Drag Queen Makeup

For my first piece of experimentation into gender I wanted to do drag makeup (This makeup was carried out before of drag queen lesson) From research I know that drag is a big cultural movement and fits in with the sexual revolution of the 1970s that came with the second wave of feminism and societies acceptance of drag (proven with shows such as RuPaul's drag race) displays the changing of gender norms that are present in the theory of post-modern feminism. To challenge myself I wanted to try drag on an older model (50) and drag queens are often older as they were born in a time where drag or being transgender etc. wasn't acceptable so it's becoming more common for people to try this today. 

Model before any makeup has been applied.

Eyebrow cover done with wax and sealer. From now learning the technique with pros-aide next time I would use that as it's a lot neater and easier to apply makeup on top of.

Makeup without wig and scarf.

Overall I was happy with the end result of this look with the wig on as it looked complete and like a drag makeup. I found the eyebrow covering very difficult as my model had older skin so the wax was hard to keep in place on skin which has lost some elasticity. Using wax also meant it was difficult to put other makeup such as eyeshadow over the top of the product, making the eyeshadow shape and the blending not as good as it could be. Next time I would use the pros-aide method to cover the brows. I was mostly happy with the skin makeup as it covered the skin well and the cheek contour was heavy enough and noticeable. I would have liked the nose contouring to have worked a little better as the nose on the model is very masculine and that was difficult to change. Next time I would blend more cream products together to do the nose. As this was an older drag queen I didn't want to go too big on the eye makeup so kept it slightly smaller which worked well for the end look. I think the blending of the eyeshadow could have been a lot better and I maybe could have extended the eye makeup outwards slightly more. I was happy with the re-drawn eyebrows and liked the shape for the models face, especially the right brow. Next time I would try using a brow gel instead of pencil and powder to give a stronger appearance. I liked the lip colour and shape a lot and think it suited the look of the drag makeup and changed the models lip line realistically. Overall there are improvements to be made in this makeup but I'm happy with the final result.

Feminine Makeup

I wanted to see how normal, everyday girls makeup alters a boys face without the use of prosthetics or drag style makeup. It is a common thought in modern society that makeup is only for women and shouldn't be worn by men and that wearing it is socially unacceptable. This fits into the ideas in post-modern feminism that we believe about how genders should behave and gender stereotypes are socially constructed so that we behave 'normally'. A large amount of women where a certain amount of makeup everyday and I wanted to apply this level to a boy to see if it made them look more typically 'feminine'.

Model before applying makeup

In doing this I discovered that eyebrows make a massive difference to how masculine or feminine a face looks. The eyebrows make the eyes look more closed and the brow look heavier because they are thick and shapeless, both of these traits being more typically masculine. I was very happy with the foundation and concealer as this improved the models skin a lot. I kept the eye makeup quite simple which worked well for the look but next time I would curl the models eyelashes as I didn't do this and I think it makes a lot of difference to the overall look. I also was happy with the contouring, especially on the nose as it made the face appear more feminine and the nose look smaller and more turned up. All together I feel the makeup did make the fame look a lot more typically feminine but as it wasn't drag makeup and I left things like the eyebrows you can still tell very clearly that the model is a boy. This helps me to realise what it is about male and female faces that make them different and it's not as simple as the adding or the absence of makeup.

Prosthetic Brow Piece

Through my research of the difference between men and women's face I found that a main feature that alters the face from a man to woman is a heavier brow bone. Men normally have a heavier brow bone than women making their eyes look more sunk in. I will experiment creating this look with highlighting and shading but I wanted to try also creating a prosthetic brow piece. I sculpted a flat piece that was the size of a forehead that makes the brow bone slightly heavier and adds a slight crease above the eyes. I then cast it in silicone encapsulated in cap plastic.

I was very happy with how this turned out as I think it's a very subtle piece that will make a small difference to alter the face. The edge of the piece is mostly good apart from one small fold at the bottom but that can be torn close to the silicone as it's being glued above the eyes. I am very happy with the texture of this piece as I think it's subtle but skin like with the very fine pore detail.

This was the piece once it had been applied. Overall I was very happy with it as it is a subtle piece but I feel the small difference it made is effective. The was extremely happy with the edges and blending of the piece as they are barely noticeable, especially around the top of the forehead. I think it also did the job of making the brow bone look slightly heavier and further forwards although it could have been slightly bigger and still have looked natural. It made my eyes look deeper set which is another feature that men have different to women so this was an advantage of the piece. I would definitely consider using this in a female to male transformation makeup and if it were to be in a full makeup I would colour the piece with red tones to match the skin and lay eyebrows on over the top.