve beauty was seen as cheating beauty and that if a women had to do this then she was defiantly not beautiful underneath it. It was also seen as cheating because the use of such products suggested that the women was lazy and wasn’t prepared to work hard to achieve beauty. This was because at the time methods such as healthy eating and exercise were seen as the most appropriate way of attaining a desirable figure and looks. Only products that were used on the skin and then removed were seen as acceptable as they would not be seen when in public. For example books containing recipes for homemade beauty treatments were very popular and they promoted the use of natural products such as sugar and lavender to improve the skins appearance.

These views carried on through the middle of the 1800’s and it became more apparent that women were expected to be modest and almost in the background of society as all the attention was supposed to be on their husbands in a very male dominated world where women were viewed as far inferior. However there were some exceptions and people who tried to go against these values such as female performers who had made a name for themselves on stage now wanted to be just as extravagant in the way they looked in public so to maintain their stage persona's.

 Companies became to produce cosmetics using similar ingredients that had been used in the past such as lead and also adding new products such as arsenic which were very dangerous however making a profit from women’s want to attain a desirable look seemed more important. The products were often ordered as to buy them from a shop in public would be condemned and seen as very outrageous. The extent of the harmful effects of the products was unknown as very little tests were done on products before selling them. There were reports of bad reactions that scared the skin, the skin becoming leathery in texture and in general the long term use of the products made it worse than it originally was. The products themselves sometimes reacted with gases in the air for example bismuth which was used in powder products turned black if sulphur was in the air which it would be around gas lights and fires according to the writer Arnold James Cooley.

 However women continued to use such products as there was still pressure on them to look good for their husbands without it appearing that they had used cosmetics in order to do so. Women would go to extreme length such as visiting sellers such as Madame Sarah Rachel Leverson in salons who charged extortionate prices for products she claimed helped to achieve beauty. The visiting of such establishments would be viewed very dimly and so the clients would do what they could to prevent people from knowing they had visited such places, even sometimes being blackmailed by the sellers themselves. The women often didn’t report the blackmailing as if they did it would be known they had visited salons like Madame Sarah Rachel Leversons and therefore would damage their reputations. Only on very rare occasions were sellers sentenced such as Madame Sarah Rachel Leverson who was sentenced for five years in 1868 for fraud.

Victorian Beauty Ideals- Ugly Beauty By Ruth Brandon

Ugly Beauty, Helena Rubinstein, L’Oreal and the blemished history of looking good by Ruth Brandon.

In Chapter 6 Consumers or consumed? The book looks at the Victorian era and how cosmetics and the act of women trying to enhance their appearance was viewed during this time. In the Victorian era women were seen as inferior to men and when a women was married she was seen as belonging to her husband and therefore only he had the right to enjoy her beauty. Therefore many people had the view that women should be modest in their appearance when in public. If women were trying to show themselves off or draw a lot of attention to the way they looked in public especially if cosmetics were used to do this they must be trying to attract the attention of men. If the women was unmarried then she was seen as trying to attract a husband and this way of doing so was not viewed as an acceptable way of attaining a husband especially if cosmetics were used to alter the women’s appearance. Alternately if the women was married then it was seen that the only reason she would have for doing this would be to attract a man that was not her husband and therefore it had connotations of adultery.

Victorian Britain

The Victorian period of history refers to the time of Queen Victoria’s reign in Britain from 1837 to 1901.

Live entertainment was very popular in the Victorian era however people couldn’t just get in the car and drive to venues to see shows like we can today and they didn’t have the time to travel long distances to see one show. Therefore there were traveling shows where the entertainment came to the people instead of the other way around. These entertainers would spend the majority of their time earning a living by traveling around Britain entertaining their audiences with their skills. Circuses and fairs would visit areas and stay for several days until they stopped making as much money at which point they would leave and travel to their next destination. They would have comedy shows, puppets such as Punch and Judy, fire-eaters, strong men, animals and other acts entertaining the crowds as well as games for people to spend any spare money they had on.

 Travel was difficult at the beginning of the Victorian era as most travel was done by boat or horse and carriage depending on whether you were traveling on land or water obviously! These were very time consuming and expensive especially if the journeys were long. Also cars were only developed towards the end of Queen Victoria’s reign and were not really accessible to most people.  However travel did became easier and more accessible to people with the development of the railways making traveling to visit different parts of the country on day trips or holiday’s a lot more straight forward as previously only the very rich would be able to travel to places far from where they lived. Therefore the railways became very popular and continued to develop through the Victorian Era. After the development of railways people were able to travel to the seaside and watch the shows on the piers as part of their days out and this helped seaside destinations to develop. It also allowed some entertainers to settle in one place whilst still making a living from their entertainment shows.

As live entertainment was so popular there were many theatres or music halls as they were often called, in the Victorian era. Variety shows with singers, dancers and comedy acts were held as well as productions such as pantomimes which were often Christmas treats for well-behaved children. This was one aspect of Victorian life where the use of cosmetics to dramatically change someone’s appearance was not frowned upon as it was usually used to create a character or so that the performer’s facial features stood out more and therefore could be seen by people in the audience far away from the stage.

Workshops

Make-Up and False Eye Lashes Workshop

In the make-up workshop we were given false eyelashes and allowed to decorate them however we chose using the materials provided and also our own decorations. Many things can be used as decorations including glitter, sugar, sweets, gems, paper and lace. I decided to create a look inspired by The Snow Queen by Hans Christian Andersen as I had glitter in blue and white which I thought would work well together to give a frosty look and texture. Also with the film Frozen which is based on The Snow Queen being so popular at the moment I also based by design on the character Elsa as she has similar colours and glitter in her outfit to the colours I had chosen.

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To stick the decorations to the false lashes we used Mastix/Spirit Gum. When using this make sure it goes tacky before attaching the decorations and make sure you have spirit gun remover in case you need it. Do not apply spirit gum to someone’s hair or near their eyes. Small amounts can be used on the skin but nowhere near the eyes or mouth and it must be removed properly.

To apply the false lashes use a false lash glue such as Duo. Apply it to the false lash band and wait for it to become slightly tacky before applying it as close to the lash line as possible. A bun pin can be used to apply the glue to the lashes, using the end of the pin and the hook of the pin can be used to help press the false lashes down. Slanted or flat end tweezers can also be used to help position the lashes.

On my design I painted the false eye lash with nail varnish and used a pin to separate the lashes and prevent them all from sticking together. I then used spirit gum to stick on glitter and a gem. I then applied eye shadow to my eye lid, applied the false lash when the spirit gum had fully dried and then used some eyelash glue to apply glitter as an eyeliner. Any excess glitter can be removed by using a hairdryer on a low heat and speed setting. Vaseline can also be used to apply glitter to the face. When applying false lashes normally eye shadow is applied, then the lashes and then eyeliner.

Hair plaiting workshop

Dutch Plait

Section off some hair at the top of the head or wherever you want the plait to start.

Separate the section into three and plait in a similar way to a French plait but take the hair from the outside and place it behind the middle section of hair instead of in front.

Then take hair from outside the plait and add it into the sections that are going behind the middle section of hair.

The plait should begin to have a raised appearance. Don’t hold the hair too tightly and when you have no more hair to add into the plait just carry on plaiting, remembering to take the sections behind the middle section of hair.

Princess/Waterfall Plait

Section off a piece of hair at the front of the head and begin to plait normally.

Drop the middle section so that it hangs down.

Take a section from above the plait and place it over one of the sections so that it now becomes the middle section.

Plait the hair then drop the middle section again making sure the piece that’s dropped is when the section was the top section that became the middle section and not the bottom section that became the middle section.

Don’t hold the hair to tightly and be careful where you stand so that you don’t move the hair in the wrong direction.

This plait shows up best on blonde or coloured hair, if the hair is dark use a bit of wax on your hands whilst plaiting to define the plait.

The easiest way to do this plait is to have your model or an assistant holding onto the hair that has been dropped down so that it stays hanging down at the correct angle.

You can do another plait underneath a princess/waterfall plait by doing a normal French plait and adding in the sections from the princess/waterfall plait that are hanging down. Alternatively you could also do another princess/waterfall plait underneath and add in the sections that are hanging down from the first plait so that they become your new middle sections.

Mixed Plait

Start this plait by doing a normal plait.

Then like a French plait take a small section from the side to add to a section. But take the section from one side of the plait only and take the hair from far away from the plait.

You don’t need to take hair from the other side of the plait unless you want to create a different look.

Keep doing this and at the bottom of the scalp start taking the hair from under the plait so that all the hair is incorporated into the plait.

You can then sculpt the hair into a nice shape and secure with grips if you wish to.